Giorgia
Ladra di vento

THE REVIEW

Okay, let's start from the beginning:
1) Spirito libero. The first single, released at the end of last summer. An electro-dance piece that represented a true revolution in Giorgia's repertoire: many old fans were shocked by it. Not bad, but under the very cool arrangement, it gives you the unpleasant sensation of being made up of at least three different songs barely pieced together. Too much desire to overdo it. Rating: 2.5.
2) Vetro sul cuore. A pleasant soul ballad that explodes in the chorus. Rating: 2.5.
3) Vento del deserto. A stunning piece, the most beautiful of the album: perfect in both lyrics and music. Energetic, assertive R'n'B perfectly interpreted, a true jewel. But did you really write it, Giorgia? Rating: 4.5.
4) La gatta. A cute and fun dance song, but at times the lyrics and interpretation slip into unintended comedy. Better arranged and sung by some black Venus like Kelis or Beyoncé, it would become an international hit. Rating: 3.
5) Viaggio della mente. A somewhat whiny ballad. Rating: 2.
6) Scivoli di ghiaccio. Another ballad, useless and terribly boring. Rating: 0.5.
7) Toxica. Giorgia singing metal... No comment. The lyrics then make no sense, it's just words placed randomly. Rating: 0.5.
8) Il lupo. A tedious ballad much too similar to the others. Rating: 1.
9) L'eternità. Another ballad, but this one truly beautiful: a touching and sincere love song. Rating: 3.5.
10) Nouveau sourire. A sort of anthem for peace, sung in three different languages (Italian, French, English), as if extending the message to the whole world. A piece full of great ideas, none of which are adequately developed, ruined by a monotonous pace and an uninspired arrangement. Rating: 3-.
11) Come si fa? (it's the title of the song, not my comment). An electro-R'n'B piece that is simply SCANDALOUS. After a nonsensical introduction (a jumble of voices declaiming absurdities), the first verse begins, supported by a truly horrible electric bass. At this point, you expect at least a nice catchy chorus (like Vivi davvero, to be clear), but instead, a mewing falsetto voice emerges that sounds like a bad copy of Britney Spears. Wow, what a mess! Rating: 0.
12) So beautiful. Another ballad. Rating: 1.
13) Per sempre. Another ballad. What a bore. Rating: 1.
And then there's Gocce di memoria. Obviously, I'm not going to comment on that. Beautiful and so on, but it has little or nothing to do with the rest of the album.

An ambitious album, in my opinion too ambitious for someone like Giorgia, who confirms herself as a top-tier interpreter and a much more modest author/composer. There are a few jewels (Vento del deserto and L'eternità are undoubtedly very beautiful) and some noteworthy points (the chorus of Vetro sul cuore, the multilingual aspect of Nouveau sourire), but ultimately it's just not there, it's just not there: too much eagerness to overdo it, too many irons in the fire, definitely TOO many ballads (all too similar to each other), all served with flat arrangements with international, overused sounds - especially R'n'B, which is so trendy these days... In short, Giorgia's authorial turn (writing lyrics and music for every song) has not benefited her at all: she remains what she has always been, a splendid and wasted voice, used well below her real potential and reduced to interpreting pieces of decidedly low quality. What a shame.