lux

I didn't say he's technically a hack; on the contrary... but for me, he's just a craftsman, not an artist. Of course, I'm referring to the support he provided for Vasco's albums; honestly, I have no curiosity about other collaborations and/or solo albums. I know he played with Alice Cooper. I'm not getting into the "emotionally intriguing guitarist" discussion, as it's not so much about evoking emotions but about narrating them. My perspective is non-technical, as you might have understood. It's a lengthy discussion, but I have to go now!

No, it wasn't heated; I was just making a precise clarification :-) I agree with some of your points (the art of a musical proposal transcends technique, there are masterpieces of authentic and sublime technical primitivism, and the fact that the very early Vasco Rossi is more decent than his later work). The point is that Burns and co.'s technical ability doesn't do anything for me, as he sounds like an average rocker, as flashy as he is impersonal. His solos are the typical clean, senseless guitar solos, purely aesthetic taste, with no functional purpose. The solo is there to formally embellish the song, but in terms of meaning, it says nothing; it could just as well not be there. After all, we are talking about session musicians, artisans of the instrument, who have a very conventional, academic vision of it. The genius lies elsewhere... (and I'm not referring to either Satriani or Vai). I've listened to all of Vasco's albums; I spared myself the last one out of kindness to my ears, from which I've only heard a few scattered songs.

I also find the '80s extremely interesting, but not for the harmonic research and arrangements, to be honest.. it's implied that when I talk about quality, I absolutely do not refer to sales data, as I'm mostly referring to the underground or at least not to the most crude mainstream. Of course, I take it for granted that judging a record based on how much it sold is a backward attitude just like a Vasco album, so rest assured that I am not one of those who gets swayed by her majesty The Market :-) As for the '90s, you've hit it right, I completely disagree.. in fact, they are personally my favorites :-P

Of course it’s my phrase, but I don’t see how by transitive property it should mean that the '60s in their entirety were banal. I definitely should have clarified the first half of the '60s to avoid misunderstandings (considering that significant records are found more in the second half). However, rock evolved tremendously from the second half of the '60s onward. It's true that songs like "Help" I wouldn’t consider to be of the highest level; that kind of attitude certainly leaves much to be desired. But beyond everything, precisely because there were already people like the Doors and the Velvet Underground in the '60s, I reiterate that a "Liberi Liberi" would have already felt old and outdated if it had been released during those years. A "Tutti morimmo a stento" honestly doesn’t excite me much. But now I have a doubt: are you sure you know the '80s and '90s well? Because this certainty in placing the '60s above the following decades leaves me a bit puzzled.

Oh my God, just the fact of pairing Doors and De André as paradigms of the 70s seems a bit strange to me (they're not exactly on the same level).. Then I simply stated that the "cutting" riffs of Vasco are anachronistic, obvious, standard, and would have been obsolete back in the 60s. But when have I ever compared two decades like the 60s and the 90s? Then, thank God, the 90s are ABSOLUTELY not just Oasis (who I didn't even dislike completely) and Afterhours (who, of all the indie rock in the world, we don't exactly find among the top spots).

It's impossible for a human living in Italy to know only ONE song by Vasco...his, um, music is so commercialized that they even play it on supermarket radio. I would rather say that those who criticize Vasco, aside from having good taste, have listened to better music and are no longer satisfied with the sugary pop tunes with Z-list rocker solos and riffs that would have been old, clichéd, pachydermic, and banal even in the 60s. But you know, we're in Italy, and putrid shit passes for great music. And the fact that the criticisms of Vasco would be unfounded is too convenient to believe, isn't it? I would be curious to discover your "tangible reasons" in favor of the farmer from Zocca.

But how are you, are you handling these issues?

Yummy!

Boh Larrok, if I'm not mistaken Lateralus is from 2001, in '93 a great album like Scenes From The Second Storey by God Machine came out, which the Tool likely didn't miss (who knows, maybe Tool even influenced God Machine). What’s certain is that this album seems more like a "mannerism" to me, (already partially started on Aenima, by the way) of Undertow, a good mix of rock punches, although there are some interesting episodes (the Grudge above all). The point is that most of the other tracks seem like a faded copy of the first, where mathematical intellectualism takes over.

Even giving yourself a migraine to try to follow Maynard's brain laments over ultra-cryptic and rather static riffs eventually becomes a crime :-|