Pooh
Un po' del nostro tempo migliore

Un po' del nostro tempo migliore, an album released in February 1975, is an album that leaves Pooh listeners somewhat puzzled.

The Pooh, undisputed masters of the Symphonic Pop-Rock scene in the early '70s, have in some ways overturned those cornerstones that made the Pooh famous and wealthy.

Consider the two singles from '71 "Pensiero" and "Tanta voglia di lei", singles that sold more than a million copies in Italy.

From "Opera prima" besides changing the members of the group, they radically changed their way of songwriting.

Yes, the orchestra remained, but the lyrics and melodies, completely revolutionized, struck the fans, who reacted negatively to this desire for evolution, leaving both this album and its sequel, "Forse ancora poesia", practically unsold.

Un po' del nostro tempo migliore is an album that I would define as almost perfect.

Undoubtedly the pinnacle of symphonic rock. Suffice it to say that the album opens with the notes of "Preludio", exactly like the preludes of great opera works. Puccini's influence is evident in Facchinetti, and the melodies that compose the album (all his, except for Mediterraneo, Orient express written together with Battaglia) are the clearest testimonies.

After Preludio, one masterpiece after another:

"Credo", besides a dreamy text, highlights the lyrical power of the great Bergamasque keyboardist;

"Una storia che fa ridere" opens with singing by Battaglia, accompanied only by the echo of his voice, and describes the end of the relationship between two young people because the woman falls in love with his best friend. The finale is wonderful, where the man gets his revenge "Via di qui, per favore via, aprirò le finestre e poi, se mi viene, io ne riderò.";

"Oceano" is a man's gaze at the immensity. The use of Roby's harpsichord is fundamental here, making its first appearance;

"Fantasia" is another gem, where to a joyful melody (completely acoustic, only with Dodi's guitar) contrasts with a very bitter text, the illusion, the escape into dreams of a girl, who then opens her eyes and rediscovers her sad reality "Con triste tenerezza intorno a noi vedrai, il mare nell'acquario e il fuoco spento ormai, la stanza di un ragazzo e non sorriderai.";

"Mediterraneo" is an instrumental where various instruments follow one another on a very simple loop (from Red's mandolin to Stefano's xylophone);

"Eleonora mia madre" is a portrait of decadence and the retro taste that enchanted Lucariello (the group's producer) and all the members, including Stefano D'Orazio, in his first appearance as a lyricist;

"1966" is the jewel of the album. The title can refer to many things, both the group's recording debut and the ended love story between two people, where the man asks the woman to look at him without fear and hate him only when he gives up. Heart-wrenching, moving, beautiful.

"Orient express" is a pleasant track that narrates a love affair consumed on the famous train between the protagonist and a foreign woman.

"Il tempo, una donna, la città" is the best track of the album, along with 1966. In more than ten minutes of song, an epic track sung by three alternating voices, Battaglia's guitar reaches the pinnacle of expressiveness when it plays the same notes as Red's singing. Chilling. And then the text is a masterpiece, with that final closure that leaves a thousand hypotheses open "l'aria si chiude al silenzio e poi s'alza la polvere intorno a noi. Io chiudo gli occhi, li riapro, e..." and an instrumental tail of over two minutes, with a chorus that joins the orchestra ensemble.

The most beautiful and most underrated album by the Pooh. Without a doubt.