Ligabue
Primo Tempo

THE REVIEW

Firstly, I must say I am quite opposed to collections where 2 or 3 unreleased tracks are added, allowing the singer in question to profit for an entire year. However, it's been a while since many big names in Italian music have been doing this (see Ramazzotti, Elisa, Gianna Nannini, Zucchero, etc.), and so has Liga, even going as far as to split the greatest hits that made him Italy's most beloved rocker, second only to a now declining Vasco, into two CDs released about 6 months apart.

The two CDs, named "Primo Tempo" (from the album "Ligabue" to "Buon Compleanno Elvis") and "Secondo Tempo" (from "Su e giù dal palco" to "Nome e Cognome"), sell around 750,000 copies in total, and the 5 unreleased tracks climb the charts with pleasure.

Now, setting aside "Secondo Tempo," where even though the songs are more polished, they all seem similar and quite commercial, except for some exceptions like "Una vita da Mediano" or "Tra palco e realtà," I am interested in analyzing "Primo Tempo" where the real Ligabue is seen, the one of the Bar as a meeting point, of late-adolescent dreams, certainly a bit cocky, but with signs of weakness, as in the track "Bambolina e Barracuda," one of my favorites as it tells the story of this boy, likely Liga himself, trying to convince a girl to spend the night with him, but gets badly dismissed.

The music is, as mentioned, less polished compared to the latest albums, but fresher and more original.

The CD opens with the hyper-commercial unreleased track "Niente Paura," which will conquer the top of the charts throughout Italy but not the hearts of his older fans; followed by "Balliamo sul Mondo," a song I don't love but is a cornerstone of his career; "Certe Notti" considered by many the most beautiful Italian song of the '90s; "Urlando contro il cielo" which remains fantastic even after years; "Vivo, morto o x," "Ho messo via," the only track from the much-maligned album "Sopravvissuti e sopravviventi," although recently reevaluated by fans; "Viva!," one of the 5 songs from the famous "Buon compleanno Elvis"; "A che ora è la fine del Mondo?," a cover of the famous It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) by R.E.M. with a very intriguing text; "Non è tempo per noi"; "Salviamoci la pelle" (from "Lambrusco coltelli rose & popcorn"); "Sogni di R&R"; "Libera nos a malo"; the already mentioned "Bambolina e Barracuda"; "Hai un momento, Dio?," where Liga humorously questions our existence that more or less we have all asked ourselves (like who owns Inter?.....); "Bar Mario," narrating the importance of a bar in a small center like "Correggio"; "Quella che non sei"; "Lambrusco & popcorn"; the album closes with the second unreleased track "Buonanotte all'Italia," a sweet poetry to our country left in the hands of a bunch of incompetents: this last track is one of the least commercial of the latest Liga, and maybe that's why it receives little appreciation from the public...

Goodnight to Italy with scars in the heart
and IV drips attached by those who have all the power
and watch it distracted as if it were a wife
like an attic game that has taken away the desire
and a star shines without too many reasons
forcing you to see everything there is
Goodnight to Italy, it's make or break
or spend the night wanting to conquer it...