primiballi

why don’t you stop filling my inbox every day....????

Of course, I could never claim that HH isn't a great pianist. But his artistic choices take him far away from what I consider the best (Jarrett and Evans above all) and even from the later ones (Meldhau, Tyner, Peterson, Hines, etc...). Never, ever should there be a duet with Aguillera (unless it's dildomunito and in front of at least two cameras, obviously...)...

nothing new under the sun: HH is a character technically very skilled yet always devoted to an unhealthy incoherence and a tendency towards pure whoring, which keeps him very far from the true great pianists.

forgive me, but I believe you are speaking from a fan’s perspective without a particular objective effort. No one doubts the quality of the work you mentioned, which I obviously have and know, but it’s like if I said that Tom Waits is the greatest living songwriter because Rain Dogs is a perfect album (and it is...). What I mean is that popularity + critics’ opinions + musicians’ opinions + at least thirty years of fame make some of Macca's songs absolute and indisputable masterpieces that will outlast time like Mozart's requiem or Albinoni's adagios. Exaggerated...? I don't think so. I remind you that - you might not go crazy for it - but this man wrote Yesterday and Michelle. Then, personally, I prefer Waits (as you do Wilson), but an effort for objectivity must be made. At least an effort, in obvious respect for opinions, both ours and those of the masses.

surely one of the most beautiful

The fine malgietta is about thirty years ago (so it could have lasted much longer....) but that's not the point....: Oltre is a well-written album and beautifully packaged. Perhaps the best of the recent past, along with Viaggiatore. There are still some flaws in the lyrics, but Baglioni’s style is also made of this, and it should be taken for what it is...

Thank you for the last three interventions. Logic Probe (first of all, thank you for the formal and substantial courtesy with which you express yourself): I was slipping on this absolutely shareable point. Being new to these exciting virtual places, I thought that logic was quite the opposite, namely to critically discuss things that everyone is able to discuss (if I do, and I will, a review of Alice Coltrane's immense album from last year... how many of us are talking about it...?). Anyway, thanks for the mostly indicated point made by Signore (again, I thank you... compared to many loudmouths), and I will certainly make a provision (at least in part, since I reiterate the necessary function of the Market and the percentage (perhaps only 10%...) of good stuff that it produces)...

I don't underestimate many of you, quite the opposite. It's just that others really piss me off (but just a little bit...). Kisses and let's dive into those tough reviews (even if the market isn't the devil, cristu!)

I bought La Voce on cassette when it came out, and I think it was a great album. But, evidently, selling out is a mortal sin for many who hang around these parts. To say that Battiato was "easy" is, in my opinion, a huge mistake. I have everything by Battiato and I know it all perfectly, including his operas and classical works. I still believe that the best period was between Patriots and L'Arca di Noè. Cafè Da La Paix is a good album, but it lacks literary inspiration, so much so that the same author would soon turn to the good (but not as good as him in his golden years) Sgalambro. Curiosity, since I've read (I believe almost) everything by the Maestro: where did he recognize Ferro Battuto as a minor work, which I must have missed...? It would be interesting to understand why. Anyway, I reiterate my highly debatable opinion, even at the risk of being labeled as "easy"... Kisses.

being a lover of pop rock, even commercial and without shame (I stopped pretending to be a radical chic alternative years ago, and I see the good in what sells) but being mainly an expert in jazz, this means I will start reviewing only the really solid stuff that I enjoy listening to and recommending...: that way I attract the three people like me all over Italy, and I’ll feel more important when I know we are in good company, even if small... (I think here we may not be on the same wavelength with someone... but oh well... if that, dear Caz, was an invitation to leave, know that it really is a shot in the dark...). I fear that in some, fortunately not all, there is a worrying lack of open-mindedness...