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Rating: Goodbye, Monster
Farewell Ligabue. Farewell to the raw and simple sounds coming from the Po Valley and the desire to create genuine rock. Sometimes a bit rough, but never banal. Farewell Bar Mario, and all the characters that animated your songs and our imaginations. Farewell Mago Walter, or Veleno. I will miss you, Bambolina. Farewell to the desire to relive and savor the life of provincial Italy, the sound of the band, the Lambrusco at the bar, the kids in the streets, the thrilled parents calling their son Elvis.
It was known that Ligabue was in decline, and had started repeating the same songs for a while, but, whether it was the 5-year wait, or the "peculiar" cover and title, we expected a turn that at least partially deviated from the latest works. Yet, nothing. The album flows quickly, the songs are pleasant, well-played, and arranged, but all similar, with a feeling of "already heard," none capable of making you feel the emotions, scents, and situations stirred in previous albums, Miss Mondo included.
The first track, "Quando canterai la tua canzone", has a punk-rock style that's popular among adolescent bands, "La linea sottile" is pleasant but trivial, "Nel Tempo" features a very aggressive melody with lyrics full of historical references, "Ci sei sempre stata" is the classic Ligabue ballad, a guaranteed success. Meanwhile, "La Verità è una scelta" is a track that doesn't stand in Heaven or on Earth. A positive note comes from "Caro il mio Francesco", a letter dedicated to Guccini, with a simple melody and incisive lyrics, "Atto di fede" is perhaps the best-crafted among the rock pieces. I won't dwell on "Un colpo all'anima", the first, awful single released. "Il peso della valigia" is the best track: a poem he composed and set to music, a well-executed experiment. "Taca Banda" tries to break out of the usual molds, a piece like Bennato's, not exactly his genre, but the attempt is appreciated, while the following "Quando Mi vieni a prendere" is a distressing and heartbreaking song about the murder of a child and his teacher in Belgium, seen through the eyes of the child. The CD closes with "Il meglio deve ancora venire", explosive, but too similar to "Urlando contro il cielo": it nevertheless has the merit of alleviating the lump in the throat that came after the penultimate track.
What can I say, perhaps I spoiled it by deciding to re-listen to "Sopravvissuti e sopravviventi"; maybe if I hadn't, I would have viewed the work more positively; the fact is that the true Ligabue no longer exists, the one I like, but only a character who sings nice but all-the-same songs, adding here and there some guitar riff or cliché, everything crafted at the drawing board for the sake of the record company and his pockets.
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Other reviews
By KillerJoe
If they chose this song to encourage the purchase of the album, then Liga has truly hit rock bottom.
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.
By primiballi
Liga is honest when he writes, he strives to do it always well and always in a, more or less, original way.
The piece is not bad, but the comparisons are inevitable and pitiless. Liga is good but too cunning.
By federicolaurent
I would change the title to "Goodbye Ligabue" because this latest album by Liga tells me very little.
Sooner or later all great artists turn commercial, and Ligabue is no exception.
