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Rating: Apparently, someone reads what I write. Oh yes... because if I find a nice folder with 10 mp3s and a cover from a band of complete strangers labeled as "please review mercilessly", it can only mean that someone is reading. And that someone, obviously, plays. And it's about the sense and value of covers we are discussing. Yes, because Le Piciarle, a group from who knows where, composed of who knows who, with a lively yet incomprehensible blog (lepiciarle.blogspot.com), is apparently just a cover band that enjoys playing.
Their repertoire seemingly spans the well-known songs of Liga, Vasco, Bowie, U2, and the Stones, with lots of fervor and without any grand gestures. On the contrary: the approximations are countless, the recording, evidently live, is stereo but nothing more; the singer, who seems to have a decent voice, sounds like he's singing in the basement next to the studio/stage, since another thing that is unclear is whether the guys are in a studio (about the quality of which we'd gladly pass over, if that's the case) or in a venue. The second hypothesis arises from the apparent presence of an audience that seems a bit fake and a bit too overseas. Thus, with excellent (almost certain) chances of being a post-production addition (wanting to use a completely improper big word...). But such an addition can only have 2 reasons: either these are complete idiots who to self-exalt themselves record and add a crowd, reaching enviable peaks of sadness, or they are fundamentally real jesters, a theory that seems the most plausible in the light of some facts. First of all, other "noises" added at the end of a couple of tracks: a woman moaning (a bit too long... an excerpt from a healthy porn movie...???) and a very explicit toilet flush...
So, they're madmen doing covers, probably just for fun, which seems evident especially from the last track, listed in the track list (let's call it that...) as "Bepadula" but which is evidently a "Be Bop A Lula" (is that how you spelled it...indeed...?) delightfully fun, shouted, ramshackle and full of Nandi Mericoni just aimlessly having fun, creating in fact a really amusing result. Musically speaking some things are good (nice "drive" on "Deviazioni-Fegato Spappolato", with a commendable guitar solo, and in the "Stones" tracks, and almost perfect "One"... or at least better than the self-destructive version by U2 with the only off-key black female singer history remembers...). Quite horrendous "Hai Un Momento Dio", rightfully interrupted halfway with the (fake) audience protesting (falsely). For the rest, the cover and notes of the same are full of references almost incomprehensible for anyone, except for those patient enough to rummage through the entertaining blog, overloaded with posts, each with at least a hundred comments. Bohemian and very vulgar, understandable only in parts, but definitely well done and, I repeat, fun. Browsing through the many pages (the blog is over a year old) one also finds many references to the turtle in the title, each more incomprehensible than the last.
In the accompanying email, they write to me that the album (let's call it that...) is downloadable from e-mule, cover included, by typing "piciarle", but also "vasco", "ligabue" or "stones", and that there is no other official or unofficial commercial way. Useless work? Undoubtedly yes. Qualitatively modest: probably yes. But it's the meaning of certain things that counts. And it's nice to see there's still people who use music, that made and played, chewed, real, from the basement, to do one of the many things it can be used for: have fun. In the full and etymological sense of the term. If they let me know who they are and they're not from the other side of Italy, one night I'll go and jam with them, yeah...
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