Luciano Ligabue
Nome e Cognome

THE REVIEW

Life is often strange, the path each individual takes is different from that of another. In life, you have to choose; you find yourself at crossroads, and you must take only one path, the path that will keep you going: some make the right choice and others the wrong one. This also happens with music. In a person's growth, the musical path is important, or at least it has been for me and still is.

Some pages have been closed and will never be reopened, many things have been left behind, musical horizons have expanded; in short, I have changed musically. I believe I have had a reasonably good musical growth. Despite my very limited musical past, I can say that over the years I have matured and opened my eyes. I do not deny my past; on the contrary, I consider it an integral part of my life and think that, if I hadn't loved bands and artists that I no longer listen to, I wouldn't be where I am now, I wouldn't be who I am now. My musical growth has always been directed upwards, I've grown positively. I still remember being 10 years old, I didn't listen to much music or only what played on the radio; my mind was like a sponge, it just needed to discover the music that would conquer me. In that distant 2005, that summer 7 years ago, I watched a lot of TV and discovered Ligabue. Yes, I discovered him thanks to the super-hit "Happy Hour," in which Fede Poggipollini stole the famous solo of "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns ... and it was a boom. Suddenly, my eyes opened: that song, so powerful, so energetic, even though now I consider it not even sufficient, even mediocre, as a commercial pop piece, it had touched my soul and my ear was immediately "unplugged." I was ten years old at the time and couldn't understand, I couldn't have an open mind, I couldn't look beyond the horizon, beyond what TV offered. And that summer of 2005 marked the beginning of a musical era for me: the Ligabue era. When "Nome e cognome" came out, in September of that year, I could already be defined as a Ligabue fan, as I did nothing but listen to him, and besides "Happy Hour," I adored the "super singles" (those incessantly played on TV) "Il giorno dei giorni" and "Le donne lo sanno." In hindsight, with more aware eyes, I realize how little I settled for, but, as mentioned, I was 10 and couldn't understand.

So, in that distant September of 2005, I bought the album "Nome e cognome." I don't know how many times I listened to it, simply too many. The "Intro" didn't matter much; when "Il giorno dei giorni" started, my mind would soar, and I sang at the top of my lungs. No moment of pause, "Happy Hour" was yet to come. That hit, which now I can't even stand anymore, was something powerful to me. Relevant in the album for me were "Le donne lo sanno," "Vivere a orecchio," and "E' più forte di me," the latter being one of the pieces I loved the most: I still remember the words (for better or worse, in the eye of the storm, for worse or better, until death do you part). The album closed with "Sono qui per l'amore," a sweet song in which Liga explains what are the things he stands for, the things he cares about, things you find in everyday life.

"Nome e cognome" is a modest, sufficient album; I don't think it deserves more than a 6/7: I much prefer the early works of the Emilian artist. It was important for my musical journey and is one of those albums that I won't pick up again and won't listen to anymore. I'm now seventeen and have a more mature mind, I've been able to make better choices over time, I've broadened my musical horizons: by now, the singer from Reggio means nothing to me compared to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Queen, King Crimson, etc... Ligabue was the one who introduced me to the world of music, like Virgil guiding Dante to Paradise.