Ligabue
Arrivederci, mostro

At first, May 7 was the date to mark on the calendar for Liga fans. Then it was postponed to May 11 because apparently now, even here like in America, CDs are released on Tuesdays. Well... after 4 years and 8 months, the rocker from Correggio releases a new album with unreleased material titled "Arrivederci, mostro". The usual 3 years turned into almost 5, although Ligabue has released something every year; among collections of poems, greatest hits divided into two chapters, and finally a live album. So now we have something completely new in our hands.

Let's be clear right away that the first single "Un colpo all'anima" is the flattest and most insipid song of the entire album, if not of our entire discography. In fact, when I first heard the single, I thought "If they chose this song to encourage the purchase of the album, then Liga has truly hit rock bottom". However, to my surprise, after several listens to the album in the last 24 hours, I discover a mature, well-played, and pleasant album that ultimately makes you want to listen again. Certainly, not all that glitters is gold.

The first song "Quando canterai la tua canzone" begins with great guitar riffs, but you get the impression of facing something already heard. And then, I never liked lyrics that try to teach you how to live, so in the end, it remains just a pleasant song and nothing more, which as an opening track is not worth an "Il giorno dei giorni" or "Nato per me" or "Si viene e si va". The second track "La linea sottile" has nice lyrics and more rhymes than our usual inclusion in a text. A very ironic text with pleasant music, but for now still nothing exciting. My enthusiasm begins to manifest during the listening of "Nel tempo" whose lyrics had already been published online a couple of months ago, and I would have expected a ballad, almost acoustic. Yet instead, I find myself in front of a powerful and pumped-up rock worthy of the best Ligabue. But perhaps such powerful music diminishes the very beautiful lyrics full of references to the '60s and '70s. Zorro, Blek, Carosello, Lavorini, Berlinguer, Moro, and so on are mentioned. Before the last chorus, there's a special with a clear '80s new wave flavor, where the "I was there" is sung in chorus as if that first-person singular became plural, almost suggesting the collective sharing of at least part of the journey.

It follows the classic love ballad to which Ligabue has accustomed us for about ten years now. "Ci sei sempre stata" doesn't deviate much from "L'amore conta" or "Il mio pensiero". In fact, it practically follows the same line. Beautiful, emotional if comparisons with the previous ones are avoided. With "La verità è una scelta" we finally feel something different. A somewhat more experimental and aggressive rock with very harsh and decisive lyrics. Even if it's not a song that would be listened to multiple times, it still deserves credit for the courage. "Caro il mio Francesco" is a letter in music form with the illustrious recipient being the Emilian singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini. The letter-song is a pretext to vent one's anger towards some colleagues, the frustration not so much of fame but the expectations that arise afterward. Acoustic music, I think it will rarely be performed in stadiums.

"Atto di fede" starts on a bed of keyboards before exploding into a strong stadium rock with a catchy chorus that sticks in your mind and makes you want to sing it at the top of your lungs. It follows "Un colpo all'anima" already mentioned, I don't think there is much else to add. "Il peso della valigia" is perhaps the most beautiful song on the album. With lyrics that initially started as a poem published in the poetry collection "Lettere d'amore nel frigo" in 2006, and which was later readapted. A great song that exudes pure poetry. One of the best from the latest Ligabue, certainly. And now the most unusual song Ligabue has ever released: "Taca banda", born from a jam session where his eleven-year-old son Lenny sits on drums, and friends and relatives are present in the choruses, all intoning the chorus made of vocalizations. A song that begins like a 50s blues, and leaves you with a smile at the end of the listen.

This shows that when Liga wants to experiment and joke around, he manages quite well, and therefore at times he could avoid proposing some somewhat predictable songs. This cheerful song was perhaps placed here with the intention of preparing the listener for the punch in the stomach they would receive listening to the next song "Quando mi vieni a prendere". A heartbreaking and painful song, inspired by an event that took place in Dendermonde, near Brussels, on January 23, 2009. A young man entered a daycare center armed with a knife and killed a teacher and two children, injuring twelve others. 7 intense minutes, with lyrics that feature a child as the narrator of the scene. And all told with the language of a child. Heartbreaking.

The final song "Il meglio deve ancora venire" is a song that, from the title, seems like a promise. Well-pumped music like classic Ligabue, to sing in concert. Finally, it can be said that this "Arrivederci, mostro" is a good album, showcasing a Ligabue more of a storyteller than usual, who for the first time seems to have wanted to give much importance to the lyrics. This summer, the stadium tour will follow, and then I wonder what will come next. Personally, I await an acoustic CD or one of just ballads like "Il peso della valigia", since lately, our singer seems to deal much better with those than with sad rockish episodes (see "Un colpo all'anima", "Niente paura", and "Il centro del mondo"). But, according to what is asserted in the last song of the album, the best is yet to come. Let's hope.

Until next time...