Elisa
Pearl Days

Discussing Elisa (Toffoli by birth) in light of her (thus far, indeed) luminous career also inevitably raises the perennial question central to "made in Italy" music: that is, the contextualization on the international scene.

It is (let's say it right away) not an easy question to answer, both due to the differences that sometimes appear as a gulf separating us from that Anglo-American world with which we directly engage, and because of the truly complex scenario and history of Italian music. The issue can be summarized as follows: Assuming the smaller commercial and media size of Italian Music compared to Anglo-American music, when Italian authors or performers try to approach the various forms connected to those languages (rock, funk, rhythm'n'blues, brit-pop?), they face the challenge of the not easily adaptable nature of the Italian language to musical forms modeled around the Anglo-Saxon language. This brings with it the other aspect, namely that geographical "demarcation" that (in most cases) represents a limit rather than a resource, and the consequent "visibility" in media among an audience that is not "just" Italian. The attempt at internationalization of Italian music has produced two types of artistic responses: the attempt to combine musical forms borrowed from the British Isles or overseas lands with the Italian language (from PFM in part of its production to Cccp, from Litfiba to successors, like the more "mature" triad formed by Afterhours, Marlene Kunz, Verdena, or the younger batch represented by Velvet, Negramaro, Vibrazioni); the second option has been that of fully adopting music and singing in English: to give a few examples, Uzeda, Reflow, Technogod, Pankow besides the mentioned PFM during their "American" period (and many others). In a nutshell, things have gone more or less like this: the second route proved to be much more arduous and difficult than the first, both due to the low success overseas (even though in many cases the offer was clearly superior to the original models) and the greater difficulty communicating with an Italian audience "dumbfounded" by a language not their own. In other words, the difference is clear between the Italian success of Vasco Rossi, Carmen Consoli, Bluvertigo, while it's more complicated for LIN, Plasticoast, etc.

I am aware this is a very long preface, but it's necessary to understand a virtually "unprecedented" case in the history of Italian music.

From the beginning, in fact, Elisa, originally from Monfalcone (province of Gorizia), has perfectly aligned with American pop-rock standards, performing songs in (perfect) English: from the extraordinary single "Labyrinth", a perfect meeting point between pop potential and powerful sounds (guitar-bass-drums), with the added value of a remarkable voice: flexible and aggressive, mature despite the young age the Friulian singer had at her debut, and extraordinarily expressive. "Pipes and Flowers", although with some slight (and obvious) qualitative dips, confirmed the exceptional talent and musical continuity with what was "promised" by the leading single: between rock and pop, sweetness and aggressiveness, a somewhat "simulated" intimacy yet not less effective. The following "Asile’s World" and "Then Comes The Sun" solidified commercial success and especially confirmed the compositional qualities of this artist, equidistant from the status of "new pop icon" (a sort of "Madonna made in Italy") and female rock performers ranging from PJ Harvey to Suzanne Vega.

The exceptional (and unique) fact, however, was that her maximum visibility to the "general audience" came with her Sanremo victory in 2001. It was her first participation and her first song in Italian, and (a very rare case in the most important Italian Song competition), it reached the (deserved) first place, simultaneously receiving various Critics awards, which translates to: quality combined with success.
"Luce (Tramonti a Nord-Est)" was indeed a little gem: Peter Gabriel-style arrangement, melody and lyrics of high quality (the collaboration with Zucchero in writing was important), modern sounds, orchestral with faint hints of electronics in the background. Someone wrote that it was "a piece that gives a twenty-year leap forward to the traditional Italian song form". And here the circle closes. Elisa has shown (consider her cover of "Almeno Tu Nell'Universo" by Mia Martini) she can express her vocal and compositional talent at the highest levels when tackling Italian songs.

A demonstration (at least in my opinion) is found within the last "Pearl Days": it's the concluding, very sweet piano and voice ballad "Una Poesia Anche Per Te". It's impossible not to feel heartache, sweetness, and a subtle sense of disillusion when listening to this (second) gem in Italian.
The rest of the album, entirely in English, in my view is of good quality (but not excellent), on one hand, summarizes Elisa's artistic preparation (perhaps citing a bit too eclectically the Seattle scene, New Wave, Bjork?), on the other hand, it is a bit too evidently influenced by the production of Glen Ballard, who also worked with Alanis Morissette (and the analogy between the two singers is noticeable especially in "The Waves" and "Swan"), a comparison Elisa rejects, but (again, in my opinion) not entirely convincingly. It seems clear that the music produced reflects the tension towards targeting a "northwest passage" in the US market ("Elisa as like as the new Alanis Morrissette"), which openly transpires from the leading single "Together" (hinting at certain melodic hard-rock and grunge patterns). Which also sounds like the weakest track of the whole work. Between these two cardinal points (innovation of the Italian Song and the classical simulacrum of certain past and present Anglophone rock), however, there's room for episodes of considerable charm: "City Lights" flowing, melancholic yet luminous (with an autumnal, warm, almost cold light), and "Bitter Words" which sinuously unfolds through a weave of bass, electro-acoustic arpeggios and languid rhythms, of a decidedly finer grain compared to other episodes.

An album that won't go down in Elisa's artistic history as her most successful (much better the more acoustic and introspective "Lotus"), but it's worth making a concluding consideration.

Talent requires the test of time, and from "Cure Me" and other hits enough years have passed. However, the most limiting factor, beyond the management of this work is (in my opinion) represented by the "policy" of the record label, Sugar: an "independent" label with headquarters in the Galleria del Corso in Milan, promotion of worldwide caliber, and artistic management that, not exactly being (for the aforementioned reasons) sensitive to the real potential of talents that should be "cultivated" with more attention to their real peculiarities, ends up homogenizing the entire work as a perfect product, smoothing out peaks and filling any gaps (nothing wrong, let it be clear: "rock is itself a means of mass communication" and thus inherently embedded in the mechanisms and distribution channels of showbiz); my critique (unfortunately this time negative) is in the method, and not in the purpose.

I hope Elisa continues to manage her (extraordinary) talent differently. The fact that she is among the first Italian artists to receive the "Premio Mia Martini" of the Critic allows (it may seem risky) to associate her name with that of the prematurely deceased Roman Singer, who collaborated with the most important names in Singer-Songwriter tradition (from Bruno Lauzi to Ivano Fossati), and while in Italy was a mainstay of the gossip magazines, in France was defined as "the new Edith Piaf from the Land of the Sun".

"and my master taught me how difficult it is to see the dawn within the twilight". Sunsets, that is, not only to the North-East.

Comment:
An interim album, certainly poetic and intense, with openings to new insights but not yet focused on the new artistic direction.

Recommended tracks:
"Una Poesia Anche Per Te" (2005 reissue); "Life Goes On"; "City Lights"; "Bitter Words"