Year of our Lord 1987. After the twentieth-anniversary celebrations with Giorni Infiniti, which also contained an explicit tribute called Venti, this Il colore dei pensieri represents one of the band's least known and most overrated albums, composed of a Bergamasque, a Trevisan, a Bolognese, and a Roman. Generally, after Buona Fortuna, the band's '80s were decidedly declining, and one had to wait for Uomini Soli for a definitive revival. The concept of color is also represented on the cover, with the four having their heads hidden by cloths of various colors. Among the most important tracks, without a doubt, is Santa Lucia, a beautiful depiction of Bologna during the years of lead, and a reference to the "longest night of the year," where another song by the band, "Mio padre, una sera," is also mentioned. I discovered this song late, and in hindsight, it is decidedly remarkable! Another piece to remember is the one that closes the album, Dall'altra parte, a musical duet between Red Canzian's cello and Roby Facchinetti's piano, with a sense of nostalgia and melancholy typical of Second World countries, for example, the Soviet Union during the Cold War years. Il colore dei pensieri is indeed an album where the writing of committed lyrics returns, which were not lacking in previous albums either (consider Il giorno prima, taken from Aloha). The ecological theme, definitively addressed in the subsequent Oasi, is anticipated here by Acqua dalla luna (incidentally, also the title of a song by Claudio Baglioni, curiously), which has a structure similar to Giorni Infiniti. Also noteworthy is the customary self-celebratory song Siamo ancora sulla strada, which I got to know around 2011 hearing it on the radio. The "music machine" theme, started with Banda nel vento, continues. In the track, the same phrases from Pronto, buongiorno e la sveglia are also quoted. This crossover reminds me of Venditti with Il compleanno di Cristina, where he mentions Sotto il segno dei pesci. Finally, some attention should also be directed to Tu dov'eri and Città di donne, both frequently performed in the years following the album's release. It is the group's first album recorded with Direct Metal Mastering technology, and this fact continues the discourse of technological evolution of the '80s Pooh, started with the use of the Fairlight back in 1984. Between CD and vinyl, the songs Mai dire mai and Siamo ancora sulla strada slightly differ in their introductions. Final rating: 2 and a half stars. An album too much a child of a decade which, even with other artists, saw a significant decline compared to the glories of the previous decade.

Tracklist and Videos

01   Per te domani ()

02   Mai dire mai ()

03   Santa Lucia ()

04   Tu dov'eri ()

05   Acqua dalla luna ()

06   Città di donne ()

07   Non sei lei ()

08   Io sto con te ()

09   Siamo ancora sulla strada ()

10   Dall'altra parte ()

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