Paolo Conte
Appunti di viaggio

This is definitely one of my favorite records. I love the journey, the very idea of packing my bags and setting off towards a new destination invigorates and regenerates me. Unfortunately, in life, I haven't been able to travel as much as I would have liked, or rather, to be honest, I've managed to move very little, at least physically. However, if we move to a more metaphysical side, then I am a real wanderer! When I close my eyes, I can see the streets of Rome get lost in the narrow alleys of Florence while dark forces drag me to Istanbul, only to leave me in a Parisian theater to watch a mustached gentleman, with a knowing look, telling stories while sitting at a black piano, shiny as the night.

Paolo Conte with his "Appunti di viaggio" touched my soul more than I ever imagined a record could. I remember when I listened to it for the first time, fascinated as I was by that magnificent cover, I was afraid of somehow being disappointed; however, in a way, I knew it couldn't happen. I absolutely had to put on that album, I had to savor it and lose myself in its melodies, so I started listening and found myself taking an incredible journey. That voice, that piano, and even that damn kazoo, everything was perfect, exactly as it should be! "Fuga all'inglese" is a textbook opener: a slow start, the luggage is being prepared, then off towards the real journey, because "so much of us, we can do without. Who will ever notice our absence?" And I am already gone, far away, out of the noise, away from the foolish voices that often storm my days. I can't hear anything because now I'm dancing with a beautiful girl whose name I don't know and don't care to know, I can see her moving close to me, smelling the aroma of mandarin that emanates from her skin with every move. I am free to go anywhere, to join an uncle who exists only in my head and with him see "Shanghai along the boulevards of Vienna" or open a random page of "Fiesta" and dive in to have "Hemingway" speak directly onto my skin.

The lawyer from Asti is this for me, an escape from reality, a way to quiet the senses of a man who would like to keep running until he can't feel his legs anymore. With "Appunti di viaggio," I found a small treasure, a chest with eight gems capable of dragging me so far away that it becomes increasingly difficult, every time, to return.