pier_paolo_farina

Wait Zaireeka, Marc Bolan didn't wiggle. Marc Bolan was mainly Syd Barrett, exactly the same. Right?

Anderson: Collins was dumped by Andrea (his first wife) during the "And Then..." tour. When I mentioned the success of Collins’ first "solo" and his subsequent rise to popstar status, I was only referring to the bigger cause, that of the definitive decline. You are absolutely right to consider Hackett's departure as a serious loss for Genesis and one of the reasons for their downfall. Hackett always put the music first. He was right to leave because they sabotaged "Wind And Wuthering"; he was in his prime and had become prolific, but the others only wanted him as a background player, so to speak... My note came from the fact that, as you describe it, it seems like everything in Genesis revolved around Hackett, and that wasn’t the case. The leader has always been Banks. You are also correct about the minimal damage caused by Gabriel's departure (superficially regarded by the silent majority as the leader of Genesis and the genius of Genesis). Collins sings better! But he’s an asshole.

Perhaps it wasn't you, Dave, sorry, it was Floyd... come on, don't be so touchy, we're talking about Steve Hackett, a great, and we all agree on that. We all agree that Genesis have gone downhill (hey, they're on tour! In what lineup?). Calling you a Floyd fanatic isn't a dig at you. You admit it proudly too. We're talking about nuances regarding people we all deeply love. The nuance concerns opinions on secondary matters. When you "work" on things that don't interest me, but that I respect (Soft Machine...), I don't feel the need to annoy you.

The controversy mainly revolves around Renato Zero's looks and attitudes, while I would like to argue about the music. It's fine with me that he was the first queen in the world (or is he bisexual? Who cares what he is) with the guts not to hide it completely (but only partially...). But the music? Cliché when not of bad taste, I assert strongly. And damn it, even Platinette is "transgressive," but he is disgustingly unbearable. Thank goodness he doesn't sing. Renato has no talent, except for the strong exhibitionist temperament that has allowed him to create a character that I personally find detestable, though many find fascinating.

Sometimes I don't understand you, a dramatic yet almost sunny piece... In my opinion, the decline in taste and quality of Genesis was determined by the enormous success of Collins' songs about a jilted husband, which made the other two (historically the "great composers of the group") salivate and led them to accept Collins as a composer. I agree that Steve Hackett is a great musician, a serious person, and an extremely important guitarist, but all those superlatives for every passage of this album sound to me like the words of a blind and deaf fan. Kind of like DaveJonGilmour when he considers "SaintTropez" on Meddle not a filler but a five-star song. Maximum respect for Steve Hackett, but I don’t see any masterpieces in his vast discography.

You have quite the courage, Heron! You who look negatively at the English dominance, do you have any idea what the management of rock music in Italy was like after 1972/73? And what the American multinationals accomplished in the 80s and 90s?

Cross's voice isn't warm; rather, it's melodious. "Say You'll Be Mine" is far from a masterpiece, especially compared to the rest; in fact, it's the weakest track on the album, with its somewhat clichéd California vibe. It's not among the songs that are remembered or those that people request at concerts. Who knows.

Iside: you are a great lover of Italian music, as well as a person who is neither a troublemaker nor rigid and aggressive. Since we are at opposite ends when it comes to musical tastes (few Italian things from the last fifty years move me), can you write to me about the Italians you can't stand?

One declares themselves sad, another discomforts honor... above all, absolute judgments, not personalized. If Zero gives you emotions, it doesn’t give me any at all, because musically I judge him to be the usual little Italian singer (veeeery traditional, in terms of vocal setting and melodic choices) wrapped in a layer of "transgression" that, to MY sensibility, sounds extremely bad taste and also artificial, fundamentally based on exhibitionism. Freddy Mercury was a bit like him, often in bad taste, but what musical talent (albeit inconsistent and fluctuating)! And what a voice! Zero makes little Italian songs, mediocre, dressed up in his eccentric character but with an eccentricity that does not attract me; on the contrary, it sounds pathetic to me. I allow you to say that I am wrong, NOT to retort that it doesn't do me honor, or that I am talking nonsense.

Stay calm, little mouse. Zero was born in 1950 and I don’t even believe it when I see footage of him at fourteen, being “transgressive” and original in the sixties. He must have done his fair share of struggling (...noticed by Don Lurio, right?) and then at the end of the sixties, of legal age and vaccinated, maybe after a trip to London... but that’s not important. What really matters is to understand that it's pointless to get upset and spout angry nonsense if someone comments that Renato Zero sucks. Are you really convinced that everyone who doesn’t like Zero has never listened to him? Keep your idol and feel free to come to my reviews and say how much the ones I like suck, if it makes you happy. For me, Renato Zero is a mediocre performer with the slightest hint of musical interest, I’ll reiterate that. My opinion counts for nothing, but don’t think it’s a superficial statement.