Francesco Piu
Ma-Moo Tones

Since I have nothing to do for a couple of days after the last exam of the university session (Psychiatry, it might not be a coincidence that I ended up here), I'm throwing out there another Italian gem that has been widely overlooked around here. We are talking about Francesco Piu, the greatest "pizza & macaroni" guitarist/bluesman on the market.

Yes, because the talent is natural, crystal clear like mountain water, the style swims in the roots of blues (the washboard is the instrument of choice during live performances) and reflects in a crafted but functional voice to the "spiritual" subject, coloring itself with an unsuspected freshness in forms well before in content for a historical matter that is stoically current in the musical landscape.

Of blatantly Sardinian origin, America runs in the boy's blood, who cultivates skills in using a wide range of string instruments between tradition and innovation (dobro, banjo, weissenboard, lap steel, and more, I have the idea that he could make even a clothes dryer sound) as well as managing decently with the harmonica.

After various life experiences (I met him during the time he played for Davide Van De Sfroos), our guy launches into his first studio album, "Ma-moo tones" (produced by Eric Bibb), and it's immediately a genre ecstasy: upon first listening, you'll immediately perceive an extremely well-crafted work, with never predictable sounds, as overwhelming as it is vitalistic. In short, it's a good blues with attributes, which perhaps won't say anything new, but hearing a musician handle a guitar so well could be a good surrogate for an encounter (just kidding, please don't try this at home).

The album contains a decent variety of tracks, 9 originals and 2 covers (fantastic ones, Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man," electrified and intensified if you will, and Jimi's "Third Stone from the Sun," acoustic on the contrary, reflective at first but skillfully endowed with a rising climax).

Obviously, the resonance of quality musical proposals in Italy at least hovers near zero; this doesn't imply resignation but rather striving to acknowledge merit when encountered: and I've had a decent number of encounters with Piu (we're already at 5). In live performances, he really leaves you speechless: a superb entertainer, he is accompanied only by a drummer, sometimes not even that; his ability to orchestrate and structure rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic sections simultaneously is a thing I've only seen done by the, alas, late Bob Brozman. And in all of this, there isn't even a shadow of gratuitous virtuosism, slapped in your face "because I can afford it."

In short, a youngster who has all the means to become known while staying true to his innate musical belief: I can only try to lend him a hand in this journey with the humble literary tools I possess.