Lucio Battisti
La sposa occidentale

The "white albums" of Battisti, scorned by long-time fans because they were considered too cerebral compared to the standard to which good old Lucio had accustomed them, are one of the best examples to start reasoning (even if only in retrospect) on the musical habits of the Italian people.

Let's put ourselves for a moment in the shoes of a modern fifty-year-old who was twenty in 1974, entertained by the notes of a Battisti from Anima Latina. Let's imagine him in 1994, struck by despair in the face of his own 40 years, a future life that promises to be downhill, and a Lucio who almost mocks him by stating: "Sometimes being enemies makes it easier. Liking each other is so useless." ("Hegel" - 1994).

The fact, however, that many Italian authors have "quoted" ("swiped"?) the little-known texts of Panella (a fact that increasingly associates Zucchero with the figure of a highly useful parasite in the ecosystem of auteur songs) is significant. Significant because although the Hard-Core fans of Battisti did not appreciate the inventions of Panella, nor the arrangements by Greg Walsh, evidently this was not the case for the elite of singer-songwriters, more sensitive to stylistic innovations and new expressive lexicons.

On the other hand, "An affection is not felt; it's worn directly" ("For Other Reasons" - 1988).

With "La sposa occidentale," our now dear angel attempted to remedy the ugliness that was "L'apparenza," as he had already done with "Don Giovanni," which came out after "E già" (the only album whose lyrics were written by his wife). The return of Walsh to production (who even allows himself a semi-propositional attitude at "Vorrei, non vorrei, ma se vuoi") leads to some radical choices, one of which being the almost exclusive use of electronic instruments, yet he still manages to greatly elevate the qualitative level compared to the arrangements of the previous LP.

Speaking less about the modus operandi and more about the "song" itself, in "La sposa occidentale" we still find that free form that characterized Battisti's latest works: an application of Burroughs' cut-up technique to Italian song. After all, the lyrics are very Beat literature, so why not, considering the final quality of tracks like the Title Track or "timida molto audace"?

Ultimately, Battisti of 1990 is undoubtedly alien and no longer has the desire to be seen in public ("What idleness in the tour of never returning, in the detuned routine of light singing" - "Don Giovanni" - 1986) but we can still warm ourselves in front of the icy participation with which phrases like:

"We could miraculously stumble with the same ease and elegance with which steamships sink into the sea, with all the lights on", make us smile for a sharp, intelligent, and never banal Sense Of Humour that pervades every aspect of the LP and look into the eyes of a great artist realizing they still resemble ours.

Or regret what, if one wishes, are called Emotions.