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Rating: Six years after Nuovo Marco Polo, which was an audiobook, but nine years since his last album Le promesse del mondo, our beloved Flavio Giurato returns. A cult singer-songwriter, who turned 77 in January, he has accustomed us to biblical gaps between albums. But the wait has always been worth it. And the same holds true for his latest work, Il console generale, seven brand new songs plus the closing track already released in 2020.
The album opens with Intrepid cosmonaut, introduced by over a minute of doubled vocals, a song about a child’s cosmic-dreamlike journey before falling asleep. The guitar plays its part.
Next is Tahiti Tamurè, where again the guitar takes center stage. Only at the end, when Flavio mentions Auschwitz and Birkenau, does the meaning of the song become clear. Flavio is no stranger to songs about historical events: just think of his first album from 1978, but also certain tracks from Manuale del cantautore.
The third track, La prossima liberazione, is a melancholic reflection by a prisoner who must come to terms with himself. A good song.
Laura e il cubano lasts only two minutes and seven seconds, an unusual occurrence for Giurato who has accustomed us to very long tracks, especially in the second part of his career. The song plays on the protagonist’s false identity, deceiving Laura.
Atene 4 is the name of a taxi, and it’s a track rendered in an almost cinematic way by the guitar and its chord progression.
We then arrive at the title track, which tells of a war about to start, of ships departing, and where at the end the instruments simulate a shootout. A song destined to become a classic in Giurato's discography.
"Voglio effettuare una ricarica con te" is the incipit of Ricarica, a metaphor for incommunicability conveyed through the Nokia vs Panasonic comparison. A truly original and successful song.
Closing the work is the only already known track, that Caravan which, over just two chords, in true Digos style, manages to last for a full twelve minutes, making it the longest track in the Roman singer-songwriter’s catalog. All things considered, this piece is also the writer’s favorite on the album.
Il console generale is an album played without sheet music and without a metronome, also in sync with the lunar phases. Flavio Giurato continues his modus operandi and gifts us a four-star album for sure, a record where, with the help of his friend Giuliano Ciao, author of Le gocce di sudore più duro, he even sings in Neapolitan dialect!
The tour has already been announced. I highly recommend everyone to listen to the album as well as to attend his concert. Personally, I saw him perform live in 2019, and it’s truly worth it.
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