Lucio Battisti
Emozioni

THE REVIEW

Lucio Battisti has been extremely important for the history of pop, rock, and in general the entire Italian song landscape, thanks also to a long artistic journey that led him to embark on different paths, touching on a wide range of genres, guided by an innate passion for music and always in search of experimentation and a new form of song.

Starting from the late '60s, through the '70s, '80s, and '90s, Battisti increasingly distanced himself from the melodic song rooted in Italy, also moving away from the most committed singer-songwriters, declaring himself an "uncommitted" artist, albeit of value. In continuous evolution, always with an eye overseas and across the Channel and increasingly open to unconventional harmonies and styles. His passion for R&B, beat, prog, psychedelia, and then for dance, electronics, and the cryptic experimentation of the last albums, Battisti was fundamental in stirring something in Italy, to make songs increasingly discontinuous and dynamic in terms of structure and form, offering an alternative to the classic verse-chorus format.

"Emozioni", from 1970, is the masterpiece of his first period, the one farthest from the experimentalism of albums like "Don Giovanni" and closer to Italian song, the one in which he interprets Mogol's verses, the one of his national breakthrough. Yet, it is equally revolutionary: firstly, he is the only valuable pop singer who successfully aligns with the beat cover groups that dominated the music market in those years; then there is an instrumental care based more on rhythmic beat than on cantability for its own sake, which is typical of some Italian music that unfortunately still exists today, and thus he revolutionized well-established canons; finally, there is that non-canonical and characteristic voice, sharp and unique, that serves as an alternative to the Italian bel canto full of virtuosities for their own sake.

This album includes masterpieces such as the stark "Tempo di morire", the poetic and psychedelic "Emozioni", the beautiful "Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco", and other songs that have remained entrenched in the memory of all Italians for decades.