Enrico Ruggeri
Fango e stelle

Review-advice.

Enrico Ruggeri is certainly a curious and ambiguous character in the Italian music scene. He founded the Decibel, producing a Punk-style album, then created an album with a new wave basis even going to San Remo, an event with this festival that would recur multiple times throughout his career, often bringing beautiful songs that were undervalued by the mainstream and homely attitude of the broadcast. One of the lowest points of his career was undoubtedly participating with Morandi and Tozzi in the national-popular anthem Si può dare di più, a move that allowed him to reach a broader audience but undoubtedly corroded his credibility, as did his presentation of various low-quality television programs in recent years, without which, however, I wouldn’t have discovered this character. Ruggeri has always said he is a great admirer of bands like the Stooges, Velvet Underground, Lou Reed as a solo artist, and all the hard rock artists of the late '60s/early '70s, influences that are particularly evident in his work with Decibel (with a decidedly rock-decadent imprint in terms of lyrics and minimal instrumental arrangements) and in his albums from the early '90s, much more into hard rock, perhaps also influenced by the Grunge fashion that was exploding at the time.

With this "Fango e stelle," Ruggeri creates an album that lives half on its lyrics, here at one of his peaks as a songwriter, and half on sounds close to progressive rock, which give this concept album a homogeneous and accomplished imprint. I don't feel the need to describe the album track by track; there are some dimmer moments like the Sanremo-style L'amore è un attimo, but there are also moments of greatness that leave you astounded: Ulisse and L'altra madre I consider two jewels from an artist who has made questionable choices in his career but has some great pieces that could eat up an entire discography. An imperfect album but full of interesting things, I recommend it to everyone.