Lucio Battisti
L'apparenza

I've always liked Lucio Battisti, ever since I was a kid. I've always had the impression that he had a unique talent. Just listen to "Mi ritorni in mente." It's a strange piece because there's no verse. The song starts with the chorus, which is interrupted by a bridge that even Paul McCartney or Kurt Cobain couldn't match. It was this sudden acceleration, this transition from 0 to 100 in 0 seconds defying the laws of physics, this pairing of contrasting musical themes, that struck me.

I remember that a friend of my parents bought "Don Giovanni" in 1986, I was a kid and didn’t understand it, but the record seemed to have a special allure.

In 1988, when "L’apparenza" was released, I was already older and more into Anglo-Saxon rock, so I didn’t delve into the record even though it seemed interesting. I felt like I would come back to it, but it wasn't the right time yet.

And the time came a few years ago when for a few months I had Battisti's albums in constant rotation. I was so eager for information and the web was quite limited, that I decided to write an email to Robin Smith, the arranger of "L’apparenza," recorded in London.

All in all, it seems a pity that this, though minimal, remains archived in my inbox. Maybe there aren’t five questions, I apologize.

"Hello,

I'm a huge fan of Lucio Battisti. I loved his sixties and seventies songs when I was a teenager, but now [..] I'm really fond of his last five records which marked a neat departure from his previous music.

[...]

All songs of his, all albums of his last five are
my favorite, it just depends on the moment. Currently I'm listening a lot to "L’ apparenza" and "Allontanando" is my favorite song in the set. It has an incredibly beautiful progression of chords.

So, I'm curious about how the songs came into the form I can listen to now. I read that you arranged the album. But what does that mean? In my head it's hard to tell apart a song from all the actual notes it's made of.

So, in what form were the songs when Lucio [..] presented them to you? Was it just a vocal melody line and maybe the chords played on a guitar (Lucio was a good rhythmic guitar player)?

Or was it something more? Was the final form of the song, the whole arrangement, something you could work out pretty freely? Or was it more a collaborative process between you and the author?

Thank you very much for any eventual reply[ ...]. It's time we know more about these magnificent records!

Thanks,
Carlo."

(translation in Italian for those not familiar with the language from across the channel [, or pretend not to be! :) ]:

"Ciao,

sono un grande fan di Lucio Battisti. Amavo le sue canzoni degli anni Sessanta e Settanta quando ero un ragazzo, ma ora [..] mi sono appassionato ai suoi ultimi cinque dischi che denotarono una svolta netta rispetto alla sua produzione musicale precedente.

[...]

Tutte le canzoni di tutti questi cinque album sono le mie preferite, a seconda del momento. Attualmente sto ascoltando assiduamente "L’apparenza" e "Allontanando" è la mia traccia preferita. Ha una progressione di accordi incredibilmente bella.

Così sono curioso di sapere come le canzoni presero la forma attuale. Ho letto che tu hai arrangiato il disco. Ma cosa significa esattamente? Nella mia testa è difficile separare una canzone dalle note di cui è composta.

Quindi, com'erano i pezzi la prima volta che Lucio [...] te li ha presentati? Era solo una melodia vocale magari accompagnata da accordi alla chitarra (Lucio era un buon chitarrista ritmico)?

O si trattava di qualcosa di più? La forma finale della canzone, l’arrangiamento nel suo complesso, era qualcosa che hai potuto sviluppare in sostanziale libertà? Oppure è stato più un processo collaborativo tra te e l’autore?

Grazie davvero per ogni eventuale risposta [...]. È ora di conoscere qualcosa di più di questi magnifici dischi!

Grazie,
Carlo.")

"Ciao Carlo,

I have not listened to the album for a while now. I just did oh it is so magical. The harmonies are mainly all Lucio’s. He demoed the songs with a very simple keyboard with his voice. What was so wonderful was that he just let me arrange everything as I wanted and he seemed to like everything. The relationship of the sound and the atmosphere relevant to the lyrics and the meaning was most important. At that time drum machines were widely used and the use of rhythmic keyboards gave it this feeling of almost unemotion. This is what he wanted the empty change…the appearance. It was so easy and so enjoyable to make. I had already arranged Don Giovanni so I knew how Lucio worked and he knew how I worked. It was great and he is greatly missed.

Many thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories.

Robin"

(translation in Italian for those not familiar with the language from across the channel [, or pretend not to be! :) ]:

Ciao Carlo.

è un po' che non sentivo il disco, l'ho appena riascoltato. Oh, è così magico. Le armonie erano principalmente di Lucio. Produceva delle demo accompagnando la voce con una semplice tastiera. La cosa davvero meravigliosa fu che mi lasciò arrangiare tutto come volevo e sembrava che gli piacesse ogni cosa. La relazione tra il suono e l’atmosfera creata con i testi ed il loro significato era ciò che gli premeva maggiormente. All'epoca la batteria elettronica era ampiamente usata e l'uso ritmico delle tastiere risultava in questa sensazione di sospensione delle emozioni. Questo era quello che voleva, svolte nel vuoto... l’apparire. Fu così semplice e così gratificante da realizzare. Avevo già arrangiato "Don Giovanni" e così sapevo come lavorava Lucio e lui sapeva come lavoravo. Fu una grande esperienza e Lucio ci manca davvero.

Grazie per aver riportato a galla questi bellissimi ricordi.

Robin.)