Lucio Dalla
Angoli nel cielo

It has been since the distant 1979 (very distant, come to think of it) that when a new Lucio Dalla album is released, something vibrates.

Today, perhaps it is more nostalgia than true emotion, more curiosity than enthusiasm.

Who knows why we don't lose hope, we, angry, in love with that sound.

We don't lose it because, deep down, we love Dalla, his musicality, we love the way his voice sounds, his way of conceiving songwriting (or at least trying to) as a matter in perpetual motion, malleable and changeable. His excellent intonations and what were his excellent intentions.

Only that, as often happens in all our experiences, excellent intentions very often do not lead to excellent results.

But certainly - and this is a premise that should see everyone agree... - one cannot say that Lucio Dalla is not a great worker. He has done everything: collaborations, pure singer-songwriter albums, reinterpretations of opera, jazz endeavors.

I'm not saying he did everything well. But he did (almost) everything. And, almost always, he did well.

Of course, it's difficult to survive oneself, one's own golden period. Time, as the Prof. says, does not fall in love with the same man twice.

And the golden period for Lucio Dalla, stretches from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties. Whatever many might say, his spiritual testament was that "1983" criticized a priori, even by the author himself, as an improvised work, a bit "clumsy," probably made of leftovers from the wonderful previous albums. An album that, when listened to today, has a sublime taste, which we will talk about another time.

Speaking of this newly released product, I said, I couldn't resign myself to not placing any hope in it, but, with the wisdom of age, I have also finally learned almost never to deceive myself.

And, from the first notes, the phrase bouncing between the chaotic street paths in my poor little head was (and is) "all things considered, it's better than usual."

The sounds seem to me definitely good, even, at times, original. The album is very "packaged" (and this, nowadays, is nothing short of obvious) but it is also well-arranged, with taste and technique.

The tracks are decently written. Certainly without the surreal, crazy flights of fancy of the golden years' lyrics.

At the level of good craftsmanship, let's say, and perhaps even a little more.

The voice is as beautiful as ever, and here and there, without succumbing to the allure of its past and ours, small glimpses of true beauty can be seen. It's the best he can evidently give today. And still, it's not insignificant.

Oh, mind you, America (even his) is far, on the far side of the Moon.

However, this album is listenable, and it listens well, it's just the right length and manages to be melancholic and entertaining like a true songwriter knows or should know how to be.

It's clear: while fully inserting itself into the "post-Cambio Dalla" line, that is, that Lucio we started to recognize with difficulty, still loving him like an uncle, or perhaps better, an older cousin, who taught us and gave us lots of beautiful things.