Giorgio Canali
Rossofuoco

One day I was reading my usual teenage magazine (you know, the ones run by fifteen-year-olds who know absolutely nothing but will sell you on The Strokes as the most revolutionary band ever?) when in the section dedicated to Italian rock, I noticed a name, Giorgio Canali, guitarist of CSI, a name that for me then had the same meaning as gobbledygook just to make it clear.

At the moment, I didn't pay it much attention, but the week after, as I entered my trusty music store, I spotted the album cover in question, and without listening to my rational side that was telling me: "Oh what the hell are you doing? Look, it costs 25000 lire, and you don't even know what it sounds like!" , I rushed to the checkout where the shopkeeper gave me a strange look (I still don't know today if he was more surprised by the fact that someone who usually had Limp Bizkit in his earphones was buying a Canali CD or by the event of my purchase given that usually, after an hour of wandering in his store, I would punctually leave empty-handed). I ran home, eager to know how badly I had spent my money, and I put the CD on.

"Questa è la fine" is the song that drew me into the world of Giorgio, a gloomy, dark, claustrophobic world, in a word, negative. The opening verse "Questa è la fine, quante volte avrei voluto dirlo, un po' profeti di sventura, un po' senza capirlo, per poi andarcene in silenzio, subito prima dell'inverno con le foglie che, come da copione, ci muoiono intorno" is the synthesis of the character of the entire album. The songs are all more or less little dark stories, especially this one tells us about this man initially resigned in the face of death and finally angry, unable to understand why many pretend that death does not exist; the music follows the lyrics, initially slow and measured, finally as angry as ever, with an electric guitar left free in its furious wanderings.

The second track follows the same path, a short and calm intro gives way to Canali's electric fury, venting all his negativity by mistreating his guitar to the limits of noise.
Following "Pesci nell'acqua" in which you really seem to float in the midst of a dark sea, lulled by Canali's acoustic and his voice made hoarse by who knows how many cigarettes.

In short, I'm not going to give you a boring track-by-track review, because this album is anything but boring; it’s a punch in the stomach, capable of making you spit out all your malaise in 45 minutes. Just know that songs in Italian alternate with singing in French like "La démarche des crabes" where Giorgio screams all his anger with all his voice (listen to believe it). Also worth mentioning is "Fuoco corri con me" with its claustrophobic lyrics and "Rossocome", certainly the song that resonates most with the audience for its easy and catchy chorus (as far as a phrase like "Fatevi fottere, voi e i vostri alzacristalli elettrici..." can be catchy and so on).

I hope I have convinced you, this is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and underrated Italian rock albums of the '90s, if you want references, feel free to look at the angriest Afterhours, Marlene Kuntz, and, why not, even a bit of CSI (which now means something more than gobbledygook in my head).
Of course, if at 40 years old (as Canali is) we will all be like him, it will be quite a mess, but honestly, I’d rather be like him than like those fashionable Strokes.

The other day, entering my CD shop, I noticed the release of Canali's new CD, I picked it up without having listened to a single note online, and to hell with rationality!