primiballi

beautiful record, so much so that Fossati himself brought it back during his latest tour. @grass: Fossati said about "la mia banda", "I don't do it anymore because it says things I no longer agree with." He said it to me, in my city, during a (now old) meeting with students, where I went even though I was no longer a student. I think, interpreting his phrase and the lyrics of the song, that the problem lies precisely in the austerity and coherence (sublime) of Fossati the songwriter afterwards, who is very respectful of himself and his curiosity ("never lose your curiosity, I'd tell a young person who wants to do this job," he also said) to repeat that "he plays rock and everything else as needed," which is fine for us, the cover band whores from the cellar....

Okay, I basically agree with the punisher in one of his many forms. But, let's face it, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE NOTHING (!!), if I had to choose with a gun to my head, I'd prefer an operation like this, which someone might even call "brave," rather than the umpteenth papal compilation and ultra-natalist? (by the way... I've always noticed a bit too much respect for the De André family on DeB... no one talks about "in direzione ostinata e contraria II" -the revenge...??-): Useless: the heirs, alive or dead, almost always suck. Being awful by having everything remixed by Martin is more or less awful...???...meh...

Sorry: obviously I missed Battiato (who is a true singer-songwriter). Well, Iside, great question: singer-songwriter is a vague and, I fear, subjective concept, since not everyone who writes lyrics and music is necessarily a singer-songwriter. In my opinion, the more accurate term should/could be "singer of authors" in the sense that it is that singer, or the one who believes in the "song form" as a form of art, sometimes far from minor, who sings authorial songs, that is, songs that, due to a mix of high literary quality and typically "singer-songwriter" harmony (and here I would need to elaborate, but it would become lengthy...), can rightfully carry that definition. For this reason, two absolute masters (elsewhere) are Atahualpa Yupanqui and George Brassens and, of course, Dylan. And in our country, certainly De André, De Gregori, Guccini, and Battiato, among many others, fit that definition (while for me, for example, Cammariere does not, due to the manifest lack of originality in his music and the modesty of his lyrics). Battisti has always been considered one, even though he is not "technically" (but for me he is... see above...)... in short, a complex but interesting discussion...

@dantecruciani: I, who was a huge buyer of Battisti/Panella the very day they were released, only have the promo two on vinyl, then I got them on cd (among other things, DonGiovanni in the edition that was later withdrawn due to the cover…) and it’s not entirely true what you say: the vinyls of the last three were already (almost) rare and the release on cd has been quite regular... that today they are promoting the box set is certainly obvious... so it would be wise to hurry up and buy the singles or, more unethically, to download them from the Internet, since the Battisti family is already doing perfectly well with royalties and the record labels, as we know, suffer only to a certain extent (let’s not even talk about the interests of SIAE, please). @voiceface: totally agree.

@iside: you don’t even mention a single (real) singer-songwriter... but rather some very interesting pop phenomena... but it’s still the same old story... @dave: forgive me, but it’s incomparable (you’ll say the opposite for different reasons, and that’s enough).

I clearly bent my words the wrong way: I said that, for me, Cele’s match with Mina is a lost cause from the start, while with the others it’s not (and I added an "ecchecazzo") (meaning it’s certainly a thousand years superior). From the narrative, I think it was clear that I have the utmost respect for Cele's legacy, which I define as a story of high-quality Great Colonization. However, the records of the well-known and last trio are (perfect) tricks. This is my humblest (and I hope clear) opinion...

I, on the other hand, said with all due respect, believe that you, like many others, are influenced by what Vasco has become later...: if you listen to Vasco from 1978 to 1983, pretending that everything after doesn’t exist (a very useful exercise also, for example, with Bennato), you will realize that that blend of Jannacci/Battisti/DeGregori and a whole lot of America was only found in him, back then, and that he set the bar. For me, this is an objective fact, which doesn’t take away from the point that, quite legitimately, you might continue to find him crap....

Aside from the difficult definability of the work, which I agree with and share, certainly... for an absolute devotee like me, it's like having the Holy Grail in my hands... I've been feeling it for three days now, whenever I can, and I'm experiencing infinite musical orgasms... certainly... in the future, I will have a more precise opinion, but the first, instinctive, and often right one is magnificent.

@dave: try to ignore the not-so-nice author of the review, and evaluate this album by Vasco as if you came from the Moon, without knowing the character and everything that comes after (his and those influenced by him). It's a difficult exercise, but feasible. I, centuries ago, did the same with Macca, whose Wings and solo albums at the time I found rather pitiful, but, my God, listening to "Abbey Road" while pretending to come from the Moon was wonderful (I know... maybe it's an exaggerated comparison, but you get my point)...

@dave: you’re right, if we distinguish between "light" and "author" (often extremely difficult), it is so. So let’s say that Mina and Vanoni have had much more consistently "pop" careers than Cele, who often, as you say, has slipped into the banal, the rhetorical, and especially the unnecessary musical baroque. @voice: you have to be careful that your premise doesn’t imply "only those who agree should read this," otherwise it’s nonsense, said with respect. If instead we all read it, those of us who have (also) a "pop" awareness, well... we say our piece (for instance, I would never, ever cite Cammariere, who for me is a colossal bluff, someone I wouldn’t categorize as either Jazz (...for heaven's sake...) or, let alone, within the singer-songwriter genre, considering he copies the music and has the lyrics written for him (in my opinion, poorly too), but each person is perfectly entitled to give examples according to their own tastes). But I don’t want controversies... I would say that, in essence, Cele doesn’t hold a candle to Mina, but with Antonacci or Nek obviously yes, for crying out loud (and I hope I’ve mentioned two universally "pop" names).