Piero Pelù
Né Buoni Né Cattivi

THE REVIEW

1999, the Litfiba duo of Pelù/Renzulli releases "Infinito," their last album together... Fans shed tears for the end of one of the most important bands in the Italian music scene; and they also shed them when they found out that the band hadn't broken up... but had become an innocuous and useless experiment carried on by Renzulli/A-guy-who-blatantly-imitates-Pelù's-unique-voice... UGH!
What chills listening to "Elettromacumba"... chills of rejection! Poor Ghigo, from rockstar to support teacher, the step was too short...

Meanwhile, the furry Pelù was working on releasing his first solo album: "Né Buoni Né Cattivi," released just a year later.
The album is entirely written, composed, and produced by the good Piero, who here delights us, as usual, with his writing and singing skills, dabbling in various genres like never before done in Litfiba! It starts with "Taksim Blues," which is essentially the intro to "Io Ci Sarò," the leading single of the CD where an optimistic Pelù reminds us that he now goes forward on his own ("Another story to live..."), and gives us little gems of basic wisdom ("Don't lower your gaze with anyone, you can call it pride, it's my idea..."), all sung in the usual style over a soundscape.
Next is "Toro Loco," simple and flowing autobiographical rock like "Mascherina" a year earlier; we arrive at "Fuori Di Qui," a great song much more rock than the previous one, reminiscent of the good times: a text that is trivially sweet ("It's still cold I know, I'll warm you, with all my heart, as long as you stay with me...") contrasting with the not so much "love" song melody; "Aquilone" is a pleasant and beautiful song with somewhat Indian sounds; the lyrics might seem a sort of revenge against the last year of the previous career ("...I fly over emptiness and dark thoughts, above the clouds I had until yesterday...").
You reach the powerful title track, and here there is little to think about: it's the pebble in the shoe that is too annoying and must be removed: "...if a friend speaks, I believe him, I trust him, because in a duel you know how you start and you don't know how you arrive" and again "neither good nor bad, the winner is the one who survives, and having broken bones without having fought...", only the dedication is missing!
The atmosphere changes with the sweet lightness of the ballad "Buongiorno Mattina" leading to "Perfetto Difettoso," a dragged western film rock, very delicate and precise; a fantastic chorus adorned with guitars; then comes the most amusing track, vaguely similar to the Red Hot funky: "Homo Europeus" is a blast starting with the lyrics, an explicit accusation against the European man and his strange habits; not to mention the "Yoppopo Popo PO!" of the choirs... to be listened to at full volume.
Skip over the horrible "Big Bug," and you'll reach the pacifist anthem "Bomba Boomerang": a fully "Litfiba late '80s" music and lyrics that might seem trivial but are exactly the opposite.
The closing duo is entrusted to the calm "Il Segno," addressing the theme of violence, and "Marrakesh Serenade," which takes the melody full-handedly from Indian culture...

In the end, it's an album that Litfiba fans (like me) have loved and still love, because let's not kid ourselves, 80% of Litfiba was him: Piero Pelù!