Gianna Nannini -Io e te
She poses on the cover with her baby bump and, undeterred, continues to blend (a lot of) pop and (a little) rock, just as she has accustomed her audience to for years now. The strings in "Ti voglio bene" are the sign of an artist who is always too similar to herself but (and this must be acknowledged) tremendously consistent. As usual, her faithful Isabella Santacroce collaborates. "Ogni tanto" is even co-written by Pacifico: what a fine crowd. more
Eros Ramazzotti -Dove c'è musica
Right now he’s a war machine. He’s moving at a breakneck pace and seems more in tune than ever with his (inexhaustible) audience. “Più bella cosa” sends him soaring up the charts, while “Stella gemella” confirms him as the champion of a pop that is as simple as it is, deep down, incredibly international. “L’aurora” is dedicated to his newborn daughter, and his love story with Michelle Hunziker fills the pages of national (and not only) tabloids. more
Gianna Nannini -Puzzle
Surprisingly, her watered-down rock crosses Italian borders. In Germany, she becomes a major diva and takes half of Europe by storm with "Fotoromanza" (followed by a video directed by Michelangelo Antonioni). Italian melody and European electronics blend into a strange hybrid that, incredibly, works perfectly. more
Gianna Nannini -Profumo
Swept up by a success that was perhaps unexpected, the collaboration with Conny Plank continues. The album goes into heavy radio rotation: "Profumo"; "Avventuriera" and "Bello e impossibile" are the passport to a triumph that is at times inexplicable. radiofonica: more
Sun Kil Moon -April
April is a river that flows slowly, dense, full of bends, sometimes stopping to watch the ducks and then continuing on its way. more
Vasco Rossi -Gli Spari Sopra
The "new" Vasco is a bundle of fury and anger, but he channels it in a confused way. The album, one of the artist's most famous best-sellers, is too long and inconsistent. "Stupendo" is a generational manifesto that leaves its mark; "Vivere" is the track that moves, and surprises, the fans. But there is also a lot—too much—of unnecessary clutter and here and there there’s a bit of self-pity. The mountain has labored and brought forth a mouse. more
Vasco Rossi -Il Supervissuto
A compilation of already well-known tracks plus an unreleased song ("Gli sbagli che fai") of very light (to say the least) craftsmanship. He stars in a TV series, "Il supervissuto," which tells the story of his feats and legends. Despite everything, he’s still going full throttle. more
Vasco Rossi -Buoni O Cattivi
It's a sales record: Vasco seems to be totally in sync with his (inexhaustible) audience. But the album is one of the worst in his discography: as monotonous as a flatlining EEG, needlessly frivolous (and stupid) at many points, exhausting in its obsessive quest for any kind of chorus ("Un senso"). It dominates radio and TV, commercials and billboards. But it (seems) to have nothing left to say. vendite: discografia: more
Vasco Rossi -Nessun pericolo... per te
Now resigned (or satisfied?) to the joys of home life, he loses his anger, inventiveness, and anarchy (but, truth be told, he had already lost them some time ago). He calls Polanski (parbleu) and has him direct the video for "Gli angeli," but his aura does not cross Italian borders. "Sally" is a masterpiece; what revolves around it is (much) less. more
Oasis -Definitely Maybe
Seven (!) platinum records mark the debut of the most controversial group (loved and hated in equal measure) of '90s Brit-pop. The melodies and moods are typical of the most radio-friendly pop, and that’s a limitation, but the execution is of immense sophistication, which is a merit. Tracks like "Live Forever" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol" hit the mark effortlessly: young people follow them with an enthusiasm (perhaps) worthy of a better cause, but Oasis, at this moment, are in spectacular form, despite the already escalating tensions between the Gallagher brothers, destined to explode in the years to come. more
oasis -(what's the story) morning glory
The perfect, or almost perfect, Oasis. They push hard on the pedal of the most consumable pop and hit a series of almost admirable harmonies and choruses, riffs and melodies. "Wonderwall" is the calling card of English pop for the decade (and even Thom Yorke would fall under its spell), while the piano opening of "Don't Look Back in Anger" benignly reveals an undying Beatles passion that the Gallagher brothers have never hidden. It's also worth mentioning the remarkable "Roll with it" and "Cast no shadow," as well as the masterful closing entrusted to the nearly 8 minutes of the epic "Champagne Supernova." more
Pino Daniele -Dimmi cosa succede sulla Terra
Considered, wrongly, a minor work (like the previous album, "Non calpestare i fiori nel deserto"), it is, in reality, a record as simple as it is refined, where immediacy is not always a mortal sin. On the radio, the smash hit "Che male c'è" bounces around, followed closely by the delicate "Dubbi non ho." He is in tune with the public as he hasn't been for a long time: Pino Daniele's carefree '90s years have, all things considered, been a blessing from Heaven. Lots of guests: Giorgia; Raiss degli Almamegretta; Noa. tempo: ospiti: more
Mango -Sirtaki
Culmine by Mango is one of the most beautiful Italian albums of all time. Pleasant, soothing, charming just the right amount, it skillfully blends local pop with Mediterranean sounds closer to Greece: "Nella mia città" and "Tu... sì" are two Perugina kisses that hit the mark, but the title track and the big single "Come Monna Lisa" are gems above the average of Italian music of that era. Gran Mogol wrote the lyrics. Grecia: more
Luciano Ligabue -Lambrusco, coltelli, rose & pop corn
It starts to repeat itself. The second album is, no less, a sequel to the debut, a bit less convincing but still very well played, with some spot-on riffs ("Sarà un bel souvenir"; "Urlando contro il cielo"). "Camera con vista sul deserto" leaves you speechless, other things less so. more
Litfiba -Terremoto
Having shed their skin as a hard and pure emerging rock band, Litfiba transform (to the great dismay of their early fans) into a top-chart group champions of a rock closer to pop. Scandal: come on, it’s just the natural evolution of a band that understood that the ’90s can no longer be musically treated like the ’80s. "Firenze sogna"; "Soldi"; "Dimmi il nome"; "Maudit" echo on all the radios. The quality is very high, but the disputes between Renzulli and Pelù become increasingly persistent, and the subsequent works will mark both their friendly and musical end. Scandalo: more
Elio e le Storie Tese -Italyan, Rum Casusu Çikti
Opus "elico" no.2. Their masterpiece. Played brilliantly, it is a mix of fun, beautiful music, and unrestrained quoting. "Pipppero" is the summer 1992 hit, but the songs that go down in history include, among others, "Uomini col borsello"; the most unlikely superhero of all time, "Supergiovane," and the wicked "Servi della gleba." Participating, laughing along: i Pitura Freska, Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bisio, Riccardo Fogli. Hilarious. ridanciani: more
Ligabue -Ligabue
As a debut, nothing to object to; if only he had always continued like this. In an Italian musical landscape that at the end of the '80s seemed to have little to say, Ligabue burst in with his guitars, his riffs, and a healthy desire for rock that blends the Springsteen-like world of the great American prairies with the moody and foggy atmosphere of the Bassa Padana. "Angelo della nebbia"; "Balliamo sul mondo"; "Bar Mario"; "Piccola stella senza cielo" are the calling cards that captivate millions of young Italian rockers. It will prove to be a flash in the pan, a pity. more
Fabrizio De André -La Buona Novella
The Apocryphal Gospels are the foundation of the beautiful reinterpretation of the life of Jesus, man and not God, as portrayed by the Genoese singer-songwriter. The not-yet-famous PFM plays with him, and in the bigoted Italy of the ’70s, it was a strong, and healthy, gut punch. Perhaps a bit too raw musically (the first part is quite monotonous), but tracks like "Via della croce" and "Tre madri" are ones to memorize. It closes with the epic "Il testamento di Tito," an idyll. more
Francesco Guccini -Due Anni Dopo
More musically refined than the previous one, Guccini nonetheless does not give up minimalism. Poems, more than songs. Luxurious stuff, though: "Lui e lei"; "Al Trist"; "Vedi cara"; "Giorno d'estate"; "La verità". Serving as a crown, the combative "Primavera di Praga". I Nomadi, more popular at this moment, help him as performers of his songs; in fact, he still sells very little. more
Francesco Guccini -L'ultima Thule
At the end of a long journey, the ship vanishes and even the memory of it disappears. Guccini's latest work leaves a mark, and it is his best album in many years: the title track, with its Arabian flair, works wonderfully, as does the fourth song, "Di notte" (definitive, commanding). The bitter sweetness of "L'ultima volta" portrays an existentialist and fatalist artist like no other in Italy, but what surprises most is the vaguely Fellini-esque excursus of "Gli artisti." Safe travels, Maestrone. qua: more