Shake (Zucchero album)

Shake is the ninth studio album by the Italian blues rock singer-songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari, released on 14 September 2001. The album was mostly recorded in 2001 at The Plan Studios in Hollywood with producer Corrado Rustici, and previewed near Rovigo, on 9 September 2001.

Overview
In this album, the last one produced by the historical producer Corrado Rustici, Zucchero used the technique of sampling. Starting from an old collection of vinyls owned by his American programmer, the Italian bluesman tried to recreate a vintage and blues sound by taking some portions of sound recordings and reusing them as new instruments. He borrowed the idea from other important albums, such as Play (1999) by Moby or works by Fatboy Slim.

Composition
The album opens with three blues rock songs. "Sento le campane" whose music is by Zucchero, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, "Music In Me" and "Porca l'oca". The latter sampled "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles, who also recorded the song together with Zucchero. The fourth song, "Ali d'oro", represents the last recording of John Lee Hooker's career. The American bluesman sings the chorus "I lay down with an angel". The music, typical of a blues ballad, is composed by Zucchero and Luciano Luisi. "Ahum" is co-written with the friend and old colleague Roberto Zanetti, as well as "Music In Me" and "Baila (Sexy Things)", and sampled Barry White's version of "Just the Way You Are". "Scintille" sampled from "Deceiving Blues" by Teddy Darby and "Feelin' Lowdown" by Big Bill Broonzy. "Baila (Sexy Things)", released as the first single in Italy, is the core of the selling success of the entire album, peaking at number 1 in Italy, France and Spain. For the composition, Zucchero sampled "Take Me to the River" by Al Green and "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. The next two ballads "Dindondio", whose theme is the countryside life, and "Rossa mela della sera" sampled the choir "Oh! Death Where Is Thy Sting?" and "Choladas" by M. Vivanco, respectively. After the rock title track, the last song "Tobia", whose lyrics are by the songwriter Francesco De Gregori, is dedicated to Zucchero's lost dog. The album topped the chart of Italy (for four weeks) and Switzerland (for three weeks) and appeared in the charts of Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Argentina and Austria.