Cochi e Renato
Le Canzoni Intelligenti

I usually don't like collections, but apparently the only way today to listen again to the ironic and sharp nonsensical songs of these two giants of Italian comedy is this CD that came out a while back after the TV series “Nebbia in Val Padana.”

What I find serious, however, is that the reissue of the album was released alongside a ridiculously trivial magazine that talks about ‘smiles and songs,’ owned by an entrepreneur from Arcore. I don't expect or ask anything from people like Ramazzotti, Dirisio, Tiziano (yuck!) Ferro or similar, but if your name is Cochi Ponzoni, Renato Pozzetto (and, by reflection, Enzo Jannacci), given your more than noble past, a bit of coherence seems the minimum. I just hope they had nothing to do with this operation. Alright, let's talk about the album, which is better.

The beginning features the song that served as the theme for “Nebbia in Val Padana,” ironic and sharp, which fits well with the rest, which is a collection of all their greatest hits, from “E la vita, la vita,” to the beautiful parody of Inti Illimani, namely “El porompompero,” to the “Canzone intelligente” that will make everyone sing, that will make everyone dance, to the “Sputtanamento,” “La gallina” and all those catchy tunes that made an era in those times when there was only state television, and therefore RAI could afford to try some paths less easy than today. Those who have seen shows like “Il poeta e il contadino” (with people like Felice Andreasi and Enzo Jannacci, but especially the fantastic sketches of “Guardi che qui siamo su a milletre”) or “Quelli della domenica” (with Paolo Villaggio and the catchphrases of “Bravo, 7+”) know what I mean.

Some of the pieces present here may lose a bit because they have been re-recorded, maybe the immediacy of the two when they were young was better, now it seems a bit “forced,” for example, Renato's interpretation of “Il reduce,” a story set in the war “from '15 to '18,” when the protagonist is dragged to war to follow “that jerk of a Silvio,” or “Come porti i capelli bella bionda.” An album perhaps suitable for goofing around, perhaps, but I must admit that, even today, goofing around in the company of these two is extremely fun, even if sometimes one laughs bitterly, after all, it is always Jannacci's surreal comedy that dominates. Anyway, in this album there really is a bit of their whole world, though perhaps the “Solita predica” would have also been fitting (adapted to today's themes it might have been a bit too strong?).

For those who occasionally want to listen to an album a bit less serious than usual.