4th place: L'aldiquà
Released in May 2006, this sixth album by Samuele Bersani follows his jackpot win two years earlier at the Targe Tenco. And the expectations are not disappointed... sort of. L'aldiquà continues the theme of current events started in Caramella smog and carries it forward through several tracks in this new album. We begin with a quiet and suspended vibe, that of Lascia stare, where love and work have become two windows onto a world seemingly too high for us, before moving to Iraq, where a journalist was kidnapped and then killed by the Iraqi Islamic army, all rendered to the beat of a paradoxically cheerful march. We then encounter two figures that represent man in his modern condition: the first is a chicken being cooked on the fire, completely helpless in this catastrophic situation for him, and the non-voting observer, a paradoxical figure of our times so consumed by his aforementioned values that he does not realize he is inclined toward the opposite of these. But amidst all this, love returns... not immediately, but it does come back: despite everything being precarious in life, despite the need to endure every catastrophe to find oneself, despite it being a mechanism of illusion and self-sabotage, it exists and is a tangible part of our existence. And then? Then... there are three more tracks. Maciste, Il maratoneta, and Sogni, which are not quite up to Samuele's standards, even though they are consistent with the themes of the album; they are not forgettable tracks, but in an album with seven other top-notch pieces, they are decidedly less sharp and focused. This is why L'aldiquà was somewhat of a disappointment upon its release; Samuele had just come out of a splendid period and with L'aldiquà he was still in his golden age, but even today L'aldiquà remains an album that, with a little more effort, could have been on par with its predecessors, yet unfortunately falls a little short compared to those that came before it. Nevertheless, L'aldiquà remains an excellent album that exorcises many of the evils of our modern world and encourages you every day to keep moving forward through the trenches and the ropes. It’s all a matter of balance.
Picky rating: 8/9
The gem: Una Delirante Poesia
Released in May 2006, this sixth album by Samuele Bersani follows his jackpot win two years earlier at the Targe Tenco. And the expectations are not disappointed... sort of. L'aldiquà continues the theme of current events started in Caramella smog and carries it forward through several tracks in this new album. We begin with a quiet and suspended vibe, that of Lascia stare, where love and work have become two windows onto a world seemingly too high for us, before moving to Iraq, where a journalist was kidnapped and then killed by the Iraqi Islamic army, all rendered to the beat of a paradoxically cheerful march. We then encounter two figures that represent man in his modern condition: the first is a chicken being cooked on the fire, completely helpless in this catastrophic situation for him, and the non-voting observer, a paradoxical figure of our times so consumed by his aforementioned values that he does not realize he is inclined toward the opposite of these. But amidst all this, love returns... not immediately, but it does come back: despite everything being precarious in life, despite the need to endure every catastrophe to find oneself, despite it being a mechanism of illusion and self-sabotage, it exists and is a tangible part of our existence. And then? Then... there are three more tracks. Maciste, Il maratoneta, and Sogni, which are not quite up to Samuele's standards, even though they are consistent with the themes of the album; they are not forgettable tracks, but in an album with seven other top-notch pieces, they are decidedly less sharp and focused. This is why L'aldiquà was somewhat of a disappointment upon its release; Samuele had just come out of a splendid period and with L'aldiquà he was still in his golden age, but even today L'aldiquà remains an album that, with a little more effort, could have been on par with its predecessors, yet unfortunately falls a little short compared to those that came before it. Nevertheless, L'aldiquà remains an excellent album that exorcises many of the evils of our modern world and encourages you every day to keep moving forward through the trenches and the ropes. It’s all a matter of balance.
Picky rating: 8/9
The gem: Una Delirante Poesia
Martello
10 jul 21
DeRank ™: 15,99
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