Gianna Nannini
G.N.

"A movie of a non-stop day, like a series of emotional flashes alternating in everyday life": according to Gianna Nannini, this definition encapsulates the entire album under review. In 1981, after the "fame" of the album "California", released at the end of 1979 (complete with a vibrator placed in the hand of the Statue of Liberty on the cover, with themes explicitly talking about sex, beginning with the anthem to female masturbation "America" and with the help of Roberto Vecchioni no less in writing the lyrics) Gianna Nannini released the album G.N., with the help of Roberto Cacciapaglia from Milan, a "wizard" of electronics and the producer of the album itself. And there is no doubt that electronics abound in the aforementioned album.

The leading track of the album is the sens(u)al and, indeed, "electronic" single "Vieni ragazzo", which will, among other things, come second at the Festivalbar of that year (Vieni a vivere un secondo, vieni ragazzo dai. Ora non dire è tardi, non mi dire ma mentre ti spoglio e siamo dentro un bar, vieni ragazzo dai. Scivola sulla mia pelle, scivola sui tuoi pensieri, scivoli ma dove vai). Let's say it is one of the few pieces that links back to the previous album, at least lyrically, along with "Come un treno", again from a lyrical standpoint (E con un'altra sigaretta accesa, con un altro uomo nel mio letto, con un'altra storia da comprare di nascosto mi sto sedendo sopra il mio silenzio e mi addormento a mezzogiorno, perché comincia un altro mondo).

But musically the album, besides electronics, is permeated by a rock that is also quite chaotic and frantic, sometimes culminating in new wave, as in "Ad occhi aperti" with its "roaring" keyboards or in "Nessuna direzione" and its nocturnal "dream-flight". It also brushes against punk with "Bi Bip", with lyrics that mock emptiness and beauty, with the "punk" even resonating almost in the obsessive verses "Dimmi dimmi stereo, dimmi tutto in stereo, dimmi dimmi non parlare, dimmi dimmelo così. Bi-bip uo' bi-bi-bip, bi-bip uo' bi-bi-bip". What made these pieces a "must" for the youth of the time (though more in the rest of Europe than in Italy at the time, and especially in Germany) is undoubtedly also the interpretation of their author, who energetically and spiritedly narrates with a hoarse and rough voice themes very fitting for the youth themselves: roaring and rebellious nights, encounters of casual sex, or long journeys on the "Autostrada", where one gets lost in endless and even dreamlike travels (Autostrada/ Prendi la mia mente, stancami... Fammi uscire ancora, fammi uscire, Autostrada:Praterie senza pensiero").

But despite Nannini going "like a train", she too sometimes needs to rest and unplug, as she tells us in the last track of the album, the excellent and electrifying "Stop": Ora spegni le luci dei fari, addormentati sul tuo domani. Non ho voglia di muovermi, non ho voglia di scegliere e mi piace vederti così sulle nuvole in cerca di me, con la testa che prende il via a cavallo della follia. There isn’t a lack of a more "relaxed" piece either, like the sweet and dreamy "Uò-uò" to complete the work.

In this album, there is no track that has become a classic by Nannini; even the launch single, the nevertheless beautiful "Vieni ragazzo", was quickly forgotten and didn’t withstand the test of time. It is indeed a rather atypical album in the discography of the Sienese singer-songwriter: a dark, night-time, electronic, restless, dreamlike album, even decadent in some passages if you will, but very fascinating precisely for that reason. As mentioned, at the time of its release, the album was more successful in the rest of Europe than in Italy, especially among young Germans. After this, for the next four albums (Latin lover, Puzzle, Profumo, Malafemmina) national Gianna would rely on the expert hands of Conny Plank and become a star even in Italy. Although, to be fair, even "Latin lover" when it came out (1982) was more successful in Germany than in Italy, while the subsequent three were also popular in Italy. But "Latin lover" contained tracks that would later become Nannini’s evergreen pieces (Latin lover and Ragazzo dell’Europa).

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