Raf
La prova

Raf is one of those singers capable of surprising, of changing genre when least expected (or at least he was, if only for this album), unconcerned about disappointing a few couples on their honeymoon, and introducing a possibly uncomfortable political nuance to the album, one of left-leaning; or perhaps with the aim of attempting 'a big leap' towards authors like De André, De Gregori, and Guccini; always assuming that he needed it, given that the music always escapes the stereotypes of the forms it takes.

'La prova', dated '98, however, opens with 'Vita, storie e pensieri di un alieno' which consolidates the romantic and melodic nature, as well as increases the sound impact through excellent guitar riffs and keyboard background, which fits well with Raf's lined voice, which between medium and head register speaks idyllically of life to an inexperienced alien.

'Lava' is a fairly slow track, but interspersed with heavy riffs, brief and sonorous, accelerating in the final part; and even the vocal intonation sharpens in certain sections, on the melody alternating in the measures of low and high notes, on these lyrics: 'I am lava, fire and light, in the night, where are you, I am a scream that, that does not fall silent, take me, I am what you want. I am lava, red sea, that digs into you, searches for a place, inside you, for every time you want, you want...'. Following is 'Little girl' second extract after track 1, slightly faster in the metric and weaker in the riffs (still recurring), while the meaning refers to previous and future sentimental works.

'Che giorno è' implants political themes onto the rock background, approached from a distance, with reference to the years of lead, not even direct, and with always poetic and rhyming lyrics, well-paced even in the refrain girded by heavy riffs. Followed by an acoustic ballad: 'Jamas', with sullen and broken tones, and melancholic and dissident lyrics towards American apology, also nostalgic and praising towards Ernesto Guevara, to whom it is dedicated and addressed: 'Oh... mai, no te habran jamas'.

Next on the album: 'La danza della pioggia' (a nice video is also available), which, also thanks to the allegory of rain, is well-paced through metric and assonances and obviously love lyrics. Whereas 'Il primo uomo' marked by acoustic guitar and bass and interpolated by rock guitar, is a song with purely poetic and existential lyrics.

Following is 'Tra le mie domande e il mare' a continuation of the previous in lyrics and another episode with a strong cadence, which with lyrical onomatopoeic oscillations with the sea leads to the title track, 'La prova', where Raf cheers for the losers, the marginalized, and the ghettos, contesting in a very subdued and resigned manner, but also vainly stoic. On the musical level, the drums stand out greatly, alongside the guitar, and the vocal alternation of fast verses, as in rap. Very peculiar.

I conclude with a comment obviously directed exclusively at the music (I am not interested at all in politics) which has taken hold of these rock sounds, while at the same time perpetuating the pop matrix in the lyrics, on melodies set in the pop metric. A fundamental quality in my opinion is uniformity, which gives the perception of completeness to the creative idea that underlies the album.