Francesco Guccini
Metropolis

THE REVIEW

It's difficult to talk about real missteps for Guccini during the period from the early '70s to the mid (if not the entire decade) '80s.

However, apart from Bertoncelli's famous criticism, 'Stanze di vita quotidiana' was described as a clay vase among two iron vases, meaning a weak point between two better episodes.

I believe this better defines 'Metropolis' of 1981, which indeed stands between two monumental works, without maintaining their level ('Amerigo' and 'Guccini').

The idea (a bit lackluster compared to other 'concept albums') is that man ties his existential condition to the place where he spends his life, assimilating its colors, sharing experiences, living the city, rather than in a city. Thus, someone who grows up in Bologna is different from someone who does so in Milan; similarly, the condition differs for those born in a 'Lager' compared to those in a 'big hospital,' where they leave behind an exhausted mother.

Guccini isn't usually one to pull an idea out of the hat that links all the tracks of an album, yet he does this time, but it doesn't add up; the idea doesn't excite me, and the album compilation feels forced. Additionally, one track (Venezia) wasn't written by him, and this track, along with another (Lager), was recorded for another album (not his), two years earlier. In short, the feeling that it is somewhat of a collage due to time constraints and a disk needing to be pressed is hard to ignore.

Apart from 'Lager,' which stands out for its word choice, sensitivity, and bitter anger, I would highlight 'Bisanzio', which has a somewhat cryptic text, almost anomalous for the frankness of the 'maestrone', and 'Bologna', which is famous and talks about the city where he studied and spent his youth and, well, all that you like. But I have never been to Bologna and honestly, I am little interested in these extravagant ghettoizations, for Guccini, accustomed to dealing with humanity as a common condition, writing songs that transcend the experiences of the listeners and their social and cultural level.

For me, there is nothing essential in this LP, or at least there is very little of what I love about Guccini.