Annalisa Scarrone
Non so ballare

Am I too generous, have I been captivated by De Filippi's sex appeal, the fact is that I don't believe Talent Shows are to blame for the terrible average level of today's Italian music, and beyond. Let's be clear, we are talking about a dreadful TV product where, moreover, music is treated more or less like GG Allin's corpse, but the idea that if it weren't for Talents we would be surrounded by many new Talking Heads and Minutemen does not convince me.

The album I'm about to review is the latest release of a singer launched precisely by what, among all the Talent shows, has the surprising capacity to summarize its most repulsive aspects (screaming girls in the audience, screaming girls among the contestants, Costanzo), namely Amici and it's "Non so ballare" by Annalisa Scarrone.

Well, the fact that on one side of the scale there are the Amici pasts forces me into a somewhat boring list of merits or at least something Rooock 'n' rooooaaaall to help banish the ugly&bad specter of De Filippi (and friends) and to counterbalance, at least in part, the situation. Now, Annalisa Scarrone studied classical guitar, flute, piano, and singing with a jazz-oriented teacher in her early years. Moreover, she was part of a metal band and an electronic music project (a duo to be precise, called Elaphe Guttata). But beyond this, which nonetheless demonstrates a certain inclination towards "authentic" music, what has piqued my curiosity are, very simply, her musical tastes. Sincerely, when I hear someone who aspires to be a professional singer say they do not know who David Bowie and Lou Reed are (this is the case with Alessandra Amoroso), I feel disheartened, but still, more generally, I believe that the average musical culture of singers produced by Amici does not go beyond Gianna Nannini. At least regarding this chapter, Annalisa Scarrone proves herself to be leagues above the average (not that it takes much, you might say...), indeed she boasts musical tastes including groups and artists that are not exactly immediate (at least by the aforementioned average) like Portishead, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Nick Cave, Joni Mitchell, and, to stay within national borders, Mina and Luigi Tenco.

You might say so what? Is that enough?!? No, absolutely not! If good taste and good intentions were enough to make good music, today we wouldn’t have hundreds of pseudo-punk groups claiming to be influenced by the Misfits, so back to our Annalisa (come on, be nice, I know you also have the fantasy of the cute girl with your same musical tastes...DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE) we have to start with the onerous task of evaluating her artistic journey in and of itself. My personal feeling is that there is a slow but steady attempt by Annalisa to approach certain paths little explored by Italian pop music (ok Emma, ok Alessandra Amoroso, but considering, for example, Pausini and Ramazzotti doesn't change the situation); this feeling is given by certain hints present in the latest album like the Nordic nuances or the presence of certain unusual instruments (tuba, sax...), in addition to her background previously discussed. To be clear, it’s not a masterpiece and I’m not even sure it can be considered a good album; half of the album is negligible and in the other half, only in three or four songs are there simultaneously an interesting arrangement, the bare minimum of originality, and a not overly banal text (particularly Alice e il blu, Io, tu e noi, and La prima volta) but it might be due to the fact that Annalisa can sing (let’s stop with the cliché that those who come out of Talents can sing but aren’t original...in most cases they can't even sing!) or due to a certain old-fashioned sobriety of the character in question, the fact is that even in the less valid songs some interesting nuances can be seen and at the end of the album something remains (and it's certainly not the homicidal/suicidal instincts post-listening to the Modà), so from my point of view, if the objective quality of the album is debatable, it is at least clear that this belongs to a completely different category from the albums published by other talentini.

After all these words about Annalisa (Hey, it’s not easy, it’s not the Pixies!) one thing is clear: to be able to listen to this album with serenity one must overcome a certain series of obstacles and barriers and this requires a great effort; it seems paradoxical but in some ways, it is more complicated to listen to (not even appreciate, just listen to) this album compared to objectively more complex and sophisticated groups, especially if one has an ear accustomed to a certain quality. Getting to the point, the fateful question is: is it worth it? Is this kind of effort worth it to appreciate Annalisa? As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know, maybe not for now, but well, given her musical background and the slow yet steady improvement of her products, I would bet a virtual euro on her (....which is relatively important since, in September, I had bet a virtual euro on Acerbi, sigh......).