Giovanni Allevi
Joy

THE REVIEW

Here he is, the new Mozart of the third millennium, the one who has converted tens of thousands of listeners of Abba, Fausto Papetti, and Richard Clayderman to "Contemporary Classical Music"... The wonderfully extravagant national Giovannone, perpetually interviewed on the cultural pages (ha ha) of the most prestigious (ha ha) national newspapers, more on television than Pope Ratzinger...

I know that music should not be judged by the artist's image, but since he himself bombards us with his image, let me say: wake up, people, this guy is putting us on! Otherwise, how can we explain the fact that every blessed question he is asked, he scratches his bush, laughs, and spouts four picturesque nonsense?

Ah, but Allevi has toured all over the world, has played in front of oceanic crowds in China, who went crazy for him... Yes, too bad they were the same crowds that go crazy indiscriminately for Mino Reitano, Placido Domingo, the Metallica.

Ah, but he sold out at the Blue Note... No, excuse me a moment. Suppose you make music that recycles the worst remnants of romanticism... Who are you going to propose it to? The Viennese? They will cover you with raspberries! The Germans? But then it's suicide... Let's go to those who have never heard anything like it in their lives... The Americans!

That said, let's move on to a calm and objective analysis of the tracks on the album. These are mostly silly lullabies, halfway between cartoon themes and the background music for a hair salon. Saccharine melodies, pianist tricks from a conservatory student, cotton candy blues follow one another continuously.

"Portami Via" should be titled "Take Me Away From The Record Store Before I Waste My Money On This CD," but at this point, it's evidently too late...

"Water Dance" (Dance of the Throne), is the one that indeed has the most fitting title... "Follow You," reconnects with the warmth of Italian folk melody, and indeed seems like the instrumental translation of a Toto Cutugno song.

But it doesn't end here: just when I was about to doze off, here comes the idiotic strumming of "Jazzmatic"... Enough already, people are trying to sleep...

Luckily, we promptly go back to serious snoring with "Il Bacio" (which candidly could be the next theme for "Sentieri"), and the grand finale "New Renaissance," an ideal piece to showcase Allevi's virtuosity to those who know nothing about music.

As for the usefulness of the CD after the first listen, frankly 20 euros for a coaster seems too much to me.