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Mina
Studio album by Mina
Released	November 1971 (1971-11)
Recorded	Autumn 1971
Studio	La Basilica, Milan
Genre	Pop blue-eyed soul
Length	44:50
Language	Italian English
Label	PDU
Mina chronology
Del mio meglio (1971) Mina (1971) Cinquemilaquarantatre (1972)
Singles from Mina
"Amor mio" Released: May 1971 "Grande, grande, grande" Released: January 1972

Mina is a studio album by Italian singer Mina, released in 1971 by her own label, PDU.

Overview

This album symbolically marked the transition period between Augusto Martelli and Pino Presti as arranger and conductor and is distinguished by the classical character and elegance of the pieces, capable of creating a particularly homogeneous and refined atmosphere.

This is the first album that doesn't feature the singer on the cover. In her place, a close-up of a monkey appears; among fans, it is even known as "L'album della scimmia" ("The monkey's album"). This original and eccentric decision is due to the lack of recent photographic material for the cover, given the singer's motherhood, who was due to give birth to her second daughter in November. It is also the second album under the title Mina, after the one released in 1964.

Musical content

The album contains both cover versions and songs written especially for the singer. The album opens with "E penso a te," which is a reworking of a track originally recorded last year by Bruno Lauzi as the b-side of "Mary oh Mary." Next up is an Italian-language cover of "I'll Be Home" by Randy Newman called "Capirò". "Le farfalle nella notte" with lyrics by Luciano Beretta was first heard in Alberto Lattuada's 1970 film Come Have Coffee with Us. "Sentimentale" is a collaboration with Lucio Dalla, an aspiring singer-songwriter who performed at the Sanremo Festival the same year. "Alfie" is Mina's version of a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David five years earlier for the Lewis Gilbert film of the same name, originally performed by Cilla Black and later by Cher. Mina also recorded a cover version of the Beatles' "Something" for the album.

The main hits on the album were the songs "Amor mio" and "Grande grande grande". The song "Amor mio" was written by the duo Lucio Battisti and Mogol specifically for Mina. It was released as a single and achieved impressive success in the Italian chart, reaching second place. It is also considered one of Mina's signature song. The song "Grande, grande, grande", written by Alberto Testa and Tony Renis, was initially offered to Ornella Vanoni, Milva, Rosanna Fratello and Orietta Berti, but they all rejected it. Mina recorded it for the album and released it as the second single; the song become the leader of the Italian chart, as well as the second best-selling song of 1972. Both of them are also the most successful singles in Mina's career.

Commercial performance

The album was a great commercial success in Italy. Debuting at number eighteen on the chart, it reached number two two weeks later, where it stayed for ten weeks before finally climbing to number one; it remained at number one for ten weeks in a row, and then for another nine weeks at number two. The album spent a total of forty weeks on the chart, one of the best performances for the singer. In total, the album sold 900,000 copies.

Critical reception

Ezio Guaitamacchi [it] called the album an excellent recording with tasteful original songs, consolidating Mina's breakthrough made in 1967. Mattia Marzi from Rockol also stated that this is a very elegant, well-arranged record filled with songs that pay tribute to Mazzini's talent and timeless vocals.

Track listing

Personnel

• Mina – vocals
• Pino Presti – arrangement, conducting (A1, B1)
• Gian Piero Reverberi – arrangement, conducting (A2, B2, B6)
• Augusto Martelli – arrangement, conducting (A3, A5)
• Mario Robbiani – arrangement, conducting (A4, A6, B3–B5)
• Nuccio Rinaldis – sound engineer
• Abramo Pesatori – sound engineer
• Luciano Tallarini – cover art

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts

References

1. "La Basilica" (in Italian). minamazzini.it. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
2. ^ Castaldo, Gino, ed. (1990). "Le Canzoni". Dizionario della Canzone Italiana (in Italian). Rome: Armando Curcio Editore. p. 37. ISBN 9788897508311.
3. "Amor mio/Capirò (I'll Be Home)". Discografia nazionale della canzone italiana (in Italian). Istituto centrale per i beni sonori ed audiovisivi. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
4. Romano, Nino (1996). Mina: Mito e mistero (in Italian). Sperling & Kupfer. p. 112. ISBN 9788820022983.
5. AA.VV. (1998). Padovano, Romy (ed.). Mina. I mille volti di una voce. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. p. 197. ISBN 9788804447726.
6. "Sotto il segno della Scimmia". Mina Fan Club (in Italian). 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
7. ^ Marzi, Mattia (4 January 2022). "1971-2021: 50 anni di "Mina" di Mina". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 20 May 2024.
8. "Mina (1964)". Discografia nazionale della canzone italiana (in Italian). Istituto centrale per i beni sonori ed audiovisivi. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
9. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp Print Us. pp. 306–308. ISBN 9781093264906.
10. "Italy's Top 50 Singles 1972" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 34, no. 28. 30 December 1972. p. 9 (141). ISSN 0008-7289. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2022.
11. "Tanti auguri Mina: compie 80 anni la "Tigre di Cremona"". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 25 March 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
12. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). "Mina". M&D borsa album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp Print Us. pp. 225–228. ISBN 978-1094705002.
13. Guaitamacchi, Ezio (2009). "Grande, grande, grande". 1000 canzoni che ci hanno cambiato la vita (in Italian). Rizzoli. p. 385. ISBN 9788817033923.
14. Mina (Media notes) (in Italian). Mina. Italy: PDU. 1971. Pld. A 5037. Retrieved 7 January 2025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 9. New York: Billboard Publications Inc. 26 February 1972. p. 43. ISSN 0006-2510.
16. Racca, Guido (2020). "I numeri uno mensili" (PDF). M&D classifiche mensili – album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp Print Us. p. 17.

External links

• Mina at Discogs (list of releases)

• Mina (Italian singer) albums
• 1971 albums
• Albums conducted by Pino Presti
• Albums arranged by Pino Presti
• 1970s Italian-language albums
• EMI Italiana albums