Francesco Guccini
Canzoni da intorto

The story is already known: Francesco Guccini, ten years after his "farewell" with "L'ultima Thule" in 2012, decides to release a collection of partisan songs that he used to play in taverns as a boy.

The title, Canzoni da intorto, does not fully convey the idea of the album. "Intortare" means trying to attract the attention of a girl with often elaborate arguments. However, in the album, only "Le nostre domande" and "Quella cosa in Lombardia" seem to have a connection with the love theme.

The selection spans different historical periods. It ranges from Fausto Amodei to Enzo Jannacci, passing through Franco Fortini, of whom two pieces are present; while the languages used are multiple: Italian, Modenese dialect, English, and even Ukrainian, in the last hidden track "Sloha Naroda," complete with a greeting to the Ukrainian people, hit by war.

The CD is enriched by an interesting 40-page booklet, where the lyrics are not reported but rather the Author's original narrative. He recounts when he first heard these songs, at a time when sometimes there wasn't even a turntable, and so they were listened to from acquaintances on certain occasions.

The album, which is not unreleased, but can be considered a concept about the partisan era and youth, has not been released on free and legal platforms but only in CD and LP format, and only on the former is an additional track contained at the end.

I do not offer a track-by-track analysis of the lyrics and music, but I want to emphasize the overall spirit of the work, on its motivations, which take their cue from the passing, in 2010, of record producer Renzo Fantini. Already some years earlier, Francesco had floated the idea of putting these songs on record, through which he could talk about himself.

The arrangements are by Fabio Ilacqua, while among the musicians are guitarists Stefano Giungato, Lavinia Mancusi, and Biagio Sturiale, the double bass of Marco Ricci, and the accordion of Nadio Marenco. On percussion, surprisingly, Phil Mer, son of Red Canzian's second wife, already involved in the Pooh tour in 2011 and several subsequent collaborations.

I strongly recommend purchasing and listening to this work, reading the booklet carefully, and experiencing a complex and comprehensive listening because, in this case, it doesn't make sense to say which is the best or worst. What makes sense is instead grasping the motivations and spirit of each track, and thus of the entire work. Maybe by searching the Internet for anything not understood or found.

To the album, a welcome and unexpected return, at 82 years of age, of Francesco Guccini, I still give four stars, considering it something extra to be added to the sixteen bricks of his beautiful studio discography.