Italian 45s

Anna Identici – Era bello il mio ragazzo/
E quando saro' ricca
Ariston, AR.0537, Made in Italy, 1972

I have quite a large 45 collection but I don't buy many in thrift stores any more. Reason for this is that you hardly ever find them with their original jackets—most don't have one at all, which leaves the vinyl unprotected and all scratched up. It seems that a lot of 45s available in the US came out of jukeboxes and have therefore been played too often and are separated from their cover. When I do browse through the supply (not every thrift store carries 45s anymore). Hardly ever do I find one that is both interesting and in good enough shape. And when I do buy one it is almost always European. Apparently there's more of a 45-with-jacket culture in Europe, and almost all 45s in my collection stem from the time I was still living in Europe. But just yesterday I ended a long period of not expanding my 45 collection with the purchase of three Italian singles, the first ones of 2013. My favorite of the three is the one pictured above by Anna Identici. Both sides are really nice, they're happy and sweet, side A being the happier, while side B is the sweeter. I don't speak Italian, so my happy/sweet judgement may well be far of the mark, especially considering the bloody design of the jacket and the last word sung on side B which is "finita". And it is side B that I chose to share, the sweetest of two, it's called E Quando Saro' Ricca.