Edoardo Bennato
E' arrivato un bastimento

In 1983, Edoardo Bennato released "E' arrivato un bastimento," a (pseudo)concept album based on the fairy tale "The Pied Piper," following his previous two concept albums on other fairy tales, respectively "Burattino senza fili" on Pinocchio in 1977 and "Sono solo canzonette" on Peter Pan in 1980, interspersed with the 1980 album "Uffà! Uffà!," the strangest ever published by Edoardo himself and unfortunately constitutes a unique piece in his artistic career.

This album is either loved or hated, depending on your point of view: for some, it's the last noteworthy album of the Bagnoli singer-songwriter, for others, it marks the true beginning of the so-called "Bennato collapse." Leaning towards the latter hypothesis is perhaps the (supposed) commercial flop, after the successes of the two previous concept albums, both of which sold phenomenally in Italy. I say supposed because other colleagues from the era would likely have given a kidney to achieve such sales results, even though, as mentioned earlier, these sales were surely lower than those of his two illustrious predecessors.

In this work, from a musical standpoint, Edo experiments perhaps like never before, according to some too much: ska, reggae, blues, rock, ballads, even opera music ("Troppo troppo" interpreted by baritone Orazio Mori, in the vein of "Tutti insieme lo denunciam" from "Sono solo canzonette" and the draft of "Dotti, medici e sapienti" from "Burattino senza fili"), electronics, (almost) jazz, and even hard rock tending towards heavy metal: listen to the opening track "La città trema" to believe it!

So perhaps the problem was the lyrics? It must be said that the two previous fairy tale-concepts were taken as ever-current metaphors to highlight the ills and problems of society at the time (years later, it would occur to others too). No, this concept certainly does not make an exception when it comes to the lyrics: here too, the tale of the Pied Piper is taken as an "excuse" to denounce the atrocities and ills of society at the time, some unfortunately still very current.

We thus encounter, accompanied by "outcasts of every gender and age, societal rejects," the:

most powerful media of the era, the television, and its "brainwashing" capability and ultimately its ability to addict its viewers (To each their rightful dose, according to their naivety. All hanging on the thread of advertising. There's something for everyone but to each the right dose, from "Assuefazione," indeed); the creeping and rampant racism (Look, a black cat: run, it brings bad luck. If it looks at you, turn back. Don't let it escape, or misfortune will haunt you. Are we in the Middle Ages? There's no black and white, all cats are equal: they all need to be eliminated, from "Addosso al gatto"), the doubt about the truthfulness of History as it is passed down by those who wrote it (And common sense scattered here and there, and the Phoenix, who will find it. And the mythical prophets, giants of thought: will it be false, will it be true?, from "Sarà falso, sarà vero" with lyrics by his brother Eugenio); the illusion that we all have of being able to express a conscious vote in various elections, when in reality we are treated like subjects if not worse (Sometimes you protest, you make yourself bitter, but they are magicians, they read your mind. That's why every year when Carnival comes, they pull the ballot out of the hat. And closed in a booth, you, as a last illusion, put a cross at random wherever you like from "Eccoli i prestigiatori"); a tax system which was exceedingly fair even at the time, not to mention today (Please, chancellor, treasurer, proceed: the amount, considering the ins and outs, and after deducting VAT, ILOR, collection fees, contrition fees, and boiling fees, is exactly... three coins! It seems, in truth, a fair compensation and I believe that everyone is satisfied because it is beyond doubt that a million coins is an exorbitant price, too much, too much for a guy like you, from "Troppo, troppo"); plus various other assorted amenities.

So why did this album not have the same commercial success as its two illustrious predecessors? Someone might say it perhaps wasn't as inspired, which could also be true: after all, who would dare to criticize personal tastes? However, it's rumored that at the time, relations between Edoardo and his record label were not exactly idyllic and that the record executives did everything not to promote the album properly, after previously being heavily attacked by Bennato himself in the track "Il gatto e la volpe": in short, a real revenge as soon as the occasion presented itself! Borrowing the title of a track from this album, it's truly appropriate to say: will it be false, will it be true? No one will ever know for sure, naturally, but as someone once said, "thinking ill is a sin, but you're often right."

But perhaps the fact that this album, unlike the two previous "fairy tale" ones, didn't manage to reach the top of the charts isn't necessarily a bad thing, as evident from the (prophetic?) track always contained in this album "Specchio delle mie brame" borrowed, for the occasion, from another tale, namely "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs": "Mirror, mirror on the wall, I can't resign myself ah ah ah, I'm willing to do anything to return only to the top ah. Tell me, tell me, what's the price to pay: I'll give you anything you want." And what can it possibly be? Money? Sacrifices? Compromises? No worries, nothing so complicated: "My piece is simple, I want your soul."

And if you want to know what I think of the album, not knowing my total impartiality on the artist in question, I'll let the stars answer: five stars, of course!