Eneathedevil

Ihih, you came up with some finesse, especially that one about your own business! Eheh, you were straightforward and hit the focal point, no astigmatism here. Nice job with this maieutics. "A and then B, the choice followed this logic"... you’re putting a bug in my ear, but I won’t tell you which one. You’ll figure it out: it’s not difficult, so don’t resort to the usual stuff like "I’m old and I don’t understand". If you get it (of course you will), let me know. Bye bye!

But I don't care about Battiato, I care that they were part of the entourage. I've read and seen that this project included many people who gravitated around him and the Osage Tribe (another little group of prog freaks from the '70s), interesting. That was one of the first and most interesting hotspots of Italian music. Already active before the start of the Area and Perigeo era.

But you see, in your last period of good review productivity, I might take a glance, but often due to laziness I quickly scroll through the long pages and skip over: stuff that doesn't interest me. Here, in two meaty reviews, the noteworthy point, in my humble opinion, is the reference to the Bla Bla label that you make in one line, justifying your recommendation to lovers of the early '70s. Had I not read it by chance, I wouldn’t have been interested at all, as usual. So, in short, a dual exercise in writing that distracts from the focal point. My opinion. And your indulgence in the freak past doesn’t remind me so much of certain reviews, but rather films, books, even cartoons (there's a wonderful episode of Homer Simpson!). But it is what it is! So for you this one fits well in A and the other in B? Then it's false modesty, huh. Because you talk about the "real" review referring to the other one and you describe this one in the terms we have mentioned. Eh! Come on, it’s just like that.

Here you are much more interesting, despite the overall flood of words. The most intriguing indication is the mention of the legendary label Bla Bla where Battiato worked before moving on to Ricordi. This makes the album and its creators a great reason for interest. I will delve deeper.

It was a great idea, but you wanted to overdo it. This is why, this time, I’m truly borrowing your words: "exercise of terrible sentimental writing." A sentimental plot that may have been yours, but one that plays out in so many, too many stories I’ve heard. The ingredients: a serious adult, a freakish past, the regret of freedom. Feel free to criticize my critique, but if you allow me, for once I’ve just reported what you wrote: terrible sentimental writing. In the EC, the other one should have been there, not this.

I have this image in front of my eyes: you commenting on the record with those same words while cursing in front of the mirror because you cut yourself while shaving. Damn, buddy, you’re really pissed off!

Ah, the matter isn't clear, Fest. No, no. Not because the review is an association of ideas emancipated from the rational critique of the album (believe me, I write and read plenty of reviews like that), but because I can't grasp what idea you've formed. For instance, despite being utterly taken by the album, you still give it a 4/5; what is it that doesn't convince you enough to award it the maximum score? In the end, you mention the sentimentalism of Yerself taken to extreme consequences: is this what it's about? If so, I disagree: Yerself here is rather softened and quite a bit. It's not extreme. There's much more order, a more scholarly nature, and little extremism. This, while I await your clarifications, allows me to say that this album is nothing more than the beginning of the end for Mercury Rev. As stated, here the psychedelic and crazy intuitions of Yerself is Steam, an album I consider one of the undisputed masterpieces of modern music, are quite polished in favor of a greater compositional order and a range of more popular and canonical choices (take, for instance, the choruses, which you yourself allude to, in Rockette's Kick): Chasing a Bee feels like a distant memory, incredible to say. It starts from here, from an album that is still decent, the decline of a band that will prefer a certain mannerism over psychedelic chaos: the shift will become even more pronounced in Deserter's Songs, where psychedelia will be replaced by a perfect, mannered dream pop in its arrangements but devoid of the mad genius of Yerself. Up to the present day, with the collection of mediocre songs in Secret Migration. One of the clearest involutions in the history of music. And within a decade.

But well done, old soul! You're a bit soaked because you acted all precious when you criticized "Sono solo canzonette," which was brilliantly reviewed by Enea, the best among the debaser reviewers, while now you refer to it as a "beautiful" album. Well done. But I commend you for the excellent note on the absolutely autarchic and revolutionary character of Bennato: with those two consecutive albums, our guy completely disregarded market logic, sending both to the charts. How can you resist "A Liiiiiicola sotto la caniiiiicola si giocava a ruuuugby tutti i giovedììììììì"? I give you a 4 because you're soaked and pulled together. I won’t give you a 5, no, no.

...especially if the review in question was so much more better! Here, carnefrisca, just to make you understand that we love you this way!

Say that you hold me in high regard!