Zimmy

One of my absolute favorite albums. However, "ante-litteram" not so much, as World music had been around for years even if not in this form (and that's where the originality of Faber and Pagani lies), it just hadn't occurred to anyone yet to turn it into a genre, to make it fashionable and call it World Music :D For that, Peter Gabriel was needed (and "Passion" is, by the way, another one of my all-time favorite albums).

Masterpiece, without ifs or buts.

Together with "Anime salve," my favorite by Faber, I'm missing a few of his albums, anyway.

"it's just that no one had yet thought of turning it into a genre, making it fashionable and calling it World Music." That was exactly what I meant by "ante litteram," HJ :)

And in vinyl it also sounds double. Magnificent.

Not my favorite by Faber, but damn if it's beautiful!

1 Saved Souls

2 We all barely died

3 Creuza de ma

For me, this is perhaps the most inspired album by the Prince in the last twenty years. Stunning, among his all-time peaks.

For me, it competes with the next one, "Take and Leave," which is also amazing. Both are albums I have been very attached to since I was very young, so I’m not sure how impartial I can be...

I completely agree with you, Zimmy. "Take and Leave" is also very beautiful.

Keep in mind that I got to know De Gregori's 70s work only later, so - without taking anything away from masterpieces like "Rimmel," "Buffalo Bill," and the sheep - for me, the true Prince is this one. And I would also add that, objectively, a text like that of "Un guanto," in Prendere e lasciare, has absolutely no equals in all the previous production.

I go through phases. Sometimes I prefer this one, other times that of the Sheep or Alice; I think it depends a lot on my mood. :)

Well, I feel the same way. The Prince is one of the few artists whose entire discography I unreservedly enjoy, from the first to the last. To give you an example, even with Dylan or Guccini, there are albums I don’t like; but with him, that has never happened. Ah, I just realize the big mistake I made earlier: of course, the "Bufalo Bill" by the Prince has only one "f" :)

Premising that there is no TRUE prince but a SINGLE prince of Italian singer-songwriter music, and that is him (at least for the masses it's like that). Then, whether one prefers one period or another is irrelevant: we are talking about the same person who simply wanted to experiment with different things throughout his career! This is very beautiful, and I would like to mention another one that I really like, which is "Amore nel pomeriggio," although I don't remember the year it was released. My favorite De Gregori will always be the one from "La pecora."

I totally agree, Dragon! I also really love "Love in the Afternoon," which is actually the next one after "Take it or Leave it," it should be from 2001 or thereabouts... what a trilogy! And then "Pieces," "Calypso"... he hasn't missed a beat!

I really like Caypsos because it focuses more on the pianistic, romantic, and intimate side. Aside from May Day, which brings a bit of rock reminiscent of "Il bandito e il campione," the atmosphere is very soft. Then there's also "Per le strade di Roma," which is the masterpiece of the album and one of the most beautiful songs composed by Francesco in recent years.

You are absolutely right. Among other things, I enjoy seeing "Pezzi" and "Calypsos" - considering the short distance between the release dates of both - as the two complementary parts of an ideal diptych, with the first being the more prominently Rock one, and the second the more delicate and introspective. Even though the first one has its share of delicate moments (like the stunning "Gambadilegno a Parigi" and "Parole a memoria"), the second one also features "Mayday"...

"Pezzi" and "Calypsos" are two really well-made albums, even if the Prince has never missed a shot for me (like Faber and Guccio), and for me, he stands on the podium of Italian music along with the two aforementioned. "Amore nel pomeriggio" is perhaps my favorite from the 2000s, probably the only one I give a full 5 ("Sempre per sempre", "Il cuoco di Salò"). I find "Per brevità chiamato artista," which is also very beautiful, to be quite underrated. :)

"Referred to as 'artist' for brevity" is an album intentionally more "modest" in tone and spirit, yet still of the highest quality. Speaking of Syd, sorry if I go a bit off-topic, can I ask how well you know and what you think of Bob Dylan? Just out of curiosity... since you probably know that the Prince has always drawn a lot of inspiration from Bob, I often enjoy uncovering influences and references to the master in his work :)

Well, what can I say about Bob Dylan: "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde On Blonde," two absolute masterpieces of songwriting ever. Imagine that in the very early years of his career at Folkstudio, the Prince alternated his own songs (some never published, but I would recommend you listen to them because they are very beautiful, like "De Gregori è morto" or "Mercatino di Fiori") with translations of Dylan, such as "Sad-Eyed Lady of Lowlands" and "Desolation Row."

Unfortunately, I haven't listened to any of De Gregori's first "unreleased" works. The translation of "Desolation Row," if I'm not mistaken, is the one that later became "Via della povertà" by Faber, right? Where De Gregori is credited as the author. I remember searching for the translation of "Sad Eyed Lady," which I was aware of, online some time ago and not finding it. Anyway, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Bob's production after the '60s, but it's a model that the Prince keeps very much in mind throughout his work. Have you ever listened to the album "New Morning," for example? There are many musical and lyrical cues that De Gregori has reworked for his songs, starting with "Winterlude," which is practically the model on which he has (explicitly) built "Buonanotte fiorellino."

I want to chime in for a moment to say that Per brevità chiamato artista is another amazing album: simple and profound. :)

Yes Zimmy, I know that Dylan album even though I prefer others. Anyway, yes, the version of "Desolation Row" is the one that ended up on Faber's "Canzoni". :)

Yes, in fact, the album I mentioned is absolutely minor, one of Bob's more modest episodes, but I was struck by its influence on many of De Gregori's works. I can actually say that I discovered Dylan thanks to the Prince, and then, after getting to know and love Bob's music, I was able to appreciate Francesco's production even more, which contains many references to that of the master from Duluth, while still remaining completely original and personal. :)

My favorite album of hers, sublime arrangements and a stellar guitarist.

In my opinion, the one from the '92-'01 triad stands in the middle. Musically, it's an excellent album, but personally, I can't rank it among the peaks of his discography. De Gregori has made definitely better albums, one above all being the one that concludes the trilogy, namely "Amore nel pomeriggio." In any case, for me, De Gregori's golden period ends with "Terra di nessuno" ('87).

Really beautiful. Adelante, Sangue su sangue, and Bellamore made me and my classmates love the Degre... always grateful to that man.

Oh yes, I think it’s worth listening to... even though I haven’t had the courage yet.... It’s just that I loved the first De Gregori (the one from the 70s)... and then he has almost always disappointed me... plus translating Dylan is tough, really tough...

In my opinion, a weak point is represented by the interventions of the central scrutinizer. In the long run, they are pretty useless in musical terms.