Alberto Camerini
Rockmantico

In the vast array of Italian singer-songwriters of past years, I prefer Alberto Camerini among many, although the term "singer-songwriter" is not suitable for him, as "Artist" is much more appropriate.
I'm not going to repeat yet another version of Alberto's biography, but I will outline the key elements that characterize his persona, fundamental points for those who (unfortunately) are not familiar with him.

Alberto is a singer and a guitarist, he played with many other artists before "going solo" and creating a long journey consisting of a bizarre fusion of punk, new wave, rock, and opera.
Camerini turned everything he loved into art, and this art was primarily composed of cybernetic electronics, carnival - masks - clowns - parties, bright colors and materials if not synthetic or plastic, makeup and irresistible glam style, light drugs, Brazil and South America, "Rock-n roll" - a term he used to identify not only Rock'n Roll but also Hard Rock, Heavy, Punk, new wave, and electronic music, basically the "tough" music.

After having already reviewed the album which I consider the worst in his discography (I'm referring to Cyberclown, where present elements are modernized and thrown in a punk style), I will talk about my favorite one, which besides being my favorite in his discography is also one of my favorite albums in general: RockMantico.

The name of the album says it all, it is indeed cheerful, fun, and danceable rock music but at the same time contains very human, sensitive, and emotional lyrics. The year 1982, a year in which punk is an electronic punk, composed of synthesizers and science fiction sounds that create a genre present in itself: synth pop(rock) and New Wave. I love this album because it is the one that most embodies the "80s", with its fantastic easy-pop sound, the most digital-electronic, and above all it is the album where the figure of the Electronic Harlequin is most developed, which would later become Alberto himself in his famous disguise.

LP that narrated the adventures of Harlequin from an external perspective to the world, more inclined to analyze the creature's stories from a psychological profile of downbeat moods, human weaknesses, and existential crises. RockMantico fully embraces the novel by Marivaux, an 18th-century French author who wrote "Arlequin Poli par l'Amour" or rather: Harlequin polished by love.
Camerini was in a continuous phase of metamorphosis, and the RockMantico transition was quite different from his previous works, this one abandoned political struggles and Caribbean-Brazilian sounds, it had a great impact on the audience, but despite everything, he felt alive thanks to a unique category of fans, he tried to escape this situation by bringing the work of the 18th-century Italian Comedy to youthful environments like his "Rock'n Roll".

It was a huge success, something indescribable, a great surge in popularity, Alberto on all channels, on all radios and magazine covers... yet he was dissatisfied.
He sang among female mannequins and puppets, dressed in clothes he created as the "choreographer and designer" of his troupe, silver and shiny clothes, hair with mache and hairspray, and in his mind, he thought that people liked him and the music without understanding it.
It might seem blasphemous to compare Camerini to David Bowie, yet Harlequin just like Ziggy Stardust was the protagonist of a series of albums, and it was too difficult to eliminate.
We have electronic rock composed of three keyboards and two guitars, procreated by Camerini, Giaso, Rossi, Gnech, Stemby, and Edo.

Rockmantico is undoubtedly the LP that gives the colorful artist more satisfaction and popularity.
It begins with "Telex", a very melodic and digital song, full of synthesized sounds and always "carnivalesque" backgrounds even if interrupted by heavy electric doses of rock, the song highlights the computer as a means of communication, Camerini is convinced that in human dialogue there is expressiveness and manifestation of one's state of mind, and that a simple machine like a computer cannot compete in the task.
It continues with "Maccheroni Elettronici", an easy yet fantastic political satire song, electronic and melodic with a fun chorus. It moves into a more "rock" area of the album, already with "Stai con Me", hard and rocking but with a banal romantic text.
Camerini delights the listening also with some good old Hard Rock, that of "Mr Rock", with baroque-style backgrounds and an Italo-American text.

He doesn't hold back on punk, of the most classic kind possible in "Fanatico di Rock'n Roll", very melodic and addressing the theme of "Rock'n roll" as a means of escaping the problems that afflict man.
Then it's the turn of "Tanz Bambolina", a cult song of 80s Italy, with a strong dance and electronic matrix. Camerini talks about love, European world love and beyond.
"Arlecchino educato dall'amore", instead, is a fairytale-style song, very reminiscent of those old fairy tale records. It talks about Harlequin, too bold, almost not a joker but a king, dismissed by the King and educated by love.

The fairytale style and Marivaux's ideas remain both in "C'è un giardino", but especially in "Non ami" with a rhythm similar to a cartoon theme. Then Camerini ventures into pop in its most sugary form in an extremely romantic and slow song: "Proprio Tu".
The album concludes with "Questo Amore" once again electronic, melodic with a nice easy and catchy chorus.

I have presented you an LP fundamental in Camerini's life, which he increasingly rejected over time.

Camerini was depressed, on stage he enjoyed playing his mini toy Casio keyboard (who remembers the Tanz Bambolina video?) and bleaching his hair, but backstage he complained; he said his audience, especially regarding Tanz Bambolina, was composed of small children, teenage girls in love, and ULTRAGAY (I don't know why, Camerini uses this term several times in interviews to define Homosexuals); and thus no one who could truly understand the essential expressive art emanating from Harlequin and rock carnival.