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Can a Conte album be different from the others? Can it be considered "unclassifiable" in terms of time, arrangements, compositional structure, both musical and literary, and finally in the fundamental yet indeterminable element of atmosphere…? If such an album exists, it is certainly "Parole d'amore scritte a macchina," an anomalous work in every way, which opens the 1990s for the singer-songwriter and lawyer from Asti. Let's examine the elements with the necessary minimum of analysis, trying not to appear boring or pedantic.
The cover. In the era of mp3s, this is unfortunately becoming an absolutely secondary element of the work as a whole. But a casual glance at the history of so-called light music covers is enough to understand that it is certainly not a negligible element. Here, Conte chose a portrait of himself by the ever-excellent Hugo Pratt, depicting him, in black sketch on an orange background, lost among the women of his fantasy and music. An absolutely ethereal cover for an album that is absolutely so.
The composition. Paolo Conte was then fresh from what is commonly regarded by everyone (including myself) as his real and unrepeatable golden period, which ranges from "Un gelato al limon" to "Aguaplano." A golden moment especially for the brilliance of the lyrics, for that ability to write seemingly simple melodies on often difficult harmonic structures. Here, everything changes in the name of the purest minimalism. The lyrics may seem (and undoubtedly did seem at the time) sparse and less inspired. In reality, it's just a different approach, completely aimed at emotion and atmosphere, and in this goal, the Artist succeeds as perhaps never before. The range goes from typically Conte-styled songs ("Colleghi trascurati") to others absolutely atypical in the singer-songwriter's compositional panorama ("Dragon," a pseudo-blues on a pleasantly obsessive electronic base), from brilliant ideas that dig deep ("Il Maestro"… and any explanation would be rhetorical and especially useless…) to amusing jokes wonderfully pointless ("Happy Feet"). An album, therefore, compositionally with an apparent poverty and unquestionable depth, which can only be a result of careful and mature listening.
The arrangements. Here too, Conte was fresh from the golden period, the one of collaborations with (more or less) the same group of Musici of Guccini (and obviously of the Fantini stable), those, in summary, where the best Authorly strokes came from the fluid drumming of a Bandini or the tempered hard bop improvisations of Marangolo's sax. Here, while the production remains unchanged, the group changes in all its members. Musicians undoubtedly more academic and less skilled, but who in the ethereal atmosphere of the Monferrato studio render the now and forever unfiltered ideas of the Author very well. In the last track, Daniele Di Gregorio, a drummer of rare woodiness and limited musical lust, fortunately without causing harm, makes an appearance with light percussion, causing many damages (at least in the opinion of the writer…) in the years to come, especially in live albums (compare Bandini's part and his in "Alle prese con una verde milonga" in the 80s live and the last "Arena"…). But when talking about arrangements, one must notice the true element that makes this album absolutely unique in its genre, namely the total absence of the drums. To hear the same tracks with drums, one will have to wait for the numerous live albums (three doubles, since then…), and the result will be surely inferior to the studio model. Here Conte seems to pay tribute to the early jazz/blues, where the rhythmic part was left to the guitars, which also in this album assume every rhythmic burden, almost losing the sensation, often, of the chord they are playing. Almost as if the "scratch" were more important than the chord. A choice also seemingly questionable, but in the result characterized instead by undeniable strength. The tracks of "Parole d'amore…" are absolutely ethereal, as if they were suspended at an indefinable point in space and time.
An album that, evaluated retrospectively, would certainly be difficult to define and date, and for this reason also beautiful. Then Paolo Conte would return to earth, with very beautiful albums ("900," "Elegia"), other simply more than good ("Una faccia in prestito") others absolutely negligible (the missed dream of "Razmataz") and, as I said, too many live albums and compilations. However, all pleasantly usual, normal products, even in a Conte perspective. "Parole d'amore scritte a macchina" instead stands out there, embellishing the limited yet splendid array of "strange" albums.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Dragon (04:13)
you are a long, long train
we go away
we go away
You are, you are
you are a rail road wind
we go away
we go away
ouha - ouha - ouha - ouha ...
Tu vuoi farmi un ritratto in forma di piano...
e me lo vuoi fare in forma di treno...
ouha - ouha - ouha - ouha ...
Vuoi un titolo al quadro o alla sua imitazione...?
Un consiglio lo accetti...? E' da grande illusione....
"The dragon"..."the dragon"... That's the dragon.. Yeah...
02 Colleghi trascurati (03:39)
Forse a quest'ora i colleghi scordati li ho gia`
chiusi nella toilette
a farsi belli, ma che follia...
delirio, agguato di nostalgia...
la piu` malinconica seta io affrontero`
con le mani piu` allegre che avro`
per raccontare a chi non lo sa, eh, eh...
quel che e' soltanto normalita`...
Ma, se capita, chissa`, se capita,
un po' di giungla anche per me...
e loro ascoltano...? Chissa`
se ridono... e se capiscono il perche`...?
Cuochi ambulanti soffriggono la musica
la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la...
Bambola avvolta ne tulle, gia' messa via...
di tanti bei sogni la musa...
Ghibli che soffia dietro una porta chiusa...
ah, mi sento fradicio di magia...
Ma forse a quest'ora siam gia' fuori orario, pero...
un pedilivio mi faro'...
Ho qui un bel talco da miliardario...
la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la...
04 Ho ballato di tutto (02:52)
Ho ballato di tutto, lo sai
sui sentiere dei grammofoni, sai
woody, woody
Ho ballato un pocon tutti, lo sai
gente nuova e gente vecchia, lo sai
Smoothie, smoothie
Blue fame, blue love
Mai nessuno che abbia amato, lo sai i miei
piedi, mai nessuno, lo sai.
Footie, footie
Vedi, il cuore e i piedi, proprio cos,
sono i primi che si stancano, s.
Moody, moody
Blue flame, glue love
Una donna calda, sono cos,
come si usa dire, sono cos.
Hothead, hothead
Che trascina al largo senza piet
chi non sa nuotare e mai imparer.
Bloody, bloody
Blue flame, blue love
07 Eden (03:10)
Solo in un silenzio penso a niente
e voglio solo te,
padre emozionato ed entusiasta
che ti specchi in me
Solo contro niente mi accontento
e non mi annoio mai,
suono un bel saxofono d'argento
e non mi sbaglio mai
Ah, suono nel vuoto
Ah, soffio nel fuoco
Ho cercato per tutto il paradiso
La quota dove sta il tuo sorriso
Ah, voglio suonare
Ah, e camminare
Sto carcando per tutto il paradiso
la guida che m'incontri il tuo sorriso
08 Lupi spelacchiati (02:29)
Dimmi chi sei…
pensaci un attimo…
comodo qui…
… très blasé…
Dimmi chi sei…
domanda scomoda, uh! Uh!
Vuoi che sia diplomaico…
Hooly - hooly -hooly
siediti
Hooly - hooly - hooly
parlami…
vecchie ambizioni?…
Solo pulci… e lo sai,
ma, Dimmi, dimmi, chi sei,
tu come stai?
…
Dimmi chi sei?
Comica America…
comodo qui…
très blasè…
Dimmi chi sei?
Come ti chiamano?
Sono come mi vogliono…
12 Happy Feet (03:22)
Cosa leggerai? Con che libro affascini il tuo cuore?
E se ti perderai nel labirinto di un amaro autore?
Ma i tuoi piedi: Tap-tap-ta-ta-tap Ma i tuoi piedi: Tap-tap-ta-ta-tap
Happy feet… Ta-dah-tah Happy feet… Ta-dah-tah
Happy feet… Oh, Oh I Love it…
Telefonerai? Probabilmente a me, tuo schiavo d’amore…
Ti divertirai? Che traguardi vuoi farmi trovare?
A che mostra andrai? Un picasso in fiamme ti può andare?
Ne discuterai…con qualcuno che ne sa parlare?…
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By Silla
Words of love written on a typewriter.
I fell in love with it after three seconds of listening.
