This one made me smile. While it is a grandiose title for an album, “Party of The Century” could well put you in the mood if your feet dance to the retro beat and, in an oddly satisfying way, it is the kind of album that would be as welcome now as it would have been twenty years ago. Authenticity is always key in a project like this and accordingly much is made in the press release of the presence of such session dinosaurs as Steve Gadd and Greg Phillinganes (even if you have to search the small print to locate their actual contribution).
No matter, for this is a curiously enjoyable album that provides an eerie pastiche of FM radio hits from the days before iPods. Giorgio and his lyric partner Ivan Nossa do most of the hard work here bringing an unexpected sincerity to grandiose moments such as those in “Venice Night”. No doubt with a smirk on their face, they even manage to squeeze in a deadly straight cover of an Elton John song called “Friends” and you are left with the feeling that these two guys love writing songs in this style.
Times have moved on in musical terms - and some would say not for the better - but this remains an enjoyable album. Given that the past is the new black, perhaps this retro approach is also a smart commercial move?