Max Gazzè
Tra l'Aratro e la Radio

"Between the Plough and the Radio" is an album that mixes the Gazzè from the first two albums. The first, "Contro un'onda del mare," is very rough, and the second, "La favola di Adamo ed Eva," is full of ideas and varied sounds. The song performed at Sanremo not only stands out enormously among those competing in the Festival, but also remains one of the two best tracks on the album. "Il solito sesso," written together with his inseparable brother Francesco, has a very strange and sparse melody that Gazzè delivers in a low voice, leading to a well-crafted and catchy chorus, with excellent orchestral and piano parts that superbly qualify the piece. The track describes a phone call made to a woman met just moments before at a party, and Gazzè seems eager to see her again soon, but not for the usual sex "...Can I see you again tonight, but don't think badly now, just the usual sex...".
Excellent and truly engaging is "L'evo dopo il medio," a truly rock piece with Carmen Consoli's electric guitars in the foreground here, as throughout the album. It is said that during the recording of the album, performed in the Sicilian artist's studio in Catania, Consoli wanted to replay the guitars in a more "rocking" manner than initially planned, leading to the shattering of some of the studio's glass due to a volume adjustment error. The choruses by Consoli herself and Marina Rei, who is also involved in other tracks on the album on percussion, are well-chosen. In my opinion, the best track on the album, with absolute value highlights (very precise Hammond organ and keyboard phrasings). The text is much more cryptic and describes life situations and reflections depicted with intriguing metaphors. In this song, Gazzè collaborated with his friend Girolamo Santucci for the lyrics. "...The era after the middle is either forward or backward it will be the index or the ring finger...".
Another truly successful track is "Siamo come siamo," with a less "hard" rhythm than the previous song but still intense and really interesting. The "Wah-Wah" that seems to be done by the guitar is actually a mix of strings and violas that was passed through the guitar's "Wah-Wah," achieving the result present on the album. The text is still partially cryptic and illustrates and captures some existential aspects of our life to which we give a negative weight, neglecting instead the more trivial ones that could often make us live better. A track that could become a future single for its proverbial simplicity and catchiness. "...The logic of life is indeed failing as it's well known a tooth is losing..."

There are still two other tracks that stand out among all eleven tracks included on the album. The first is "Tornerai Qui," which is musically close to "Siamo come siamo" but differs in text, which deals with a theme often the subject of musical compositions: summer love, seen in this case from a more interior side and, if we will, from a sexual urge. This time, however, Gazzè does it without the usual trivialities, with a truly unusual romanticism and reality, and with a catchy chorus. "...I, with my fingers always in my pocket to not be the first to dare as much as enough with the courage of the hand...". The last really interesting track is "Il mistero della polvere," another great rock piece, almost "Garage" and hypnotic not only in music (especially at the finale) but also in text. Almost entirely played by Gazzè, who handles bass, guitar, and synthesizers, the track recites and describes in a very personal way what lies behind the figure of dust "...Of the inscrutable mysteries always remains the one of dust, that makes the earth...".
The remaining tracks remain of high quality. The very delicate "L'ultimo cielo," an intimate, dreamy, and nocturnal piece for violins and piano "...The last sky is the biggest sky, spreading passion and a new sense of me...". The morning brightness of "Crisalide," with such a cautious and friendly rhythm that envelops a decidedly cerebral text "...Only those who haven't seen truly believe because those who were still wonder if it was...".
More rhythmic and determined is instead the psychedelic "Mostri," a very intriguing track that deals with our fears "...After the unforeseen you pivot and stand with your back to vomit this rivulet in apnea...a foam of thoughts that is at the mercy of near monsters...". "Elogio alla sublime convivenza" is a linear track that describes the foundations of a family union but perhaps has the flaw of lacking a true chorus "...When the years of memories come, they will still find us united and strong, serene for what we have been for what we will be...". Notable is "Camminando Piano," which somewhat resembles the more "launching" Battiato of recent years both in the text and the music "...The gay giggles and the little runs tinkle as roaring restless little streams...".
The album closes well with "Vuoti a rendere," also a well-structured and uniform piece, equipped with a decent chorus and surprisingly graceful in-betweens that strangely fit into a track from which you musically expect otherwise "...I hope to exist every moment that this immense life opens up for me...".

Ultimately, a good album, varied and well-structured. Very well-crafted arrangements, the instrumental parts, and as Gazzè usually presents, the pieces are equipped with very refined and cared texts. Especially about the texts, it is evident how he manages to talk, in some pieces, about love without falling into the banality that this topic often instills in the author and listener. Also excellent is the digipack packaging with two booklets included.