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Rating: Davide Van De Sfroos knows how to sing, how to write, and how to arrange music. There is never, in any album of the artist from Lake’s work, a song that leaves a bitter aftertaste, that unfinished or unsatisfying feeling or poor taste that is often felt in Guccini's works from the 70s and 80s, in poorly orchestrated Dylan, in Claudio Lolli, and so on.
The music, the folk of “Brèva e Tivàn,” draws towards America, to the Mississippi, and Davide will eventually arrive there with Akuaduulza. The album starts with country music, and immediately “Foemm e Prufoemm” sets things straight, meaning the main themes of the album: the Bar seen as a separate hemisphere, the Nocc (night) as a crown for everything, and the Fantasmi (pronounced “Fantashmi”) keeping the memories and stories of the characters alive. In the album, it’s the characters of the lake who narrate, they are Tugnèn and Orzowey, they are Mario Musca and the man in the sleeveless shirt, and the lives of Genesio and the escapes of the Cau Boi find their place. These are journeys into the infinitely small stories of the provinces, common to all those who live far from cities. And then there are the men who create these stories and those who narrate them. Davide knows how to do it, he knows how to paint his world with unique skill and taste, comparable to Guccini the portrait artist (“Il Frate”, “Il Pensionato” and so on). “La Balera” is musically perfect, it has a very amusing text and sticks in the mind immediately. “Il figlio del Guglielmo Tell” and “Il duello” are the theater-song parts of the album, as well as being two excellent and entertaining pieces. “La Balada del Genesio”, “Pulènta e galèna frègia”, “Ninnananna del contrabbandiere” and “Brèva e Tivàn” make up the poetic, existentialist, and most convincing part of the album. All great pieces, on par with the great Italian songwriters and arranged with taste. “La nocc” and “Cauboi” are a step below, but they are excellent tracks and gain much when played live, especially “Cauboi”, which is the fans' anthem as well as a portrait of the lake dweller, who goes to Milan and Lugano only to return to work on a “lunedè che el par un cucudrill.” “Hoka Hey” is poorly rendered, too reggae and doesn’t hold up: live, it's something else. “Cyberfolk” is irritating, but live it drags on for 15 minutes with improvisations and is fun. On the album, it’s a track to forget.
A great album, not yet mature but with many gems and a language of its own in a world Van De Sfroos is creating. The dialect of Lake Como is not a limitation. It opens up a fan of endless horizons and variations. It's not just a gimmick to put on a show. “Brèva e Tivàn” loses its meaning without its language. This album is not just accordion: there is poetry.
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By Mr Pink!
An album that gives the listener: warmth, affection, and that hint of good humor typical of Van De Sfroos’ songs.
This, in my opinion, is the best work ever published by good Davide, it is dated 1999 but some tracks like “Cyberfolk”, “La balera” and others are still performed live, thus becoming real anthems.
