The first song is by Etta James, it is I'd rather go blind recorded live in Montreaux in 1975. Etta James whose real name is Jamesetta Hawkins is one of the most beautiful and famous voices of blues and rock. Also memorable is her "At last" published in 1960. Etta passed away in 2012 due to diabetes and a serious leukemia after having fought for years with health problems and drug abuse. The song was written together with a singer-songwriter from Detroit, Ellington Jordan (Fugi), while the latter was in prison. In her autobiographical book James wrote that the song was about having been blind in her love life and in her daily habits. The version that is proposed here was recorded live in Switzerland, at the famous Montreux festival in 1975. In this interpretation Etta James, already a mature artist, was able to involve the audience by showing off her powerful voice, singing at times even without a microphone, and also exchanging a few jokes with the audience during the song. A true artist.

The second song performed by Chico Barque is entitled O que serà (a flor da pele). This very famous song is by Milton Nascimento (Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento), a recognized Brazilian composer who has collaborated with artists of the caliber of Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Quincy Jones. O que serà is a sweet song, in the classic Brazilian melodic style that tells of falling in love and its inevitable consequences, "What will it be, What happens inside us and what shouldn’t ... Who have no rest, nor will ever have, Who is not tired, nor will ever be, What has no limit". Francisco Buarque de Hollanda, real name Chico Barque is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, politically engaged against the Gorillas regime, exiled in Italy in 1969, he is also a poet, screenwriter and novelist. He also played with Stefano Bollani.

The third song is performed by Louis Armstrong, and is the famous song What a wonderful world. It is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss expressly for Armstrong. The two, Thiele and Weiss, were not yet very well known and the collaboration with Armstrong was an incredible opportunity for them. It was such a huge success that it overtook the Beatles from the first place in the English charts. In the USA it did not have the success it deserved because it was hindered by the number one of ABC records, Larry Newton, who wanted a swing song in the wake of "Hello, Dolly!" Armstrong was 62 years old at the time, his lips destroyed by the mouthpieces of the trumpet and his heart suffering, Thiele and Weiss created something that Louis could sing with his heart rather than with his voice. The song celebrates the wonders of the world, the beauty of nature and kind people. The song was included in the soundtrack of "Good Morning, Vietnam" directed by Barry Levinson.

The fourth song performed by Luciano Pavarotti and Barry White is the equally famous You'r the first, the last, my everything. Peter Sterling Radcliffe, a friend of White, wrote it in 1956 in a country style, calling it "You're My First, You're My Last, My In-Between". When White heard it, in 1973, he immediately liked it. While keeping almost all the chords, he changed almost all the lyrics and the melody. White had worked as the manager of the female trio "Love Unlimited" in the 60s and 70s. From 1972 he began recording under his own name. "You'r the first, the last, my everything" was released in 1974, on the album "Can't Get Enough" and was an immediate success. Pavarotti's splendid voice made it even more enjoyable.

Frequency Response

Below are the images of the linearity of the response at different frequencies. The sinusoid voltage is always the same, around 12 Vpp.

The first song is by Pink Anderson, it is Baby Please Don't Go. Pinkney Anderson was born in Laurens, South Carolina on February 12, 1900. At 14 he joined Dr. Kerr of the Indian Remedy Company to sing and dance to the public in the streets while Kerr sold his elixirs which he said had medicinal properties. In 1928 she recorded for the Columbia label. In the 50s and 60s she recorded other albums and performed live. She died in 1974 of a heart attack. The song "Baby Please Don't Go" tell about the anxiety of a recluse over the departure of his lover who is about to leave him to return home to New Orleans.

The second song is by Floyd Council, it is called Looking For My Baby. Council was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on September 2, 1911. At 15 he performed on the streets of Chapel Hill with two brothers, Leo and Thomas Strowd. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he and Blind Boy Fuller busked in the Chapel Hill area. In the 1930s he recorded some songs for ARC but very few Council recordings remain. In a 1969 interview, Council stated that he had recorded 27 songs over the course of his career, seven of them as backing tracks to Blind Boy Fuller. In the late 1960s he suffered a stroke that partially paralyzed his throat muscles and slowed his motor skills. Peter B. Lowry attempted to record it in 1970 but Council was unable to sing or play. Council died in 1976 of a heart attack.

The third song is naturally by Pink Floyd and it is a rare live recording, Live at the Rainbow Theatre from 1972 . Syd Barrett created the band's name by juxtaposing the first names of the two bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Pink Floyd's most famous LP, "The dark side of the moon" was the product of an intense year of laboratory work, tested and perfected thanks to over a dozen live bootlegs such as this recording at the Rainbow Theatre. The arrangements of these recordings often vary greatly from the final LP. Unfortunately the recording is of very poor quality, but for enthusiasts this is certainly not a problem.

The  fourth song is O Tempo E O Lugar by Ana Caram. The song is by Sueli Correa Costa, the talented Brazilian singer-songwriter who died last year. She recorded for EMI with important partners such as Cacaso and Tite de Lamos. She sang about love like few others and left a definitive mark on our music, with songs that had the rare combination of sophistication, elaboration and beauty, fluidity and the ability to reach a wide audience. Her compositions, however, have been interpreted by artists such as Simone, Elis Regina, Fagner, Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Beth Carvalho among many others.

The fifth song is Litany by Arvo part. A characteristic of his style is that his songs arise from silence, grow, loading themselves with effect and then descend back towards silence. This technique originates from Part's initial twelve-tone influences, especially from Webern, although Part ideologically abandoned this current, realizing that it carried within itself the seeds of a conflict, in particular against capitalism. Coming to the firm belief that every conflict originates within oneself.
Having been commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival, Litany Part uses the English language for the first time. The text is by Giovanni Grisostomo, a great theologian born in Antioch in Syria (currently in Turkey). The English terms being short do not allow for a structured musical elaboration, however the initial dialogue between the prayer and the immediate, or rather anticipated, response of the violin indicate the response from heaven. Before man can ask God for help, God is already close to him.

The sixth song  is Il Cielo In Una Stanza performed by Mina. Gino Paoli's most famous song had a very troubled origin. He was judged by Giulio Rapetti (aka Mogol) with phrases like "this is not a song", "it's better for you to change jobs", "it absolutely can't go" and even worse by Miranda Martino who refused to interpret it. Then Mina arrived and wanted her to sing it instead. Arranged by Tony de Vita, Mina, as soon as she finished singing it, started crying and all the musicians stood up moved.
The song talks about orgasm and is dedicated to a prostitute with whom Paoli had fallen in love. In the song the unsaid suggests sensuality with the description of the environment.

Frequency Response

Below are the images of the linearity of the response at different frequencies. The sinusoid voltage is always the same, around 20 Vpp.