Signor Rossi: Herr Rossi sucht das Glück – Music by Franco Godi

My favourite CDs all seem to hold good memories for me, but this one is different for several reasons:

1. It's the soundtrack album of a foreign TV series that I only got to see half the episodes of. Twelve editions of The Fantastic Adventures Of Mr Rossi were made, but once I'd 'discovered' it, I only ever spotted eight of them in the UK TV listings. Mr Rossi and his dog have a special place in my heart.

2. The happy occasion in my life when I most remember listening to this album was while waiting for a bus opposite Pakuranga Plaza one evening last year. I didn't have the CD, or even a walkman, on me, but for some reason my subconscious chose that moment to replay snatches of the tracks through my head, and it was great to cheer-up in such a drab (I think rainy) scenario.

3. Most of this album is in Italian, although bits of it seem to be in Spanish, I'm not 100% certain. The incredibly well-organised production team seem to have recorded some of the tracks in several different languages for overseas sale. The opening theme-song is here in about four tongues, including English. It's a real credit to the CD's editor that the title-character's one line of spoken dialogue in this – "Just call me Rossi!" is included as spoken by each of the local actors who voiced him.

I guess the absence of words to narrow the tracks' meanings actually frees my interpretation of them. On the other hand, although I enjoy this album immensely, no matter how much I might wish to, I can't sing along to it. The songs remain slippery and beyond my ability to classify.

4. The music, in case it hadn't come across above, is quite simply wondrous. The innocent mixture of guitar and flute takes me back to serene childhood, but not in a condescending or insincere way. The vocal artists sound like they love the songs as much as I do, and while a few tracks are lonely, all of them are embracing.

Also, filling out the album, several pieces are reprised by presenting their composite tracks in isolation. For example, the underscore to the opening theme is a terrific Cuban-sounding number when heard sans all the lyrics.

5. Lastly, much of this is just plain silly. Think of the Muppets. Many of their songs were silly. But if you took away their lyrics, what would you be left with? Several songs on here feature the singers performing such numbers, but without any actual words from any language, and they get progressively more and more bonkers. Fish Song is as nonsensical as music comes.

As I lay on my bed listening to this joy-filled CD once more tonight, again and again the same two involuntary words brushed quietly past my lips.

"It's beautiful..."

(and still available for purchase here!)