Edoardo Bennato
Kaiwanna

A decidedly surprising album is what Edoardo released in 1985. An album that perhaps caused the first (some possibly already began after "E' arrivato un bastimento" from '83) rifts among fans of the Neapolitan singer-songwriter. On one side, the nostalgics of the unique, unmistakable, and highly original Bennato of the second half of the 70s; on the other, those who look beyond certain stylistic changes and follow a line that prioritizes, as the most important and possibly sole parameter of judgment, the beauty of the songs. I belong to this second group. So, I couldn’t care less that Bennato changed his style. I listen to this album, I like it. And therefore, I listen to it gladly, and that's it. Without reservations.

"Kaiwanna" to me is an excellent album. Powerful, yet balanced. Psychedelic, wonderfully psychedelic. A choice of special sound effects so perfect, studied, and meticulous that perhaps I've only heard it from Pink Floyd. If the initial Bennato production seemed influenced by Dylan, it cannot be said that Bennato was insensitive thereafter to the passion for "hard" music that was blooming in the world music scene, with the emergence of the first hard rock and heavy metal bands in the late 60s. This work probably aims to open and close this parenthesis in some way and synthesize these influences in these 8 songs that even an Italian listener might eventually find themselves perceiving.

Let's move on to the individual tracks: the opener is "Hero Fantasy": a furious and relentless drum precedes the entry of Edoardo's voice and keyboards. A splendid atmosphere is immediately created, projecting us onto another planet. Verse and chorus follow wonderfully and after the slowing of the percussion, violent guitar shots introduce a magnificent crescendo finale. Moving on to the second track, "In Search of the Future": here the drums are less prominent, but the keyboards dominate and the atmosphere is the same as the previous song. The song is much slower than the first, except for some wonderful sudden drum and guitar hits. In the same vein as the first two songs, yet with a decidedly more engaging and continuous rhythm, is "Zero in Conduct," another beautiful song. It continues with two slightly different tracks. In my opinion inferior to the others, but masterfully placed in the middle of the album to appropriately interspersing the main theme: the jazzy "Relax" and the mostly instrumental "Kaiwanna." Mostly because there are also some indecipherable words by Edoardo at the beginning of the track and some wonderful high notes by the soprano Angela Cantiello.

After this diversion, the return to the main line is violent: a riff of a wild guitar and subsequently followed by a drum, opens the metal "Asia": if at first Edoardo's voice is quite calm, in the chorus it aligns with the instruments and unleashes all its splendid power. "Five Centuries Ago" follows, a piece that aligns with the first three, but in my opinion, it's inferior to them. An album like this couldn't lack a grand finale. Percussions and distortions cease to rage. The journey that projects us into space has now reached its sweetest, romantic, and introspective component: it's "Look There," the cherry on top that closes the album with a breathtaking finale.

To conclude: in my opinion, an excellent album. For a classic Italian listener, it might not be easy on the first listen, but the songs are beautiful, very beautiful. It's not suitable for those seeking music from the 70s Bennato and for those not open to listening without suspicion to other aspects of his music. Instead, I especially recommend it to those who, in addition to Bennato and his healthy irony, are fans of Anglo-Saxon and American rock: they will find this album decidedly more direct compared to a classic Italian listener.

Note: in some CD versions, a ninth track "Nisida" (single from 1982) was added, in others "And instead no" (single from 1981).