Premiata Forneria Marconi
Dove...Quando... Live in U.S.A

LA RECENSIONE

There was a time when tender Giacomo was content with the radio and a few coins for the juke-box. Today, however, he tries his hand at such complicated music that it makes him lose his patience a little.

The tracks are so long and ambitious that "the daring descents and ascents" are nothing in comparison.

And when friends argue about who is the best keyboardist to set the pace, he misses the Agip Bar and the simple songs that were played there.

But beyond the early nostalgia, Giacomo is someone who wants to keep up with the times and so he tries hard, studies, listens. Some things he likes, some things he sort of likes, but it's quite clear that his world is a different one. "Live in Usa" is no exception, it's a good record for sure, but it suffers/enjoys the same flaws/merits as almost all progressive albums.

Except that in "Live in Usa" there's a hidden gem called "Dove...Quando...". I've always imagined its title written in lowercase, because its charm lies also, if not especially, in being a small thing. And if we add those ellipsis dots, there's no need to say more.

Our Giacomo, however, is hit and sunk by the words, both in themselves and in the way they are interpreted. That non-singer voice could be you, could be me, but most of all, it could be Giacomo.

And when that "princess serene of the time I will have" comes, it's truly a kind of epiphany. But to understand why we must leave the radio report of this 1975 and take a leap into that strange future that is the current twenty/twenty-two.

There he is, tender Giacomo. Time has been quite generous with him, not so much in physical appearance, but in something far more special. Like old heroes, we sit at the bar and the conversation soon turns to our ancient musical passion. Here's what he told me:

"Dove...Quando... was a small personal mantra that I sang to myself. I felt like it was about me, even if I didn't exactly know why. Today I know. That serene princess was poetry in its first appearance. Singing it was my way of welcoming it."

Needless to say, I was moved. And that this flawed album is one of those I'm most fond of. Because then, flaws...

What flaws?

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