Of the songs contained in the album, only four were previously unreleased; the other ones are re-recordings of tracks originally issued on 45-rpm records during De André's early stint with the Karim label.

All tracks are written by Fabrizio De André, except where notedThe fifth verse of "Marinella", as De André originally wrote it, was notably more explicit in its depiction of the actual rape act: "It started with a caress and a little kiss / then he moved straight onto a blowjob; / and under the threat of a straight razor / you were forced to spit and swallow."

However, by the time he went into the studio to record the song, De André was well aware of how strict Italian censorship was in seizing upon even the tiniest hints of explicitness (having previously experienced censorship on his earlier song "Carlo Martello") and decided not to record the explicit verse at all; he rewrote it as "There were kisses and there were smiles / then it was only cornflowers, / which, as your eyes were looking at the stars, / saw your skin shivering to the wind and the kisses," which made a better fit to the overall "sweet" mood of the lyrics.

However, De André did include the alternate verse in his earliest live performances, starting from his very first concert residency in 1975 at the famous "Bussola" nightclub in Viareggio.

[2] On the other hand, a critic for Corriere della Sera, reviewing the opening night, unceremoniously referred to the performance as a "porn version of Marinella".