Edoardo Bennato
Abbi Dubbi

1989: one year before Italia 90 and the World Cup anthem song "Un'estate italiana" performed by Bennato himself along with Gianna Nannini, the album Abbi dubbi wins the Festivalbar: these are the last times the Neapolitan singer-songwriter, a historical figure in our music scene, will capture the attention of the general public. In the first half of the nineties, Edo will indeed release very mediocre albums; he will redeem himself later by releasing two very beautiful albums in 1995 and 1998, which, however, won't be enough to restore even a fraction of the popularity he once had.

As we mentioned: victory at the Festivalbar: well-deserved. Because this is surely one of the best albums by the Neapolitan artist. It is certainly a distant relative to the Bennato albums of the seventies, compared to which it is less original, but decidedly more mature. Having moved past the experimental phase of the early eighties (which I still find very valid and influential even on his later albums), this work continues in the vein of Ok Italia. Edo's voice is far more powerful compared to his early years, and the instrumentation, though less distinctive, is more complete and enveloping. The themes range from urban neighborhood problems to love, from magnificent tributes to mothers and guitars to the story of the Moon landing seen through two very different perspectives.

Let's move on to the track-by-track analysis: the album opens with "Sogni", a beautiful song that addresses and, in a way, summarizes this theme that has inspired many of Edo's previous songs; a truly touching chorus that reminds us how dreams walk beside us and can never escape us: they are within our power. The second track, "La Luna", is a ballad that opens with a brief account of the day Neil set foot on our satellite after a long wait culminating in reaching a place that had always been distant. But this conquest is also seen as the emblem of man's lust for power ("…But she is the Moon, and she is not the American dream/no one can change her…") which seems to have overtaken this celestial body that has inspired everyone's dreams ("…and when evening comes, she knows what she must do: she must color the dreams of those who look at her and fall in love, of those who want to remain alone with her…"). The third track is a tribute to Edo's favorite instrument: "La chitarra", one of the best pieces on the album. That guitar which he undoubtedly exalts as the ultimate instrument: just looking at it gives you an overwhelming urge to pick it up and play it.

Next is "Stasera o mai", a piece inferior to the previous ones, which tells of a last chance to win over a girl. With the next track, "Mergellina", we return to high levels: a truly captivating twist-rock, rhythmic and engaging, speaks somewhat casually (the rhythm reigns supreme) about this neighborhood of Naples overlooking the sea. We arrive at "Viva la mamma", one of Edo's classics and one of the classics of all Italian music. Perhaps more of Italian music than of Edo, as although it is a well-known song that we've all heard in many forms, it must be said that Bennato's fans have almost forgotten that he wrote it himself (Edoardo himself never included it in live setlists), judging it a pure commercial operation, in my opinion, not unjustly. It is certainly a pleasant and interesting little song, but it is certainly not a pinnacle of Bennato's entire production or of this album, although it is indeed a pinnacle of Italian song. Let's move on to the title track: the classic "Abbi dubbi", a hard and very fast rock, with a powerful chorus enriched by the choir: it is perhaps the track that most closely resembles the old-style Bennato. In this piece, Edo brings out all his passion for music, the only certainty, the only way out one can have amid a sea of doubts, the only thing for which love is unconditional and can never end. "Vendo Bagnoli" and "Ma quale ingenuità" are two tracks inferior to the others. The first, however, is well-composed and interesting because it ironically addresses the environmental degradation of the Neapolitan district, while the second seems to be just a filler to complete the album: a distorted voice (from the video clip we discover it's the recorded voice of a jukebox) hums with a few background instruments. Then we move on to "Zen", another very rock piece, which talks about the backwardness of "Zona Espansione Nord", a Palermo ghetto neighborhood. The album closes with "Abbi dubbi (rock version)", an instrumental version of the title track.

In conclusion, one of Bennato's masterpieces, to be shared with anyone who loves 80s Italian rock. It contains very beautiful songs and is the perfect synthesis of Edo's old style with the new one. And it is absolutely not commercial (except for "Viva la mamma") as deemed by Bennato's former fans, those for whom after Sono solo canzonette, nothing was good enough. It's simply not as original as the early works, but it has many elements generally characteristic of Edoardo's music.