Francesco Guccini
Live@ RTSI

A little gem to propose to you.

This concert was recorded in Lugano in 1982, at RTSI Swiss television which, for the occasion, proposed a series of unplugged concerts, featuring (alternating one a night) numerous Italian singer-songwriters including Paolo Conte, Lucio Dalla, Roberto Vecchioni, and naturally, Francesco Guccini.

The performance was printed in 2001 in a digipack CD and reissued in 2013 with an attached DVD, containing about 90 minutes of material including an interview with the singer-songwriter. However, it is rather unlikely that you will be able to find at least one of the two versions in a specialized store because they are products that usually emerge from the baskets of hypermarkets or among the CD shelves of the best appliance stores. To be honest, the video of the performance is easily available online; however, the message is to be patient and look for one of the aforementioned versions, which besides presenting a never-before-heard Guccini, are memorabilia that do not appear in the official discography of the singer-songwriter.

That said, the unplugged is very beautiful, with its warm and intimate atmosphere; the musicians are four, divided between three guitars (one of which is electric), plus an electric bass; everything takes place in front of a small audience, as is traditional in television broadcasts. The audio is rich, sonorous, "like vinyl" one might say. The tracklist is divided between old classics, like Auschwitz and Canzone per un’amica, which for the occasion regain the musical conception of Guccini's very first albums (with the acoustic wall taking the lead); to others from Metropolis (his latest album at the time) which in this context undergo a real sonic upheaval, like Bisanzio, which sheds its pop arrangements, leaving space for acoustic arpeggios and the flashes of the electric guitar, immersing the song in a subdued, dreamy atmosphere; in this way, the story of the wizard Filemazio becomes even more engaging and magical: in the writer's opinion, the best piece of this concert! Canzone dei dodici mesi is also very beautiful and adrenalizing, finally gaining a bit of sobriety in the arrangements, after the numerous overlays that filled the version present in Radici. There is also a superb Canzone di notte n°2, which Guccini dedicates “To all those who love staying up at night.” The inevitable La locomotiva, as always, is placed at the end.

The CD has been rightfully stripped of interruptions and monologues, which are present on the DVD, which also features the original tracklist, later disrupted in the audio format. So my advice is to nab the more complete edition, that is, CD+DVD which contains all the concert material. Good luck.

CD

1. Canzone per un’amica

2. Bologna

3. Il vecchio e il bambino

4. Dio è morto

5. Canzone di notte n°2

6. Auschwitz

7. Bisanzio

8. Canzone dei dodici mesi

9. Un altro giorno è andato

10. La locomotiva

DVD

1. Canzone per un’amica

2. Auschwitz

3. Dio è morto

4. Venezia (only in video version).

5. Il vecchio e il bambino

6. Canzone dei dodici mesi

7. Bisanzio

8. Bologna

9. Canzone di notte n°2

10. Un altro giorno è andato

11. La locomotiva

Line-up:

Tiziano Barbieri: bass

Juan Carlos “Flaco” Biondini: guitar

Jimmy Villotti: guitar

Francesco Guccini: vocals, guitar and…wine!

Federico “Dragonstar” Passarella.