Franco Battiato
Last Summer Dance

THE REVIEW

I wish I could have attended all the concerts he's committed to since this summer, but I only saw one. Listening to this record means reliving that splendid concert for me, while at the same time feeling my mind massaged and taken towards the most intense sensations.
This is not a dry collection of tracks. This is tangible proof that for over thirty years, music has not been the same because it's been shaped by the hands of a single artist, and turned into philosophy, prayer, dance, and storytelling.

A man who has nothing left to prove, has done everything—music, cinema, painting, theater—and therefore now can do everything, even allow "Voglio vederti danzare" to be upended by DJ Prezioso and tossed around by all the radio stations: by now, nothing can diminish its greatness.
In "Last Summer Dance" Battiato, accompanied by the philosopher Manlio Sgalambro who opens the little-known "Shackleton" and also performs "Accetta il consiglio", showcases his most beautiful compositions (most beautiful, not most well-known), whether calm or lively, some with different arrangements, others faithful to the "original" version, yet all imbued with that indescribable atmosphere that characterizes every "live" performance.

Glimpsing through the tracklist, I feel a pang at the absence of "L'ombra della luce" or "I treni di Tozeur", but as Battiato himself stated, "Cosa vuoi che ti dica... In 40 anni di musica qualcosa devi pur lasciare fuori. Non potevo mica mettere tutto". Indeed.
And so, all that remains is to be lulled by the tracks, minute after minute: from the version of "La cura" accompanied by the piano to the brass of "Delenda Carthago", to the medley that wonderfully gathers almost all the tracks from "La voce del padrone". And then "Atlantide", "Il mantello e la spiga", "Lode all'inviolato"... they should all be mentioned, but can't be. A pity.

Because words can't capture how valuable this record is.
A bleak commercial operation? A lucrative project by Sony? It hardly matters: what matters is even just the satisfaction one can feel looking at the two pastel-colored discs within their cardboard case, but above all, filling ourselves with the magic they have to offer us. With a complacent smile on our lips.

"Tesserò i tuoi capelli come trame di un canto. Conosco le leggi del mondo, e te ne farò dono. Supererò le correnti gravitazionali, lo spazio e la luce per non farti invecchiare. E guarirai da tutte le malattie, perché sei un essere speciale, ed io avrò cura di te".