Adriano Celentano
C'è Sempre Un Motivo

If it were up to me, I would have never listened to this album. But it so happens that my brother is a big fan of Celentano, and he often makes me listen to his CDs. Initially, I was not inclined to listen to this “C’è Sempre Un Motivo,” but with the series of forced listens (since we only have one stereo and he is 11 years older than me), I learned to appreciate these songs; some really struck me. Needless to say, it's not a masterpiece; there are some tracks that are a bit redundant and not very original, but in this album, one can find numerous gems.

The first track, “Ancora Vivo” is truly impactful, a rather sad lyric, unlike the usual songs by Adriano. For a singer with fifty years of career behind him, it's hard to make songs that are still striking, but Celentano does it marvelously. The song is almost explosive at times, it's vibrant. The singing is perfect, harsh and mysterious at the right moment. Great start. Following is “Marì Marì”, with calmer tones, sometimes it’s a bit struggling. The melody isn’t very appealing, indeed it’s quite boring and repetitive. But Adriano manages to liven it up with his very expressive singing, especially in the final climax. And here lies the class of great performers; managing to bring practically dead songs to life with one's voice. “C’è Sempre Un Motivo” is the first single. When I heard it for the first time, I wasn’t very convinced; it seemed really bad. But with subsequent listens, the greatness of this very original track emerged, where Adriano ventures into a pseudo-rap alternating with more harmonious parts. The music is well-paced; he has fun parodying rappers with the yo-yo in the background. It all culminates in a crescendo of strings. Really excellent, very fresh. “Valeva La Pena” is a rather dark piece for the standards of Italian light music. Splendid arrangement of strings, insistent and dark. A dark verse introduces us to the bold and powerful chorus, which fades, and the strings return, even more, insistent and challenging. It's all garnished by the electric guitar that enriches the piece with the final solo. Then everything fades like fog. A fantastic piece, completely unexpected, that leaves you speechless... “Lunfardia” is a nice piece with rather oriental tones, with quite explicit lyrics, it sways slowly. But it can result boring mainly because it's sung in dialect. “Verità Da Marciapiede” is very engaging. What it lacks in musical originality, it gains in the sincere lyrics and the beautiful melody sung by Adriano with all his spontaneity. In the finale, a political hint, which will later make sense in his show “Rockpolitik.” The song ends with a spoken part, critical towards society. Here’s another excellent piece, already the fourth out of six... We come to the real flaw of the album; the remake of “Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck,” “Quel Casina.” I think it’s a rather unnecessary piece since the melody is almost identical to the original, and the lyrics add nothing to what the original piece already said, moreover in a much more incisive way. And right after is the masterpiece of the album, “L’ultima Donna Che Io Amo,” a wonderful piece. The melody is truly ingenious, in its crescendo which then unfolds with the entrance of the powerful guitars. But then it rises again, it's an intense crescendo that then quiets, sweetens, and starts again, very intensely. Every word is in its place; I wouldn’t move a comma in the lyrics nor a note in the music. The feeling of melancholy that the words leave completes the piece; one of Celentano’s best in recent years. “In Quale Vita” tackles themes already hinted at in the sixth track; musically, it's the evolution of “C’è Sempre Un Motivo,” a hybrid between ethnic and electronic music. The clapping of hands dictates the rhythm, and the continuous beats are then submerged by the wave of synthetic and blurred sounds. Adriano’s plaintive voice gives the finishing touch. Another gem. “Proibito” is introduced by sweet piano notes. But it feels overdone, the melody is nevertheless appreciable, the lyrics more than decent. Let’s say it could have been more original; maybe it’s the singing, a bit too much in Celentano’s style. “Vengo Dal Jazz” closes in the best way. A very fresh, original piece yet very classic at the same time. It seems like an American beer hall piece from the ’30s; you can almost see the cigar smoke rising while our singer performs at the piano. A jazz singer, black, who enjoys singing. Then he rises, descends the few steps that separate him from the audience, and mingles with the crowd.

Adriano Celentano, an eternal boy, is still capable of challenging himself. In conclusion, a more than good album; considering his age, it makes one think of all those young singers who get lost after two albums, overwhelmed by a new trend. Fortunately, there are also giants like Celentano... Score 7.5/10