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Rating: Don Giovanni (1986), rather than representing a break from the past, presents itself as a renewed synthesis of a journey of experiments; we are at the most creative moment of the process of deconstructing song language that had already begun in the '70s and would reach its point of no return in the devastated pop ruins of the sublime "Cosa Succederà Alla Ragazza" (1992).
The new album appears in stores 4 years after "E Già" and it immediately becomes clear how this period was used to develop the radical nature of the experiments contained in the previous LP: the chilly electronic sounds that so scandalized nostalgics in 1982 are accompanied by the real sounds of a true orchestra in a mix with a distinctly ironic and postmodern flavor perfectly in line with the lyrics of Pasquale Panella.
The new author's language indeed continuously blends little wordplay puzzles (in the lyrics of the title track, there’s the solution to the cover’s puzzle), scattered quotes of various kinds, as well as references to the new symbiotic relationship born between Battisti and his Double, Panella (the artist is not me, I’m his fumista), with an ironic awareness of the revolutionary scope of the work (after us, the flood).
Big innovations also appear in the composition of the tracks that are often structured according to an interlocking technique similar to the cut-up, which completely disrupts the classic relationships between verse, chorus, and bridge.
The songs are unconventional and freed from formal schemes, between synthetic and angular rhythms, and sudden orchestral openings worthy of the most symphonic and traditionally melodic past of Our Maestro.
The mood of the pieces slips seamlessly between vaguely cinematic/haunting atmospheres and moments that are sometimes playful, sometimes more lyrical and more in tune with the tradition of Battistian ballads, yet without the quotes ever becoming heavy or eliciting a sense of déjà-vu.
Perhaps this is the greatest gift Don Giovanni has been able to offer those who have listened to it since its first release: not resembling any other album either by Battisti or others, neither from the past nor the years to come.
It is an artwork of its time, of course, and so certain sounds may appear dated, even though with each new listen it is impossible (at least for the writer) not to be seduced by the rediscovery of a dissonance, a rhythmic counterpoint, or an instrumental inlay that was missed in the previous listen. And it is equally impossible to deny the originality of the project, so much so that no one else, not even Battisti, has been able to fully develop the ideas present in this record with such balance between density and lightness.
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Other reviews
By Eneathedevil
If the Molleggiato says he doesn’t know how to 'talk about love,' Lucio no longer 'wants' to talk about love.
The new Battisti, the new experimental challenge through the virtuosic use of words and attention to electronic sounds.
By Viva Lì
"Don Giovanni is hermetic at the maximum level, very difficult to understand, decipherable (perhaps) only on the tenth listen."
"A vocal and musical deconstruction that unfortunately will not have successors... Don Giovanni is nevertheless the first of these experiments, and thus it is the least successful."
By Martello
"Don Giovanni almost perfectly combines the singer-songwriter world and new age, forming something I honestly don’t hear in these recent years."
"The title track 'Don Giovanni' is one of the best of the White Albums, with magnificent lyrics and light music that lets the words shine."
By Battisti
Don Giovanni ... is probably one of the best tracks in Italian music.
An artist must communicate only through his work. The artist does not exist. His art exists.
