Just A Moment

A couple of observations:
1. To the question "80% of foreign 'rock' bands write bullshit. So why adopt double standards??" the answer is that we Italians know very little English, so when we listen to foreign songs we focus on the melody; however, when we listen to Italian music, we pay attention to the lyrics as well. I agree with you that the CCCP were revolutionary in Italy for music, but to most people this went unnoticed compared to Ferretti's dialectics, which may be fragmentary, rhetorical, disconnected, etc., but is still brilliant (even in the CSI parentheses).
2. "The CSI had appropriately closed an era with the masterpiece 'Linea Gotica'." That's not true; after 'Linea Gotica' there were 'Tabula Rasa,' 'La terra,' 'La guerra,' etc., and 'Noi non ci saremo' (1 and 2). If you meant to say that 'Linea Gotica' was their last masterpiece, I only partially agree... 'Tabula Rasa' is not a masterpiece but was still successful; 'La terra,' etc. is, in my opinion, an essential episode of their career. On the other hand, we could have done without 'Noi non ci saremo'... but then again, they had already released a greatest hits when they were still CCCP.

Great review, perhaps a bit too lengthy and rhetorical at times (but we are talking about Ferretti, and it fits the character). After reading it, I immediately wanted to listen to the CD. Honestly, I’ve only really listened to "Montesole" by the PGR, which didn’t excite me. Just the titles already get me excited (let’s hope the contents do too...)

In my opinion, for the lyrics, the music, the complexity of the theme, etc., this is De André's most beautiful album. Only "Tutti morimmo a stento" can compete. A personal and heartfelt review. Useless? Perhaps... but I still enjoyed reading it.

My fault: I checked and indeed "Fuga" is not present on this album... Another reason not to give the album a 5. (And another reason to lower the rating of the review too! :-) )

If we really want to make it a matter of votes, I would give a 5 to the following Conte albums: Paris Milonga, Appunti di Viaggio, and Paolo Conte 1984. But every album, except for Raz... and some tracks from the two debut records, is noteworthy. After De Andrè, the Italian singer-songwriter I admire the most (in fact, musically speaking, the Italian singer-songwriter I like the most).

In my rating system, a 4 is a very high score; I've reserved 5 stars for just one review (so far). Gathering all of Conte's best songs into a single anthology was, it must be acknowledged, a daunting (and perhaps impossible) task, but the absence of "Diavolo Rosso" and "Parigi" is unforgivable (my goodness, how "mean" I am today). As for the review, I agree that it could have been done better (probably it doesn’t say anything more for Conte's fans).

Just a clarification: "It is indeed unimaginable to listen to a Paolo Conte song sung by another artist, because it would certainly sound like another song." In reality, many artists have interpreted Conte's songs (see Avion Travel, etc.) but with very different results (let's say different, not worse). The only one who, in my opinion, manages to preserve the verve, the Conte style is (that crazy guy) Jannacci. It was necessary to highlight this...

I should mention that I did not take the time to read all the comments. As you can see, I gave the album the same rating as you did. Despite this, I didn’t like your review because, in addition to putting too much on the table, you write inaccurate things. First of all, it's worth mentioning (if it hasn't already been said) that this CD was merely a commercial gimmick by EMI, not desired or cared for by Guccini (as he wrote in one of his books). That Guccini’s voice has diminished over the years is a true and obvious observation. But this CD also contains tracks recorded a long time ago… Let’s be honest, it’s a meaningless compilation, with neither head nor tail, absolutely not comparable to the "Album Concerto" or the old Live "Tra la Via Emilia e il West." But let’s try to be realistic: we cannot expect an artistic masterpiece from Guccini's live repertoire. After all, Guccini's songs are listened to more for the lyrics than for the music and the interpretation. However, in recent years the arrangements of the studio albums have improved. But out of curiosity, why did you buy the album?

One last consideration... yes, it's true, "Brazil, unlike the United States, presents a mixture from which the components cannot be discerned; there is no black or white, but an infinite number of shades," but... try looking at the politicians, the writers, not to mention the Formula 1 drivers: they are almost all white. A sign that the European class still holds economic power (as in the USA).

The reference to Pelé and Garrincha was just a pretext to "contextualize" the album. Garrincha, if anything, could have been the symbol of carnival and samba. Returning to the music: yes, you are right, Brazilian music is born from the blend of European melody and African rhythm, with certainly some indigenous elements. After all, it was the same thing that happened with rock and jazz. Again, you are right when you say that bossa nova emerged in the late '50s and is inextricably linked to the period of economic growth, the anxiety for progress, and confidence in the future. But bossa nova was music for the middle-to-upper class and certainly cultured (can we use the term bourgeois?). That’s why I called it "more European." Certainly, Brazil was characterized by the crossing of races (I have indeed written that it represented the utopia of an interracial society that is realized), but... Gilberto, Tom Jobim, and Vinicius were white. It must be acknowledged, however, that compared to European light music, the themes (love was not sung about, for example, but saudade...) and the rhythm were quite different, certainly already "Brazilian." It's true that the '60s should also be remembered for the phenomenon of tropicalismo, which is indeed more tied to the multicultural and African roots, but I believe that this is another story. Certainly, this album is not the first bossa nova album, but it is the most famous one. At least for us Europeans. I wanted to tell the story of the encounter between Stan Getz and bossa nova. For this reason, I overlooked his other albums, which are undoubtedly extraordinary but which I admit I know little about. Finally, this album was probably conceived and created as commercial (especially on Getz's part), but it doesn’t seem to me a good reason not to appreciate it, because it was crafted down to the smallest details, played by extraordinary artists (some at the peak of their careers). The fact that it has more pop melodies compared to other Brazilian music is, in my opinion, the reason why this album appeals to everyone.