Max Pezzali
Terraferma

I have never written an album review on the same day of its release. Usually, I give myself more time to analyze the songs and try to be as objective as possible, without being swayed by too much enthusiasm or potential disappointment.

However, this time I will make an exception.

The initial expectations were not at the highest level. The last studio album from our artist, "Time out" from 2007, did not excite me. But right from the first listen, I had to change my mind.

The album, the ninth with unreleased tracks, is titled "Terraferma" and comes out a good 4 years after the previous work of unreleased songs. In the meantime, Max released a live album and wrote a novel, but the thing that most influenced this work was undoubtedly the birth of his first child.

The album arrived in stores today, and I couldn't avoid buying it. I would have felt guilty towards the hero of my adolescence. Anyone my age can understand. Anyone who was a child in the '90s cannot help but love Max Pezzali. So, after having a preview with the first single "Il mio secondo tempo" presented at the Sanremo festival, I started listening to the album.

It starts with an electronic melody: "Credi" is a ballad that doesn't disappoint. Perhaps a little too long, but not a bad start. Then there's the festival song, which brought a bit of that light-heartedness and cheerfulness to the musical event that the other cheesy and 50-year-old songs lack. Max's facial expressions during live performances have become an icon. And that metric made of accents placed somewhat randomly is his trademark. The song, however, is imagined as being shouted at the top of one's lungs during concerts, and it is worthy of Max's best pieces. Then there are the slow ballads, those love songs that cannot be missed, and above all, "Tu come il sole (risorgi ogni giorno)" stands out, and this is the song that warms your heart. The song that every Max Pezzali fan would like to hear. Nice lyrics and a fitting melody. "A posto domattina" instead presents a very catchy melody. And then there is a lot of electronics, especially in "Il tempo vola" a fun piece that quickly catches the ear, or in "Ogni estate c'è" which has an Ac/Dc-like start but then turns into Max's typical style. It's already claimed the title as the summer hit. And then there's also some unusual episode. Like the title track "Terraferma" which begins with the verses "It's a song a little different from what you would expect." And indeed it is. There's something unusual and fascinating about this song. Not the melody itself, but perhaps it's the structure, with unusually beautiful rhymes that make it a standalone episode. Usually, the title track of an album is anything but something unconventional, yet this song initially disorients, but then fascinates.

I feel compelled to mention "Sto bene qui", which is about life in the times of Facebook. Music unusually slow for such a theme. Very encompassing. And then "Quello che comunemente noi chiamiamo amore" another slow track with a somewhat monotonous rhythm but interesting. The album ends with "Fiesta baby" an amusement that retraces the places in America that have become mythical in pop culture, only to conclude with a Wizard of Oz-like reflection that "There's no place like home." Meaning, as mythical as certain places may be, with a bit of music and imagination, one can travel even while staying at home (effect of fatherhood).

I conclude by saying that this album was a surprise for me. This time the singer-songwriter from Pavia did not disappoint me, but rather put a smile on my face. Perhaps the same one I had when I first listened to "La regola dell'amico" in the summer of '97. Perhaps the true masterpiece is missing, the song that could definitively project Pezzali into the Olympus of songwriters worthy of such a name. But personally, I am content to listen to songs that put me in a good mood. And good music is also this. In fact, it is above all this.

See you next time...