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Rating: There’s already something about this 2004 album, right here.
But reading what’s already out there feels like a waste of time, at least between a few careful words of appreciation or distancing, mixed with a flood of outbursts from poor post-compulsive souls, would-be wits, and harsh populists. So here I am, to inform someone and refresh many people's memories.
Laura does not move you much, undoubtedly. Because of her premises, her aims, the setup of her work, her trade.
But she’s in good company… I really can’t tell her apart from beings such as Madonna, Beyoncé, Boccelli, Shakira, Lopez. It’s pop for its own sake, aimed at the ecstasy of unjaded crowds; crafted by professionals, artfully polished according to “what people want” (which is, of course, the antithesis of art).
Endowed with a good and powerful voice – but in Italy there are better ones – her producers (who invariably were, and are, also her men) managed to surround her, to dress her up in a thoroughly professional package, clearly drawing on foreign resources to make her sound even more convincing and “international”. The music on this album is impeccably produced, the voice as well.
And so she broke through worldwide or rather, to look at it closely, in the Spanish-speaking countries; in the Anglo-Saxon ones, much less so. This album? Over five million copies sold.
This album which, compared to her usual trend, is a bit less Italian and more Anglo-Saxon, more… um, rock. The opening track “La prospettiva di me” is nothing less than an AOR piece, melodic rock with a slick edge, vacuously intense.
My favorite track is “Vivimi”, the one that often haunts us in TV ads, with her smiling as she walks between kitchens and dinettes of her Pesaro-based sponsor. It’s a ballad with a nice momentum, a two-stage build-up: the first in the bridge (the most successful part), the second in the chorus. All courtesy of Biagio Antonacci, but she undoubtedly adds value to it… Sung by Biagio it’s a different thing, lesser.
Getting to the eleventh and last song of the album isn’t easy, you get bored before then, but the same happens to me with Ac-Dc or Leonard Cohen. But I must compliment her, she’s organized things brilliantly, she or whoever manages and decides her career.
After this exercise of open-mindedness and thoughtful, serene objectivity, I’m off to blast through my headphones a live double album by Foghat, with that authentic animal on slide guitar that was the beloved Rod Price. There’s a time for jacket and tie and a time for a sweaty tank top.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Escucha atento (03:29)
Hoy volví a pensar en ti
Hace siglos que
No te llamo ni tú a mí...
Suele suceder
A nadie más dije amor, a nadie... A nadie
Desde entonces ninguno encontré
Que se parezca a ti
Que se parezca a mí... Por dentro
Escucha atento el mensaje que es para ti,
Dime si estás ahí
Que yo te conozco y sé que no vas a tener
Alternativa a mí lo sé... Lo sé
Porque... Lo sé.
Te diría una mentira... Mía
Si dijese que
No he tenido compañías
Ni rocé otra piel
Busqué en cada boca encontrar tu nombre... Tu nombre
Esperé demasiado y al fin
Ya te borré de mí
Ya me alejé de ti lo sabes
Escucha atento el mensaje que mando aquí
Dime si estás ahí
Que yo te conozco y mi puesto no es junto a ti
Sé depender de mí
Añorarás
Cosas de mí
Que ya nunca más tendrás
Escucha atento no vas a tener
Alternativa a mí lo sé... Lo sé
Alternativa a mí lo sé
Hoy volví a pensar en ti
Suele suceder
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Other reviews
By The Punisher
"Songs are beautiful if one hums the chorus after listening to it 1 or 2 times at most, the rest are just fantasies or stuff worthy of the Tenco Prize."
"Avoid embarking on this profession if you are not the CHILDREN OF..., if you are not endorsed by XYZ or daddy doesn’t throw 50 thousand euros on the table just for fun."
