Ivano Fossati
Lampo Viaggiatore

"I am a visionary, I see what isn't there, I dream of a machine that... rewinds time." That's how "Lampo viaggiatore" begins, the 2003 album, with the relentless rhythm of "La bottega di filosofia," a track with sharp lyrics "I see clearly what surrounds me, see without help and better without glasses," with Fossati in great shape.

Ivano Fossati, from Genoa, is one of the most cultured and refined songwriters on the Italian scene and "Lampo viaggiatore" is a remarkable work; its strength lies in the lyrics, almost as if to counterbalance the absence of words from his previous album "Not one word" (2001).

"Pane e coraggio" is a very bitter reggae that speaks of immigration, and again, the words leave no way out, describing the drama of those "disoriented by television" trying to escape to go "from a land that hates us to another that does not want us." The best moment of the album is undoubtedly the splendid "Il bacio sulla bocca," "my only love song that ends well" as Fossati himself declared, with lyrics that are pure poetry "beautiful, what does the world matter to us, we will be forgiven, I tell you, by a kiss on the mouth," the words rest on Fossati's classic piano, "tire me and embrace me, look at all this new time arriving with you." One of the most beautiful Italian songs in recent years, and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs of the Genoese songwriter, a gem on par with "La costruzione di un amore."

Another masterpiece is "C'è tempo," here too the music is entrusted to the piano and accordions, and here too the lyrics are disarming "They say there is a time to sow, and a longer one to wait, I say there was a dreamed time that one had to dream." "Io sono un uomo libero" is the only non-original track, already featured on Celentano's album "Esco di rado e parlo ancora meno," in which the Genoese songwriter claims his apolitical stance "I am a free man, neither right nor left, I still dream believing I'm thinking, I still dream with my elbows on the window."

Ultimately "Lampo viaggiatore" is a pleasant surprise, a record without weak points, the level is truly high, the music recalls the atmospheres of "Panama e dintorni," Fossati is incredibly inspired, especially when he sits at the piano to move, as only he knows how to do, once again.