pier_paolo_farina

Mr. Baglioni irritates me terribly, just like Renato Zero. I recognize some intriguing melodic ideas in Venditti. I find Cocciante extremely boring. Lucio Dalla is unlikable, but he's not an idiot; in the past, he made valid music and lyrics. My favorite Italian artists are Quartetto Cetra, Elio, Tenco, Claudio Lolli, the early PFM, Andrea Mingardi when he sang in Bolognese, Battisti from 1969 to 1972, and a bit of Zucchero. That's it. AH, I want to emphasize my absolute personal difficulty in enduring even thirty seconds of words and vocal line from any song by Carmen Consoli.

Joe Strummer, don't tell me you love both the Clash and the Crimson! I can't imagine two more antithetical musicians than Fripp and your namesake! This isn't a review, it's a hymn of praise without the slightest perspective... I can't give you more than that.

The Olympus of Italian rock is a small hill topped by Vasco Rossi (great lyricist, psychotic drunk, fake instinctual completely guided by his manager) and Ligabue (a modest, really modest rocker with an unpresentable voice). We are in a really bad place.

Renato Zero is a buffoon. In the country of buffoons par excellence, ours, we’ve found a character who is simply that, lacking musical and artistic values. A clown, a joker. He reminds me of poor Freddie Mercury; in some respects, he was similar to him, but with a divine voice adorned with unique nuances and an exceptional ability to arrange that voice, etc., etc. Nothing personal, no one take offense, it’s not important at all, but I need to communicate that Renato Zero literally makes me sick!

For Daniele: you are right when you reiterate that "Ten Years" doesn’t have 14 guitars and more generally that often music writings come from people who are technically incompetent and who embark on their cultural journeys completely oblivious to the fact that music has its own culture, its own language, its own world that, after all, is AT THE CENTER of everything, beyond the environment and the historical moment in which it is created and performed. Maybe you’re angry, but it comes off as unpleasant when you climb the mountain of the misunderstood, using irony in the third person, etc... I think I interpret your state of mind correctly; for you, music is a serious matter, and if someone treats the subject superficially, without verifying with their own ear and sensitivity the notions they’ve learned. The "veiled fuck you" isn’t directed at the concepts you express, but at the annoyed and "superior" tone with which you make your (right) comments.

Music is played, listened to, and also read, to get an idea of the effect it has on others, for example, and to compare it with oneself. The Zepp are my all-time favorite band; that doesn’t change the fact that "Boogie with Stu" is a solid filler, for instance. They had already proven their versatility a long time ago (first album). The fact that they did whatever they felt like in the moment is clear, but IN MY OPINION, certain tracks from "Physical" deserved to be released on "Coda," not before. Ah, I’m also a guitarist, and I think Page, one of my favorite guitarists, does NOT have precision as a particular quality. In Dixon's blues from the first album, he falters in various parts, and during the break of "Heartbreaker," his fingers get a bit tangled...clearly, he was focused on the feeling (immense) of the pieces.
Lastly, one must not confuse scores with guitar tracks. Scott Ian of Anthrax has recorded the exact same rhythmic guitar performance three times across all their albums: once in the center, once to the right, and once to the left. With a precision that Page can only dream of (Scott IAN, mind you, is nobody compared to his majesty Page).

The Premiata made some unforgivable strategic blunders: they had managed to break into the big California circuit of concert promoters in the USA, opening for Santana, Allman Brothers, and the like, but they were missing the mother, the pasta, and Milan (can you believe it...). They needed to get an American singer and stay there for as long as it took. They were young, electrifying live thanks to the extroversion of Di Cioccio and Pagani and the charm of the virtuoso Mussida. The songs reeked of Gentle Giant and King Crimson, but little by little they would become increasingly mature... What a pity!

Great review, I needed info on this EP. I also think like many others: damn Collins and his early songs about being a depressed cuckold, he dragged the other two down with him and everything went to hell.

Alright Lux, I take your suggestion and as soon as I have an hour to spare, I'll review "Snow", and maybe even "Ever" by the great IQ for the joy (I hope) of Vinsex. I had "started" off well with Spock's, but then they became a bit tedious. It's Morse's fault for releasing two double albums a year + side projects, etc. In short, I'm happy he's left Spock's; there's more space for the great Okimoto (the best Hammond player around now that Jon Lord has retired) and the lyrics are less like Comunione e Liberazione.

You’re crazy Charles, or very young, or someone who just goes with the flow: When it comes to myths, it’s not wise to be superficial, approximate, and naïve: you might say they suck, but be sure to explain carefully how and why! When can we expect your reviews on people like Jim Morrison, Nick Drake, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon?