Mario Venuti
L'ultimo romantico

A beautiful forward double-twisted dive, and Mario Venuti returns to the levels he belongs: those of "Grandimprese" and "Magneti", to be clear. After the -truly bitter, in my opinion- disappointment of "Recidivo", the Sicilian singer-songwriter delivers a varied and entertaining work. Among ethnic digressions ("Rosa porporina", which opens the album), a foray into reggae ("Con qualsiasi cosa") and a dash of blues ("DNA"), there are also two unusual visits to opera ("Gaudeamus" and "Là Ci Darem La Mano", the latter with lyrics teetering between religion and pornography). In the excellent "Non sarò io", instead, the piano counterpoints the voice, fading into a surprising instrumental finale, decidedly rock. A separate chapter, the bunga-bunga era emerges in "Fammi il piacere", pure '70s disco music, cute and ironic: a potential summer hit.

The core of the album is obviously pop, and it is precisely in the more "accessible" episodes that Venuti convinces this time, unlike the work mentioned above, where the theoretically more catchy pieces struggled significantly. The first single ("Quello che ci manca") is pleasant although very "commercial", while a few notches above are "Rasoi" (where superfluous hair is a metaphor referring to the unnecessary and expensive goods we refuse to give up even in this period of economic crisis) and the airy "Trasformazioni".

As for the lyrics, as usual written with the trusty Kaballà, this time they are more convincing: lucid, often bitter, sometimes dreamy, almost always autobiographical. And romantic, of course, given the title. But here romanticism is in a different sense, meaning the "classical" significance of the term: it's emotionality, anger, restlessness: feelings narrated with a deeper and warmer vocal timbre than usual (his "falsettos", which I personally found unnecessary and even annoying, are fortunately now a thing of the past).

In short, a very good work: perhaps missing is a masterpiece track, a flash of genius, the punch to the gut that leaves you breathless (for example, I have an unhealthy passion for "Open space", which closed the fortunate "Magneti" brilliantly). But, beyond everything, it is certain that- among so much musical garbage circulating today- "L'ultimo romantico", in addition to being a courteous and sincere album, is also a providential breath of fresh and clean air.