This is compilation of the best loved songs by very young Milva who, at the grand age of twenty two, was one of the most promising and popular female singers in Italy. Nurtured by recording company "Cetra" who probably saw her as female answer to mighty Claudio Villa, Milva graced stages like San Remo festival and Olympia theatre despite her young age and at this point had already amassed quite impressive list of hit singles, all of them collected here.
The main attraction of this collection is lady's voice: she had obviously trained Bel Canto voice that harked back to previous decade, with enormous lung power and ability to switch between full blast and seductive whisper, truly magnificent sound like no one else. Songs like "Il Mare Nel Cassetto", "Arlecchino Gitano" and "Flamenco Rock" were enormously popular back than, with cover versions blossoming all over continental Europe as soon as they were released. It was all very melodramatic and theatrical, as one would expect from passionate Italian artist, everything grand and sweeping, not unlike how Dalida worked in France at the time. If "Milord" and "Les Enfants Du Pirée" were obvious covers of current pop hits, moody and jazzy "Estate" hinted at direction this artist unfortunately never pursued later. Interestingly enough, although Milva continued the career with impressive longevity, very soon she will be eclipsed by idiosyncratic Mina who will turn the same San Remo number "Io Amo Tu Ami" into irreverent uptempo ditty - for a while in the 1960s both ladies were contenders for a crown, with Ornella Vanoni right behind them, until Milva eventually turned to theatre, cabaret and foreign language recordings. This is quite impressive collection of her very start when she enjoyed the first burst of success.
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