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Rating: The morning shows the day. Nothing could be more fitting than this proverb to introduce Franco Battiato's debut album: Fetus. Released by Bla Bla in 1972, Fetus is embedded and manages to shake up the Italian musical context of those years where experimentation was the order of the day.
The album is a concept album that deals with life, from conception to development, through eight tracks in which Battiato narrates in his own way, with simple yet not trivial lyrics, a complicated theme. You will not find songs within it that follow the classic composition scheme or long tracks, because Battiato wanted to experiment in every way possible. And you will not even find simple arrangements or a single genre awaiting you along the listen of each track because he enjoyed blending completely different genres, turning them into something unique. This is what distinguishes Franco Battiato's experimentation, what has led him to be recognized over the years as one of the greatest in Italian music: the quality product.
When I bought this album, I didn't know what I was about to purchase; I bought it blind. But I knew my expectations would be met in every possible way, I was certain of it. In Fetus, electric keyboards, acoustic guitars, violins, audio recordings of children and the conversation between Neil Armstrong and Nixon, and sirens all work together for this single cause.
Chapeau to some incredible ideas, such as, and this is the glaring proof, making a mathematical formula catchy in a masterpiece song like Phenomenology "x1 = A*sin(ωt), x2 = A*sin(ωt + γ)". Singing the representation of DNA is certainly not for everyone, but here we are not talking about just anyone or the latest newcomer. Some think he is a Martian or who knows what else. It's Franco Battiato.
Tracklist:
1) Fetus
2) Una Cellula
3) Cariocinesi
4) Energia
5) Fenomenologia
6) Meccanica
7) Anafase
8) Mutazione
Tracklist and Videos
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Other reviews
By Dj Lavoire
This album, almost on the edge of listenability, purely psychedelic and very electronic, is an album that makes you dream.
Guys, listen to it; it’s worth it. It’s true, the early albums are overlooked, so what are you waiting for?
By Naif_90
The journey begins with a heartbeat, a delicate guitar arpeggio, and Battiato’s voice introducing the world of Fetus.
'Fashions pass, various musical genres are destined for variation, but records like this are destined to remain fixed in the minds of all of us.'
By Superbia
"Fetus may not be Battiato's best album, but this does not make it any less important than the others."
"The right amalgamation of instruments and complex lyrics are a distinguishing feature of this song and the entire album."
By Gianfranco
Battiato was ahead of his time, an artist like him in the Italian field is essential.
This is the beginning of his universe, both physical and mental, it is the prelude to birth, to composition, to the spring of the beast.
