Niccolò Fabi
Ecco

I remember well the day I bought "Ecco," still to this day the last solo studio album by Niccolò Fabi (but in a couple of weeks its successor will arrive, of which the title, cover, and lead single are already known). It was the autumn of 2012
It was actually the first album by Fabi that I purchased, even though he had always inspired me with a great deal of sympathy and a deep sense of respect. The respect for the serious artist, sincere in his inspiration and immune to the embarrassing commercial compromises that too many of his colleagues, who might have "started well," have eventually been ensnared by; the respect for the man committed - discreetly, never loudly, unlike so many others - to social causes. Also capable of facing the most terrible personal pain with immense, noble dignity.

His lyrics have always been well-crafted, singer-songwriter style in the best sense of the term, of course; yet Fabi had never managed to truly engage me completely with his work before "Ecco." This album almost overwhelmed me with its purity and intensity back then. And it continues to do so.

All the lyrics are splendid, profound yet direct, immediate, never cryptic but rather empathetic and filled with humanity and sharing. Lyrics of often painful beauty, laden with poetry (as, but it is only one example among many, the poignant images of the objects in "Ecco," the title track and final track with an impressive impact also due to the vocal performance, reassembling and returning to their original life in a metaphorical yet vivid slow-motion backward that the narrator well knows is - unfortunately - unreal); at times, instead, the lyrics are infused with a philosophy of memory in which to cradle oneself (I'm thinking of "I cerchi di gesso," which are the marks left on the backs of us "elders," born in the 60s, by the blackboard erasers of the 70s-80s).

In the track "Indipendente," then, there is a space for satire (all the more incisive as it is not mocking nor heavy but finely ironic) towards the relentless pursuit that all of us today incessantly and tirelessly engage in achieving the goal of total independence (from true yokes but also from those we only mistakenly perceive as such) only to end up realizing - in Fabi’s words - that "happiness does not depend on so-called independence, which is quite different from absolute freedom."

Returning to Niccolò Fabi's vocal performance on this album, I remember that at the time of the first listen, it quite amazed me. And not only in the gritty and visceral "roguishness" of the finale of "Ecco" but also in other moments where the urgency of expression transcends the already vast richness of the lyrics and becomes a scratch filled with pain, tenderness, and love.

And let it not be thought that this is the usual album of the worthy Italian singer-songwriter committed, good with lyrics but a bit bland musically. Even just the strings - sublime - at the end of "Elementare" (another track whose lyrics are to be savored, given how deep and moving they are), even just the angry progressive-flavored parentheses in "Ecco" are jewels of a musical crown that includes many, providing additional color and substance to songs that will endure over time.

Awarded in 2013 with the Targa Tenco for best album of the year. The Targa Tencos have often in recent years been - alas - a dusty remnant of that distant past dominated by harsher, purer, and more austere songwriting, but this is certainly not the case here.