TantoFrontIntroduction

Patty Pravo (real name Nicoletta Strambelli, 9 April 1948) is an Italian singer who took an interest in music and dance from a young age. At the age of 10 years she entered the Venice Conservatory, and after living for a while in London, moved to Rome at the age of 17 to start a career as a dancer and singer. From 1966 she started releasing singles in Italy on the RCA label, at first covering English hits, but soon singing her own repertoire and scoring major hits with ‘La Bambola’ (1968), ‘Pazza Idea’ (1973) and ‘Pensiero Stupendo’ (1978). Having become a hugely popular singer, Pravo performed dozens of times on festivals such as the Sanremo festival and Festivalbar.

Early in 1976 Patty Pravo traveled with a couple of musicians to London to record her 11th album “Tanto” in Vangelis’ Nemo Studios. Both Pravo and Vangelis were signed to the RCA label at the time. Vangelis is credited for arranging several songs on the album, as well as playing keyboards. In an interview Patty Pravo revealed about this experience ‘I was working with Vangelis on the album Tanto, I went into his studio and I see a handsome guy playing bass, Paul Martinez. Then another, beautiful, playing the guitar, Paul Jeffery. Love for the three of us was natural. We also lived together in Rome’. As with his first album for RCA, “Heaven And Hell”, Vangelis again worked with Guy Protheroe conducting the English Chamber Choir.

The album contains a selection of 10 songs by different composers, such as covers of ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ by Pete Seeger and ‘Evil Woman’ by Electric Light Orchestra in Vangelis’ arrangement. To promote the album a 7" single was released, ‘Tanto’ b/w ‘Io Ti Venderei’, both songs arranged by Vangelis. The B-side is a funky version of a song by Lucio Battisti (who would publish the original version of the song on his own album a month after the release of Tanto) and would become a favorite in Italian dancings that year. The album was released on the 12th of April 1976, and reached position 6 in the Italian charts.

Later that year Patty Pravo would release another (self-titled) album, which curiously included three covers of the Vangelis-produced album “Phos” by the Greek rock group Socrates, as well as a cover of ‘So Long Ago, So Clear’ (Sconosciuti Cieli)" from Vangelis’ album “Heaven And Hell”.

After scoring one of her biggest hits ‘Pensiero Stupendo’ in 1978, the popularity of Pravo declined during the 1980s. However she made a comeback during the 1990s, scoring another big hit with ‘…E Dimmi Che Non Vuoi Morire’ in 1997 and performing concert tours and festivals throughout Italy again. To this day Patty Pravo is still one of the most popular singers in Italy, and she continued performing her songs until 2023.

 

TantoBackTracklist and credits

  1. Tanto *
  2. Per Te Che Mi Apri L'Universo
  3. Io Ti Venderei *
  4. La Mia Stagione In Piu *
  5. Assurdo
  6. Le Cicale
  7. Per Amarti D'Amore
  8. E Io Cammino *
  9. Dove Andranno I Nostri Fiori *
  10. Eri La Mia Poesia

* arranged by Vangelis

  • Vangelis Papathanassiou: keyboards
  • Paul Jeffery: guitar
  • Paul Martinez: bass
  • Kamran Kacheh: bass
  • Kips Pert: piano
  • Maurice Pert: piano
  • Francesco Nizza: drums
  • Rodolfo Bianchi: flute
  • The English Chamber Choir directed by Guy Protheroe.
  • Produced by Rodolfo Bianchi.

 

TantoIoTiVendereiFrontDiscography

LP

  • 1976 TPL1 1195 Italy, West-Germany and Spain.
  • 2018 RCA / Sony Music 19075833401 Italy (Record Store Day re-issue with gold vinyl)
  • 2023 Sony Music 19658818581 Italy (Limited edition picture disc)

CD

  • 1998 CFD 01057 Italy (11 cd box including Tanto)
  • 2001 BMG Ricordi 74321546892 Italy

7” single

 

Recording studio

Although the album sleeve does not identify the recording studio, the music for Tanto was recorded in Vangelis’ Nemo Studios in London.

 

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