bowie&barrett

Dellaserie: there will be another 100 more important things to do, but this morning, as soon as I woke up, I put on the "Circus" CD. Let’s start with the premise that at this level, these artists are so good that it’s hard for them to actually suck. "Circus" is indeed a nice album, especially for the arrangements they managed to achieve. Kravitz's goal was to recreate a sound that’s typically from the 70s (although such an expression can mean everything or nothing). He does it with great mastery: he has always been a good arranger and an excellent guitarist. He doesn’t possess great technique, but he has a distinctive, recognizable touch (again, DeGustibus). However, his reinterpretation of the '70s encounters a fundamental limit: while it is a collection of sounds and rhythms particularly felt by the author, who demonstrates a genuine adoration for the idols of his childhood (Led Zeppelin, Cream, Hendrix), the rediscovery of the roots resolves itself into a series of mannerisms, which, lacking solid songwriting, reduce to a long series of self-indulgent sound experiments. The repetitive riff of "Rock n Roll Is Dead" entirely constitutes the track, with a technique already experimented by Bowie in Rebel Rebel (an unsuccessful experiment back then, according to a fan). "Beyond the 7th sky" and "Tunnel Vision" are adrenaline-fueled but absolutely anonymous, "Magdaline" and "Don't Go..." are ridiculous filler tracks, "God Is Love" is a reworking of No Quarter (Led Zeppelin), "Circus" echoes the Beatles from "Abbey Road," and "Can't Get You Out..." has a Pink Floyd flavor. Overall, it’s a grand fresco, more than of a musical period, of a series of suggestions related to it. In this, Circus stands out as a work that is, all in all, sincere, self-ironic, and true: the author doesn’t position himself (unlike other contemporary experiments, let’s leave names aside for now) as the heir, the continuation of the tradition. He does not aim to resurrect a genre (as he indeed states in the opening single) but to narrate it, like a distant memory, of which he has been a witness. A message perhaps too categorical: a great season of rock has surely come to a close, but the genre is far from dead. It will be up to the new generation to pour new gasoline on the fire; but Kravitz will not play this role. Read in this light, the album constitutes the last creative flash of an artist who has not managed to make the most of the great legacy of which he has shown himself to be a passionate connoisseur.

...aaah I get the short circuit, you thought I was a metalhead. Alright, let’s make peace. I take back the "finocchio," but you register. Until then, I won't respond anymore.

Iovi, honestly, I think you gave this album an exaggerated rating, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re a woman, and Kravitz has a charm over you that he doesn’t have on me... hold on! don’t say I’m sexist because you yourself write "I close the chapter on my favorite MALE artist," okay? It seems to me that you’re quite critical, and you focus on the strictly musical side. I was very disappointed when I bought it back in the day... I don’t know, maybe it’s that I hate U2, and Kravitz (who plays very different music) shares with them a glossy and artificial attempt at a “raw and naked” sound. Let’s do this: I’ll listen to it again and... we’ll talk about it again, alright? Anyway, great review (as always, I appreciate your conversational tone – and for god’s sake, we're not children of Scaruffi!!). For now, I rate that one.

I enjoyed reading this review. I really appreciate the way you revisited this album, which today is unfortunately almost forgotten ("Il mio canto libero" is not one of its most famous songs, even though it is one of the most beautiful). It is my favorite record (by Battisti), along with "Il nostro caro angelo." I've always admired Battisti's formula, the search for simple, pleasant, melodic music that is simultaneously profound, captivating, built on small details. In a magical intertwining with Mogol's words, which in turn are musical notes, a sub-melody within the melody. A light music that communicates to the listener through the language of emotion, of the painting, of the evoked image, of the lived event. In Battisti's creativity, this alchemy finds a sublime expression: an exhibition of vibrant paintings, where the word is the stroke, and the music is now the canvas, now the color. All this goes beyond the cold sound search, the technical arpeggio, the innovative sound. The magical alchemy is already beyond, in another dimension, so that the "sound" becomes a superficial and secondary aspect. Hardly listening to a Battisti record one feels bothered by the dated sound, not because it isn’t, but because it doesn’t matter... Just like music, so is the word. Two great modern poets have married music. In De Andrè, the word is the body of a living, concrete emotion; his stories materialize in our hearts, becoming carnal companions with whom to share one's joy, one's sadness, or one's sarcasm. In Mogol's work, the word remains light, a breath of wind, a mischievous smile, a glance at barely suggested landscapes. Like a faded memory, an idea just hinted at, or a mysterious emotion before which one always feels naive. An eternal youth, in which lies their thin limit, and their great magic.

Whoa... where did you read the term "Master"? In the books of Guglielmo Trentin? Do you know it's a technical term used to define the "conciliators," the "moderates" in internet forums? Look, you even capitalized it! Heh heh, then I would be the intellectual... okay, which chapter can I find "gianni&pinotto"? Under the entry: "anonymous queer who doesn't register"? :-)

It's a stunning album. The Edge doesn't play, and Brian Eno wrote all the songs. The best album by U2.

(Pop) I will surprise you: "pop" is a beautiful album. (huh?) Bono is voiceless, (oops) and sings in a whisper (burp). Pop is a marvel. (dot)

Nice review. At times it seems like the album is beautiful too. In twenty years, I've never understood what’s so great about the riff of "Pride." ...and everyone dances to it, and everyone applauds... But you know, people like me who listen to Waits don’t get a damn thing. In fact, I’ll surprise you: there’s a song on this album that I really like. Do you know which one it is? 4th of July. Bono has a beautiful voice... heh heh heh, just kidding. There really is a very beautiful song on this album, where you can hear Brian Eno's careful work on the production: the title track, "The Unforgettable Fire." I quote from the review: "the song (...) refers to the two atomic bombs (...) The content, however, is completely different. They just liked the name and kept it." I won’t add any comments.

Do you think George Gordon listened to him?

...as an American music critic said after listening to Dylan's "Self Portrait": "What is this shit?" (Cornell, thank me for the comparison...)