Pooh
Palasport

THE REVIEW

First live performance by Pooh, being perfectionists, they only got around to recording live in their sixteenth year of activity, Palasport represents the last hurrah of their way of making music in the first style, which means the best.

Twenty-five songs in the setlist, but be careful, it's not the usual and banal best of, but rather a careful selection of material, yet played in a way that makes the audience sing at the top of their lungs.

To enrich the repertoire, two unreleased tracks, "Siamo tutti come noi" and "Canzoni per l'inverno", with the first being too much of a mix of their more recent successes, while the second song is better.

For the first time, three tracks from the Sixties appear, a repertoire never considered until that moment. Additionally, in the final part, there's a medley of nine tracks precisely with the mentioned pieces up to 1972, opening and closing with "Banda nel vento", a celebratory song for the 15 years of the group, dedicated to Riccardo Fogli.

The last three albums Viva, Stop, and Buona fortuna are well represented, with three, four, and four tracks respectively, while the period 74-78 is removed, with the only exceptions being "Pierre" and "Ancora tra un anno" instrumental tail only.
Finally, worth noting "Parsifal", which this year turns 50, divided into two parts with an "explosion" in the suite.

With Palasport, the Pooh close an excellent arc that began with the production by Giancarlo Lucariello of Opera prima and that will have its peak development in the two-year period 75-76, before the slow commercial and sycophantic decline that starts at unsuspected times with "Dammi solo un minuto".

After 1982, there will be a period of crisis and conformity, which will lead the four to record in remote corners of the planet, and from this will arise the trilogy Tropico-Aloha-Asia. It will be necessary to wait until 1990 for a definitive relaunch of the band.

Nonetheless, I still give Palasport four stars out of respect, as there's still a certain way of making and understanding music, although the female choruses are starting to be really too many, dulling the atmosphere of some nice pieces.

Dodi is excellent with the instrument, especially in "L'ultima notte di caccia" and "Parsifal", while Roby is in great form with his voice. Red and Stefano, on the other hand, add charm, with spoken interventions then removed from the CD version.