Claudio Baglioni
Viaggiatore Sulla Coda Del Tempo

Normally, I don't listen to Baglioni, except for the inevitable occasions when one of his songs happens to play on the radio.

My playlist usually consists of artists like Peter Gabriel, Yes, Genesis, Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Megadeth, Metallica, Rush, Marillion, Rammstein, Tori Amos, Caravan, Camel, Beatles, Bjork, etc., etc. But in the year 2000, due to a series of circumstances too long to explain, I came into possession of a free ticket for a Baglioni concert in Milan. That concert featured the show related to the just-released album, which was "Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo."

Unexpectedly, I quite enjoyed the concert, despite the fact that sometimes Baglioni's insistent high notes with a Roman twist put my listening ability to the test. And so, I decided to do something I wouldn't have thought possible: I bought the album in question.

What can I say, I liked this "Viaggiatore" a lot. I find the lyrics interesting and heartfelt, even though the form sometimes seems a bit too constructed in search of rhyme and effect... but I forgive him as it's often a beautiful effect.

The album's theme is the escape in search of oneself, and there are some really beautiful both sonic and textual images. Indeed, you encounter many electronic sounds and a search for sound that surprised me. The melodies are always beautiful (but this is overall a Baglioni standard), but what surprises are the arrangements and the lyrics, truly of much higher quality than I expected and almost "experimental" (considering the artist).

It starts with "Hangar", a declaration of a man planning to leave the symbolic Hangar where he has lived for years,

the time I take off
stand by
and I’ll say to myself go even though
I’m no longer a boy
to run away from home and leave

chasing and building dreams never revealed, with the hope of finally giving engine to his aspirations and desire for exploration.

I covered my secret
with a sheet inside a hangar
I’ll leave on a quiet morning
without anyone crying
...
while I polish my dream
that pushes me down like an avalanche
inside a rough need
to one day leave this hangar

Then come (in my opinion) beautiful reflections on traveling and the world in "Un mondo a forma di te"

better not to ever turn back when going away
because turning back is already a bit like returning, it’s already nostalgia

...

so you go not because there's something
to see but to see what's inside us
and you never see what you think you will find
but you always find what you never thought of

...

the whites put the blacks
to fight the yellows
to keep what
they took from the reds

the markets grew in the north
on the hunger of the south
mafias of the east
in the banks of the west

the mothers cried for the sons
who didn’t return
from a war in which
women were raped

the cowards acted strong
with the fate of the living
the good killed
all the bad

At the end, a beautiful chorus of African female voices counterpoints the singing.

Then there's the beautiful text of "Si io sarò" that with very evocative images describes the protagonist's inner journey in search of himself

I crossed labyrinths and porticoes
of my visions
I left myself in the vortices
of splendid illusions
I violated the lies of the codes
of good and evil
and aimed at twelve o’clock
of a vertical journey

...

I crossed with a leap the limits
of that plain
and jumped down without tremors
without a stunt double
then I climbed the mountain to the pinnacle
above the whole world
navigated in the great chalice
of the mystery sleep
and thought that we might be
dreams of someone
who knows if we many tiles
of a dark firmament

I realize if I continue like this, I'll end up writing 30 pages, so I'll stop quoting the lyrics and limit myself to a few brief observations.

In this album, Baglioni practically never talks about love stories, except indirectly and only in a few places, and the arrangements are much more electronic than one might expect from a melodic singer like him (see for example "Chi c'è in ascolto" which talks about Internet chat). There's a track "Mal d'universo" with very intense lyrics and a powerful electronic/orchestral arrangement that flows into an airy, sad and sorrowful chorus, which would deserve to be interpreted by an opera singer.
"Cuore di aliante" was the radio single from this album, and although pleasant, it doesn't do justice to the complexity of the "story" being told.

This album, from what I understand, was not particularly appreciated by the regular Baglioni fans, who found it "difficult" in terms of meanings and too different from the usual arrangements. An album I recommend to those who feel like making a "politically incorrect" gesture that might reveal surprises.

Guitarkeyb