The last studio album
Fabrizio De André recorded before his untimely death to cancer in 1999,
Anime Salve functions both as a testament to the singer's entire career and a further indicator of the stylistic restlessness that characterized
De André's work since 1984's
Creuza de Mä. Like its predecessor,
Le Nuvole,
Anime Salve is a hybrid album, albeit a much more somber one since the satirical intent of
Le Nuvole is notoriously absent here. Its mixed nature is, once again, probably due to the contrasting creative forces at work. Throughout his career,
De André had an unerring eye for choosing his collaborators. In turn, talented musicians such as
Gian Piero Reverberi,
Nicola Piovani,
Francesco De Gregori,
PFM,
Mauro Pagani, and
Massimo Bubola all left an indelible stamp on the
De André records on which they worked. For
Anime Salve,
De André continued his ongoing research into Mediterranean folk music since
Creuza de Mä, this time with arranger
Piero Milesi, who had also participated in
Le Nuvole. In addition,
De André asked his friend and distinguished colleague songwriter
Ivano Fossati to co-write the entire album. The influence of
Fossati is plain to see, and occasionally his voice can be heard even louder than
De André's own in
Anime Salve. Roughly half the album is made of the long, slow, atmospheric, keyboard-dominated compositions so typical of
Fossati's work, reminiscent of
Peter Gabriel's late albums such as
Us or
Up . The moving title track, sung together with
Fossati, is a perfect example of this tendency. The other half, instead, consists of pieces based on Mediterranean or Balkan rhythms or dances, such as the rousing "Dolcenera," very much in tune with previous
Pagani-
De André projects.