Fiorella Mannoia
I Treni A Vapore

Over the years Fiorella Mannoia has confirmed herself, with her ever-evolving voice, as an expressive and skilled interpreter, very versatile and varied. From her beginnings with her first Sanremo hit "Come Si Cambia," penned by Roberto Vecchioni, to "Quello Che Le Donne Non Dicono," written by Enrico Ruggeri, her (so far) greatest public success, the Roman singer has been able to capture the moods and hidden nuances of songs and intuitively of the personalities of their authors. Authors of an (almost always) very high level, a sign of her credibility.

This is confirmed by this "I Treni a Vapore," starting with the title-track, the first of the jewels of this collection, written by Ivano Fossati, which in its driving rhythm and broad and airy melody anticipates the new direction in the songwriting of the Genoese artist. "I fall asleep in the evening and sometimes dream, because I know how to dream," also seems to introduce the main theme on a lyrical and poetic level: the dream as a refuge from life with its sadness and wounds, as a dwelling of absent time, where one can temporarily escape the rushing of things, and something to strive for, always in a swinging relationship with life and its changing moods. "Tutti Cercano Qualcosa", in fact, the second jewel, crafted by Francesco De Gregori, seems to encapsulate these autumnal atmospheres swept by "chilly gusts of wind", these melancholic moods which then, however, give way to a brighter hope: a masterpiece of music and words, made of light and suspended piano notes, melancholic and reflective, then opening up into a majestic refrain, with slow and decisive percussion and major notes ("and it will be fire and it will be love, or it will not be, it will be a memory to burn until it warms up... it will be a memory to carry until it weighs on.").

Touching, at times moving is the melancholy of Fossati's second song "1991 l'amore per amore," and the third jewel of the album (which unfortunately does not seem to be strung solely with precious pearls).

The only song written by Enrico Ruggeri, the first author who encountered Mannoia's talent, is still interesting for its theme of deviation from a normal existence, the song is credible and after those of the aforementioned "big" names, it certainly ranks at a very good level. A theme, moreover, dear to Ruggeri, that of unwritten destiny, of mistakes that must be paid for but cannot be avoided, the marginalization of existence, the discrepancy between what was expected and what life is now, from which again arises a melancholic feeling and poetry in the form of a song almost as a tool to make it bearable ("I spend my days here like sand in the desert..."). The most unexpected surprise is certainly the track written by Eugenio Finardi "Sull'Orlo": the most rock-oriented of the authors included here signs an interesting track, lyrically in line with the oscillation between hope and disillusionment, opening one's eyes (after the pain) to the "light of a new dream", but it is the musical part that impresses and enthralls the most: powerful and sustained rhythm in the chorus, and an elegant intertwining of electric, baroque, virtuosic guitars, giving almost the impression of resembling ethnic instruments like bagpipes.

The rest, apart from the intimate and autobiographical closure again penned by Ivano Fossati ("Piccola Serenata Diurna"), reveals the more fragile side of the work, and perhaps the reason for the not great level that it would have managed to achieve overall. "I Venti del Cuore" is the album's most pop episode, chosen as the single for the launch, it is not convincing, neither for the words nor the music (pleasantly melodic and rhythmic, however), and Mannoia's voice (warm, and enveloping even on the highest notes) is not enough to bridge these gaps, but it is, sorry to say, the other episode written by Massimo Bubola, "Il Cielo d'Irlanda", where this compositional weakness is most noticeable: it may perhaps be liked for the carefree and cheerful nature of the music, which "breaks" a certain type of dramatic and poetic tension, and may be more convincing live, for its character of an Irish-folk-ballad, but not very authentic, to be fair, for the exoticism of something that is situated elsewhere: talking about Ireland and staging acoustic guitars, mandolins, drums, accordions, violins, and folk rhythms is not enough to create a credible Irish folk song.

Fiorella Mannoia, born and artistically formed in Rome, is not Sinead O'Connor, originally from Dublin, who moreover seems very little interested in recovering the folk roots of the British Isle. It's a shame, for the aforementioned jewels (absolutely "Tutti Cercano Qualcosa" and "I Treni a Vapore") she would have deserved full marks... but opportunities will not be lacking.