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THE REVIEW
You can start getting to know Battiato from here. The album is from 1981, this year it's 25 years old, yet it doesn't show its age at all. Battiato is the only Italian singer-songwriter who has shown us the world from a different angle, as if we were tilting our heads to one side. Is it the unusual times for pop music, such as the 6/4 in the verse of "Summer On A Solitary Beach"? A ternary rhythm accompanied in binary? Is it the inserts in English, the quotes from famous songs? Is it the apparent nonsense of the lyrics? Is it that refined way of describing situations and feelings? And moreover, is it a coincidence that the sea heard at the beginning of the album doesn't make it clear whether it's a real sea or pink noise, a synthetic sea?
So many questions, so many hypotheses... The fact is that Battiato makes the listener experience unique sensations and emotions that are difficult to describe. No other Italian author conveys such a similar disposition of the soul. Listening to him puts us in touch with a part of ourselves we didn't know we had. Here, music, used like medicine or a drug, takes us into altered states of consciousness, opening emotional and visual windows into the multiple dimensions of reality; and it is this way that concepts like the immensity and eternity of the universe become easily and emotionally perceivable. Battiato, like an alien from outer space, shows us and allows us to experience new perceptions of reality, teaching us to look at the world with new eyes.
It's pointless to compliment Battiato; he, in his elegant modesty, knows very well that he is just a conduit, one of the few channels through which the great universal consciousness speaks, with which every artist tries to connect to draw their works. Be that as it may...
Thank you, Franco. Every Battiato record is a window through which to look within oneself. Take a look, if you feel like it.
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Summary by Bot
Franco Battiato's 1981 album La Voce Del Padrone remains remarkably fresh 25 years later. The album's experimental rhythms, enigmatic lyrics, and emotional depth create a unique listening experience. Battiato invites listeners to see the world differently and explore profound inner emotions. The music acts like a portal to altered states of consciousness and new perceptions of reality. This record stands as a timeless gateway into the soul.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Franco Battiato
Franco Battiato (Catania, 1945–2021) was an Italian singer-songwriter, composer and filmmaker whose career bridged avant‑garde electronics, chart‑topping pop and sacred/classical works. After pioneering experimental albums in the 1970s, he reached mass audiences in the 1980s and later pursued spiritual and orchestral projects, often collaborating with philosopher Manlio Sgalambro. He also composed operas and directed films.98 Reviews
Other reviews
By voiceface
A brilliant mix of pop, electronic, and symphonic music.
'La Voce Del Padrone' is a unique record in Battiato's career and, as such, can be praised or criticized, depending on the idea one has formed of the artist and his qualities.
By STIPE
La Voce Del Padrone is an intense album, rich in meaning, that delivers great emotions.
Thanks to the language of pop-rock Battiato tells and brings to life moments of his personal life.
By Fiumani
With over a million copies sold, in 1981, Franco Battiato forcefully enters the homes of all Italians, creating a phenomenon of vast and unimaginable proportions.
Strangely and exceptionally, in Italy, everyone begins to hum about 'Jesuit Euclideans' and 'minima immoralia'...
By trout_mask
"The album remains coherent until the end without excesses or flaws."
"Battiato’s typical refinement, the richness and originality of the arrangements... remain intact."
By POLO
"I don’t care at all that 'La Voce del Padrone' is deemed a masterpiece; I don’t like it."
"You don’t fight the revolution with flat music. You can’t deceive people with pop music made just for the sake of it."
