Francesco Guccini
Fra la via Emilia e il West

THE REVIEW

If I had to recommend an album to someone to get closer to Guccini, I would definitely suggest this one.

I find, in fact, that he performs much better live than in the studio, and that the strength of his voice, his ideas, and the infinite passion that seeps through his performances somehow compensate for his musical shortcomings, a fundamental criticism that everyone somehow makes against him.
Personally, I hate hearing Guccio described as "heavy" and "boring." A keen listener cannot help but appreciate his delicate way of narrating life and pain, and his frankness and anger in his (endless) protest songs... and even his way of talking about politics is so poetic that it doesn't bother anyone (I got to know Guccio through an absolutely right-wing friend... that must mean something).

The album opens with the classic "Canzone per un'amica", the opening piece of all his concerts, and continues with "Autogrill", a piece that personally makes me dream: raise your hand if you've never been carried away by such a dream... Of course, the album includes all his most famous tracks, but special mentions go to the poignant interpretation of "Canzone quasi d'amore", where Biondini's accompaniment highlights our artist's voice that, poignant, tells the awareness of a man looking at life with disillusionment and who, precisely thanks to the awareness he has reached ("to live is to meet, to be sleepy, hungry, to have children, eat, drink, read, love, scratch oneself!"), manages to get emotional about what life offers him every day; "Venezia", which still manages to move me as it did after the first listen, painted with delicate tones, over which stand out the raw images of Stefania's last moments of life... and then the exceptional trio "Eskimo", "Incontro", and "Vedi Cara", where one moves seamlessly from anger to a melancholic smile through nostalgia.
Everything, of course, is closed off by the resounding "Locomotiva", which manages to raise my fist even though I understand nothing about politics.

Simply perfect.