Enzo Jannacci
Discogreve

THE REVIEW

Ok, I think I'll keep writing about Jannacci for a little while longer. Today I want to talk to you about a heavy album called Discogreve. I believe that almost everyone who listens to Jannacci doesn't know about this album, or they consider it inferior to all the others. The reality is different: in 1983 Jannacci is emotionally shattered, he wants to try something different (and different doesn't necessarily mean bad), and the result is a pop album with cryptic lyrics.

And "Il maiale" already sums up the situation: it talks about Jannacci's father, who died in October 1982, about the healthcare system that, according to Jannacci, killed his father; it already shows one of the two elements that led to the birth of Discogreve, the first being his father's death. The second is revealed in "L'amico," this time we talk about Beppe Viola, a sports journalist and a close friend of Jannacci who died in October 1982, and how significant his death was for Discogreve. After a strange cover of "O' surdato innamorato," "L'americana" meets us, this time denouncing television through a love story. The unequivocal denouncement of "Pensione Italia" leads us to "L'animale," where a hidden part of Jannacci, the animalistic one, is shown, which will emerge in this Discogreve. But the most important track on the album is "Obbligatorio," which perfectly encapsulates the entire album: going against the current, not following trends and songs because if something is trendy, it's not mandatory: I adored this song because it's the sense of my life—I am always against the current (at Sanremo I was for the Zen Circus, just imagine). The album flows well, but the last two tracks are the sore point: "Giovane pazza" is a horrible revisitation of "Cosa portavi bella ragazza," but it shows how desperate Enzo was, and "Zan zan le belle rane," written with Massimo Boldi, makes no sense neither in the album nor in Jannacci's repertoire.

Overall, the album is one of Enzo's most interesting, but also one of the most intimate and cryptic, making the whole thing a fruit salad of songs that works even in the weaker moments. MANDATORY listening for everyone.

P.S: I left you in the top right panel in the audio samples section a piece of Jannacci that has remained unpublished on the Internet. I'm talking about "Moviola," a track dedicated to his father and perfectly in line with the album. That's why I leave it to you as a "bonus track."