La Bottega dell'Arte
La bottega dell'arte

THE REVIEW

Oh, the memories of this Bottega Dell'Arte... I don't know if everyone remembers this great band that back in the day I was a bit hesitant to shout out loud (heaven forbid anyone found out you listened to such music at the time!) but now youth has passed, and with it, the prejudices of that era. I can say they might not appeal to everyone, but the memories are out in the open, and I am too fond to feel the slightest shame, which wouldn't even have a reason to exist. So many beautiful songs, so many lost loves, and so many lovely sensations.

It was 1975, and I was in the midst of the best experiences of my life, and when I turned on the radio, there they were. They certainly flirted with prog, at least in the beginning, and sometimes they succeeded and sometimes they didn't, but how talented they were... They defined those years along with many other bands that I hold dear to my heart, like the often-criticized Giardino dei Semplici or the Alunni Del Sole, but also the Collage, for me, a goldmine. And in 1975, what came out of the stereos if not the debut of Bottega Dell'Arte, led by the Roman Piero Calabrese, a great singer with a very evocative voice.

In short, even the album cover was a whole program, a cover that I have worn out, featuring a work-style picture of the 5 guys. And I don't know why, but I fell in love with it immediately. Maybe I didn't know avant-garde music yet, but when you get attached to something, no technical experimentation can stand up to it, what you are fond of matters more. Just listen to Il fiume, il villaggio, la miniera what a beautiful melody and what a beautiful song, regarding a childish farewell to the birthplace and a return in adulthood. And now you wouldn't want to leave that place, because, a bit like me with the album, it's not so much the beauty of the place that matters, but how much you are attached to it. And well, memories were fundamental for winning over the audience, and I must say that these kids did quite well. Not to mention how beautiful Come due bambini is, which deals with a love almost with childish connotations towards a perhaps distant woman. But what beautiful arrangements, really not bad. And Ripensare a Lei... A really beautiful delicacy to hear and enjoy, the themes of the song are school memories, but my memories regarding this piece also deal with the same themes.

And then the emotion becomes almost obligatory, I can't help but think back to that girl from many years ago, I wonder where she is now, if she's married or not, but I still think of her, and it might seem trivial at my age but I can't erase even the smallest things from my mind, she looked at me, and I stared into her eyes, just as I recall the images of her with the musical introduction of Che Dolce Lei. And I'm here, between the four walls, looking out the window hoping to forget and return to everyday things. Better switch to songs that give me fewer memories, like Camelot, a beautiful ballad with medieval connotations. Let's hope the memories don't catch me unprepared again...

Maybe this music is bad for me... But let's move on, Noi due nel bene e nel male which a bit on the previous line takes up themes dear to the group, and if Camelot had slightly calmed me down, here I am back on alert. And I rediscover the incommunicability of the lyrics in the relationship I had with my first wife. But it's better to leave this aside. Nothing compared to the smile that girl from high school had, who I remembered earlier... Enough whining, let's change track.

Un esistenza, the longest piece of the lot, a beautiful musical interlude that reminds us that La Bottega not only makes me cry but also brings together several instruments for quite a delightful musical jumble. Sorry for the track-by-track which I've read isn't much liked, but I'm a novice, so treat me accordingly. I must say the truth, there are also pieces that can be listened to without reminding me too much. I can't say the same about Amore non amore, a beautiful melancholic piece that can do nothing but take me back to the years when I had the car with my friends and every day was an adventure. And I don't know if I should turn it off or not, this damn stereo. I close with two really beautiful pieces and very close to prog, A Cinthya and the splendid Mare Nostrum.

I'll stop here. I have loved the production of La Bottega in other great pieces as well, but for space reasons I couldn't describe them all in one text, maybe next time we'll also talk about the album Dentro, full of great songs that take me back to my teenage years. I hope I haven't bored any young people in search of avant-garde music with this text from an old retiree in search of old experiences, have a good day