SydBarrett96

The jazz influences are most noticeable in "Keaton," written with Claudio Lolli, while the alcoholic mood is present in "Scirocco," a snobbish and poetic song. The masterpiece for me remains "Van Loon," which recaptures that evocative poetry that has been somewhat sidelined in this album in favor of, as you say, a refined and elegant musical approach. Folk returns in the brief but intense "Culodritto." I confirm the five stars... and also the 9! Great definition!

By the way, Syd, regarding Keaton, have you ever heard Claudio's version? Claudio Lolli - Keaton

Beautiful this one too, even though Guccio's is still better!

Yes, I know Lolli's and it's just as beautiful. :)

Great music, great collaborations, great vibe, like a piano bar on a cold metropolitan night. The first two tracks are among the top ten best things written by Francesco. Perhaps a slightly unusual record for the singer-songwriter, yet always of high quality and very engaging. Unfortunately, starting from the fourth track onward, it doesn’t captivate me as much as the previous one: four stars, rating 8.

I like it almost as much as the previous one. Well, de-gustibus.

Very nice, the first part; it drops a bit afterward, but it's the good old Guccio! And then here we finally return to breathe some genuine folk. Except for Acque, which with its free jazz saxophones strongly recalls the atmospheres of the previous album. A masterpiece track nonetheless. But the best one on the record for me is Samantha! :)

...that I think Samantha herself was there with the saxophone, if I'm not mistaken....

Yes, let's say that after a masterpiece like "D'amore, di morte, ecc." a slightly less impressive album like this one is acceptable (still relatively speaking, because we are still talking about a nice album). My favorite, however, remains "Farewell," which is a masterpiece. :)

I wanted to say later, the previous one is "What doesn’t". :)

One of my favorite albums by Guccio. "Samantha" is spine-tingling, and I've had some serious ugly cries to "Farewell" (no joke!), but I also love a seemingly minor piece like "Parole," which, considering the lyrics, I think can be viewed as his manifesto of the '90s just like "L'avvelenata" was for the '70s. Furthermore, as a hardcore Dylan fan, I can't help but appreciate the nods and references to the minstrel from Duluth in the aforementioned "Farewell." A great album.

Yes, this is a kind of return to the folk of the beginnings, after the brief jazz interlude of the last two or three albums.

This is one of the very few works by Guccio that – mea culpa – I have listened to little and poorly. And to be honest, aside from the beautiful "Addio," which I always enjoy revisiting, I don't recall having appreciated it much, even though I remember its particularly dark and sad atmospheres. I think I really need to give it a second chance.

I've been stuck on Guccini for ages with the four albums that go from "Radici" to "Via Paolo Fabbri," and I've taken a half-hearted glance at "D'amore, di morte e d'altre sciocchezze." I think I need to get back into it, especially since Radici - Stanze di vita quotidiana - Via Paolo Fabbri is a truly beautiful triptych.

You don't know "L'Isola non trovata," pan? Then you absolutely need to check it out; it’s one of the must-reads from Guccio's 70s. :)

I loved this album (Stagioni is one of my favorite tracks by Guccio).

Few songs like "Autunno" and "E un giorno" have the ability to bring me to tears. A fundamental album.

My favorites are Odysseus and Christopher Columbus! A particular album, very well-crafted in terms of the music, that smells of saltiness with every single listen.

Am I the only one who thinks that "Una canzone" is a Top 10 track in his repertoire? Amazing, one of my all-time favorites! "Odysseus" and "Cristoforo Colombo" are also wonderful, and I would say "La ziatta" as well (I say "would say" because I obviously miss a lot of the lyrics, not being from Emilia :) ) Great album.

We should create a group, an association: "The Friends of Guccio". XD Anyway, I managed to De-Collect them all guys, I'm just missing "L'ultima Thule" and we'll be complete. :)

An association*, you know the problems with my phone.

Great idea, Syd! :) @ Zimmy: One song is extraordinary, and I’ll say you were right to mention it because I had forgotten to include it among my favorites.
"Made with seven essential notes, and four chords stitched in cross, above more than ordinary guitars, and a voice that isn’t a voice, but with lexical carambola, it can be a prism of refraction, crystal and philosopher's stone, soaring in the air like a falcon..."

Together with "D'amore, di morte..." it is Francesco's most technically complete album, after "Signora Bovary."

Great as usual, and thank you for reintroducing the entire work of Guccio just as I was re-listening to it, albeit after some unpleasant events. This unexpected sharing was exactly what we needed. "Una Canzone" and "Piazza Alimonda" are beautiful.

I fully agree!

Let's also do 10 valà. You managed to describe it in just a few lines and even impeccably.

I'm too into Guccio these days. :) Anyway, I almost never give a 10 to anyone, Dragon; for me, that grade almost doesn't exist. XD

It deserves to be listened to simply for the fact that it embodies the true spirit of singer-songwriter music (voice and guitar and little else). This is one of the reasons why my favorite album by De Gregori (for example) is "La pecora." I vote for a full four. The second one maintains the same philosophy but is definitely superior. The voice is also very beautiful for me, lofty like it never was before. A rain of classics (in a very captivating guise): Aushwitz, Canzone per un'amica, Noi non ci saremo, and Statale 17 are all here.

I adore "Good Friday," for example. :) From here, until "Roots," it will be more and more of a crescendo.

Fortunately, the live performance with the Nomadi allowed those thoroughbreds contained in this album to be refreshed and played as they should be. There you go... in fact, I prefer them in the arrangements from 1979.

I subscribe to Dos. :)

Yes, but when talking about studio albums in general, I prefer the originals by Guccio to those rearranged by Nomadi. Asia, for example, is more famous for the version by Carletti's band, but in my opinion, there's no comparison: the version of L'isola non trovata is a hundred times better (at least).

L'Isola Non Trovata is an extraordinary and untouchable album. Its tracks, in my opinion, remain perfect, also because unlike the two previous albums from 1967 and 1969 ("Folk Beat N.1" and "Due anni dopo"), it is the first record that marks the arrival of seminal musicians and professionals in the Italian post-beat music scene. As a "refreshment," I am indeed referring only to the "legendary" pieces from the first two LPs :)

a Good Friday for me too, thank you

This, along with Radici and Via Paolo Fabbri 43, is the first act of the masterpiece trilogy by Guccio, although his discography is generally of the highest level. This was innovative because it served as a preamble to the musically consolidated Guccini, after a sparse debut that was still vague stylistically, and a Due anni dopo, still sparse in music, but already starting to highlight the textual depth and musical philosophy of the singer-songwriter. L'isola non trovata, as you say, is truly the most hallucinatory piece in his repertoire. For years, in fact, I’ve kept wondering in what psychophysical state Francesco must have been when he composed it. But the most important thing is another: Here, Guccio really hit his stride and unleashed, for the first time in his career, his true potential, set to music alongside an unprecedented lyrical flair. ART.

I totally agree. :) I would also include the Stanze, though.

I know, Syd, but you also know that I really like Stanze, though I consider it a step below the albums I mentioned. For example, I prefer albums like Amerigo or Metropolis. De Gustibus.

Think that it was the first one by Guccio that I bought (the cassette!), nice, yes, then I went straight to Radici (this time CD), hello SydGuccioBarrett :D

I have everything in CD format, even though I also have "Radici" and "Via Paolo Fabbri 43" on vinyl. Hi Mad. :)

Great dischello. Then, at least for me, "Pollution" and "Sulle Corde Di Aries" are even better...

I don't know, I just can't call this a masterpiece at all; I find this album incredibly heavy. I much prefer Battiato's more mature work (from this album, I only enjoy listening to Fenomenologia and Energia; I struggle to assess the rest...)

Silas, I also prefer the next two. But those are just details. :) Selfadjoint, perhaps this one, among the first three, is the most fluid and enjoyable. Anyway, de gustibus.

I agree with both Syd and Silas, it's a great album, I'm very attached to it.

I really identify with the part where he says "And on winter evenings I stayed locked inside at moldering" :) but I don't find it that interesting as an album, even though it's still the best of Battiato's experimental work (along with Egitto before the sands).

For me, along with Pollution, they were a beautiful surprise.

..."..it was a beautiful surprise.."