Renato Zero
L'imperfetto

THE REVIEW

"In the gardens that no one knows/one breathes uselessness/there is great cleanliness/respect/almost madness".

The year 1994 is the most important in Renato Zero's career. In the span of two months, he releases two albums that are fundamental in their own way. In November, the Italian soundtrack for 'Nightmare Before Christmas' is released, with music by Danny Elfman, a rendition so beautiful that it excites Tim Burton, who prefers it over the original version.

Two months earlier, however, another album had been released (the first for Sony): 'L'imperfetto', a great public success like all of Renato's albums (except during the mid-'80s crisis) that reaches the top of the hit parade. After the Sanremo emphasis of Ave Maria, here Renato returns a bit to his roots (wasn't he one of the few glam rock flag bearers in Italy during the '60s and '70s?) and shifts towards harder and more essential sounds, thanks in part to the production by guitarist Phil Palmer. The album opens with Amando amando, a fairly classic melody with lyrics that, despite the title, is anything but predictable "Amando amando may it not be a duty, a chain to this fantasy, a subtle game, oblivion of the senses, desire for power, naivety, loving the harm that is done" and continues with an attack on the Italian political class (after all, he was perhaps the only one among the great songwriters not to mingle with the parties, and perhaps this cost him in terms of journalists' consideration who judge not on the basis of art but of affiliation). The invitation to our politicians (the song is called "Aria di pentimenti") is encapsulated in the final sentence: "Let's hope a generous wind rises, and sweeps you all away": wholeheartedly agreed.

Since I can't do an analysis of each song, otherwise, you know, what a bore, I'll get to the point: this album contains what I believe to be the most beautiful song in Italian music, or at least the most beautiful of the last twenty years. The track is "Nei giardini che nessuno sa", dedicated to the diverse, the disabled, the elderly, the marginalized, the forgotten in nursing homes or clinics dragging their lives instead of living them. It is a text of rare beauty that I post in full, hoping some sensitive soul will appreciate it.

Feel that rough skin, a great cold inside the soul, even a tear struggles to fall. Too many expectations around the corner, joys that do not belong to you. This irreconcilable time, plays against you. That's how we end up later, nailed to a window, melancholic spectators of impossible happiness. . . So many trips postponed, empty suitcases for an eternity...

That pain you don't know what it is, only it will never abandon you! That discomfort is a refuge, too much haste in that growing of yours. No more miracles happen now, no more. Don't listen to those dolls. Don't touch those pills. That nun has a nice character, she knows how to handle souls. I would give you my eyes, to see what you do not see. The energy, the cheerfulness, to make you smile again.

Say yes, always yes, and manage to make you fly, where you want, where you know, without that weight on your heart. Hide the clouds from you, that winter that hurts you. Heal your wounds and then, a couple of teeth more for eating. And then watch you laugh, and then watch you run again. Forget, there are those who forget, absent-mindedly, a flower on a Sunday and then... silences. And then... silences. Silences.

In the gardens that no one knows, uselessness is in the air, there is respect and great cleanliness, it is almost madness. Don't you know how beautiful it is to hold you, to find ourselves here defending you, and dressing you and combing you, yes, and whispering to you not to give up. In the gardens that no one knows, how many lives drag here, only ailments, small anemias. We are nothing without fantasies. Support them, help them, please don't let them fall. Fragile, delicate, don't deny them a bit of your love. Stars that now fall silent, but will give meaning to that sky.

Men do not shine if they too are not stars. Hands that now tremble, because the wind blows stronger. . . don't leave them now no, don’t let death surprise them. We are the disabled, who despite having, sometimes do not give. Forget, there are those who forget, absent-mindedly a flower on a Sunday and then... silences. And then... silences. Silences...

Tracklist

01. Amando amando

02. Aria di pentimenti

03. Facce

04. Roma malata

05. Felici e perdenti

06. Bella gioventù

07. Digli no

08. Nei giardini che nessuno sa

09. L'ultimo guerriero

10. Vento di ricordi

11. Dubito

12. Chi

Lyrics by Renatozero, music by Gianluca Podio, Danilo Riccardi, Renatozero. Produced by Renatozero and Phil Palmer.