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Rating: On the fourth attempt, Gino D'Eliso makes a strike, crafting 40 minutes of perfection under the name of Cattivi pensieri.
Year 1983. A splendid forty-year-old, as the Radio Capital column would say.
Eleven tracks with virtually no weak points, with the superb production of the CGD label.
It begins with "Orient Express," which is indeed a train journey among Japanese, Afghans, Persians... leading to the Balkans! A better start couldn't be imagined.
"Cattivi pensieri," understood as the title track, is pure poetry, and it’s worth quoting some verses:
Ah, the nights of Seville
Cold wine under the lindens
...
Aquatic summer in Milan
Anguish and watermelon hand in hand
Or a holographic September
Up in Trieste there awaits
"Mittelautunno" is precisely the realization of the anticipation in the just-cited verse. A beautiful track.
"Canzone d'amore" also proves to be of great quality and would be re-released in 2011. The guitar finale is spot on.
However, "Yoli-ho" is amusing, closing the side A of the vinyl. The chorus cites the title many times.
You flip the vinyl, and immediately a classic by Gino appears, "Dentro i bars," with the 's' rightly present because the word is of English origin. A great track, to be fully enjoyed.
"Tango sorpreso" carries with it an interesting anecdote. Gino had called it "Tango malvino," referring to the Falkland Islands, which are near Argentina. But since the previous year the Falklands War had broken out between Argentina and the United Kingdom, with the latter emerging victorious, producer Caterina Caselli suggested D'Eliso change the title for a less "political" connotation. The song is sung with a falsetto imitating opera singers, and it's an engaging piece.
Another classic is "Magari fosse Natale." On YouTube, there is a live video from that era with Gino in great form. I recommend watching it.
Speaking of the United Kingdom, the next song is "Belfast," a pure and hard rock piece where the desire to travel emerges.
The penultimate track, "Che fine ha fatto Andalù?" features frantic keyboards reminiscent of both Kraftwerk and the emerging new wave, with a fully rhymed text that fits the music well. Andalù was the assistant to Professor Angelo Lombardi in the historic show L'amico degli animali, which aired in 1956 and 1957. It’s a way of saying, "what happened to those times?"
The album closes with "Come in un film muto," where you can glimpse music vaguely reminiscent of Nino Rota, in line with the theme discussed.
I definitely give Cattivi pensieri 4 stars, it is Gino D'Eliso's most convincing work along with Ti ricordi Vienna?, but musically, while not overtly punk, it still maintains a rock style too unique to appeal to the masses, and popular success would not favor the Friulian singer-songwriter.
Indeed, after this LP, Gino would stop recording until the new millennium, nevertheless contributing to make his previous works cult pieces.
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