Magnificent album cover that shows italian pop goddess profile as a part of cinema projector - her album covers had long became state of the art examples of perfect visual design but I am not so convinced with the music. The tradition of releasing double albums annually occasionally backfires because material is bound the be highly eclectic and experimental - if we skip her bouncy,happy 1960s period, Mina had actually achieved her artistic peak during 1970s with a series of beautiful, classy albums but if you ask me, almost everything of 1980s and 1990s is very spotty - double albums with no apparent focus and too much meandering.
Typical of her 1990s output, "Sorelle Lumiere" (Lumier's sisters) is another double album that could have easily been edited into strong single LP. It has 50 + old singer collaborating with younger musicians (something she was always good at) and there are some strong points here - her voice is still expressive and magical to listen to - but overall the atmosphere of the album is very dark,moody and somehow icy. Because Mina does not write her own material and depends on strong songwriters, her albums are very unpredictable - she might select some seductive, slow burning gems or strong hooks like "Figlio Unico" that sound current and modern but the very next song might be completely unnecessary off-the-wall cover of "Cry me a river" and such - obviously this is a strong willed lady and does as she pleases, which in itself is part of her eccentric charm but it does make one long and never ending album.
Highlights are some unexpected medleys: "Un Nuovo Amico/E Poi ..." merges a new song with a classic old one and it works perfectly, same for medley of "I'll Fly For You/Oye Como Va/Black Magic Woman" where Spandau Ballet somehow makes natural fit with Carlos Santana. There is also a wonderful jazzy "I Ricordi Della Sera" that first got my attention years ago and made me buy the whole album - seductive and tender Mina is backed here with a vocal chorus that creates nocturnal, nostalgic 1940s atmosphere and its truly film noir experience. My suggestion : edit double album into favorites and you get much better program.
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