Pooh
Un posto felice

1999. After three years of emptiness since the last, celebratory, "Amici x sempre," an emptiness filled by the 1997 Best of and a collection of reinterpretations from the early years of their career, the Pooh return with a new album of original songs with a neutral title: "Un posto felice." In fact, there is no title track or even a verse mentioning the album's title, which predominantly features the theme of love. It starts with "Se balla da sola," a single that dominated the spring-summer of that year, once again highlighting the effective alternation of voices in the verses and the choral nature of the chorus. The magnificent four then each take their turn. Roby begins with the sentimental "Mi manchi," which at times echoes "La donna del mio amico" and fits into the sentimental stream of Camillo of Bergamo. Next is Dodi with "Quando lui ti chiederà di me," a sweet song that apparently inspired (a little too much to not speak of plagiarism) Gigi D'Alessio's "Non dirgli mai." Then comes Red with another of the so-called "Canzian songs," a series of tracks starting with "Stare senza di te" and continuing with "Cercando di te." This includes "Io ti aspetterò," one of the best on the album with a splendid solo by Dodi Battaglia; and Stefano, with the mediocre but successful "Dimmi di si," a low point in their repertoire, bordering on trash. Red once again brings the album back to acceptable and appreciable levels with "Ricostruire un amore," where Bruno of Quinto di Treviso's voice is warm and moving, and Donato of Bologna does the rest. Roby and Dodi return, the main pillars of the Pooh, more skilled instrumentally and creatively compared to the other two, with due respect. The first with "Sogno a mezza estate," acting as a counterpart to "Mi manchi" being more cheerful (and here, too, Dodi indulges in one of his intriguing solos!), and with the nostalgic but energetic and not melancholic "Eravamo ragazzi," quite successful. Between the two songs is Dodi, with the soft "Quel che non si dice," a song that's average overall. Once again closing with the choral and alternating verses, in what is the best track on the album and one of the best in their vast production: "Ventimila leghe sopra i cieli," a paraphrase of Jules Verne's novel describing a multi-sun, timeless world. Perhaps "Un posto felice" refers to the last track of this work, neither good nor bad, closing the '90s for Italy's longest-lived band alongside the Nomadi. The fact that Stefano of Rome sings in only one track, in retrospect, suggests the drummer's fatigue, who will leave ten years later. The subsequent "Cento di queste vite" will open the 2000s and be better than this. The cover is nice but perhaps not too illustrative.