Francesco Baccini
Cartoons

That Espressione Musica was none other than Francesco Baccini.

To prove this, you would have to wait for 1989, the year of his official confirmation. He released his first official work under CGD, titled “Cartoons”. The cover faithfully reflects the title, depicting a painting of Betty Boop created by Vincenzo Mollica in an attempt to imitate a painting by Tamara De Lempicka.

Listening to the work, one is already amazed by the virtuosity that Baccini possesses. A fairly fast sound that contributes to giving a comedic background effect to each song, without depriving any of these of the possibility of being poetry or reflection, maybe both at the same time. But the main characteristic of this work of his is precisely the irony, which will accompany him for a number of years.

It is a Baccini that does everything. He embodies various characters: a "mama's boy" ("Figlio Unico") dreaming of a woman who “doesn't talk, who cooks, who irons my shirts and also washes my socks”, a cat in love with his own kin ("Penelope") under a musical carpet of '700s style notes, a man who prefers to join a group of scouts rather than wait for his Gilda at the station ("W Gli Scouts"), and a Moroccan peddler ("Vendo Tuto"), who, according to Baccini, actually existed, in a moment where he, along with some friends, witnessed a moment of intolerance that ended in tragedy.

Up to semi-seriously describing those beautiful, attractive girls on the surface ("Fotomodelle"), recalling a "Viola" who had "an oval body back in school days". Or "Rambo-Rsè" (written by Giorgio Conte), where he mocks Rambo-like men, inviting one to satisfy his wife, trying to demonstrate a certain virility.

There is also a well-executed attempt at satire (a subject that Francesco will revisit in years to come), as in the aforementioned "Mamma Dammi I Soldi", where he lashes out at the record industry, "Manager", where he complains about the absence of someone who can take care of him and make him competitive in the world, or "Armani Cambiami Il Look", where the above "Manager" wants to emerge even in the aesthetic field, with the help of a stylist.

Love songs are not lacking: "Ti Amo E Non Lo Sai", perhaps the true ballad of the work, "Il Moscerino", a face-to-face dialogue between two lovers, where this little fly symbolizes the embarrassments of certain relationships, and "Golf" (b-side of "Mamma Dammi I Soldi", composed with Sergio Conforti aka Rocco Tanica and present with this only in the CD version of the album), where she hits him with a clumsy stroke right during a golf game. That he, who had fallen in love with her, deals in the most unexpected way with the pains of love ("It was a piercing love / and since that day I can no longer see...”).

I conclude by mentioning "I Wish (Medley: I Wish / I Wish I Could Afford To Live The Life I'm Living)", whose title refers to a medley with an English song in the '30s style, whose refrain somewhat simulates the style of that era (a bit like Elio e le Storie Tese will do for “La Bella Canzone Di Una Volta”). But the song, since it seems to have been written entirely by Baccini, is simply a fake cover. But it's extremely entertaining.

Critics at the time considered him a new Paolo Conte. Others instead placed him as the heir of Rino Gaetano, whom Baccini himself admires at the levels of Jannacci and his future friend De André. Anyway, “Cartoons” cannot escape anyone who wants to hear a certain form of ironic and sincere songwriting. It should be heard at least once in a lifetime. Then listened to again if enjoyed. It's just a pity that nowadays it's not that easy to find...

...maybe it's time to say, "better make an effort for what truly deserves it"?