•
Rating: "When I circulated the idea of this book, I encountered perplexed and somewhat impatient faces - "another book on De André?". I didn't understand, I still don't understand. De André seems to me such a vast world, and after this year of research, even more extensive than I imagined."
Riccardo Bertoncelli
I believe we are all born with particular predispositions. One of mine is an aversion to forms of power in general. To such innate inclinations, to which we are subject, we can relate with indifference, try to repress them, or express them in various ways. In this case, I merely sought a reason why, through study and reading. A history book would have been enough for me to understand that this mistrust of mine was healthy.
This view of power made me deeply love Fabrizio's words; but there's more, something innate within me that slowly pushed me to delve into his world. And so, after passionately listening to all of his work, I came across this book which I did not choose and which was given to me as a gift.
For me, this is not another book on De André, but the first and only one I have read.
To be honest, I have always been more interested in the listening experience than in the musicians' stories, which is why I was looking for a book that would allow me to delve deeper into Fabrizio's lyrics. Later on, I realized that perhaps it did not make much sense, that his lyrics are what they are, and that it would not have been nice to dissect them as done in school anthologies. So I began to understand that the passion I nurtured for Fabrizio's works was only partially rooted in the lyrics of his songs. The rest was in his voice, his melodies, and also in all the collaborators he chose throughout his musical journey.
The book begins with a brief introduction by Bertoncelli, followed by an interesting and detailed short essay by Franco Fabbri. The essay starts from a misunderstanding of Fabrizio's, who declares to a newspaper after reading his essay: "Franco Fabbri says I am not a musician".
A matter of categories, of labels. Because if a musician is generally understood to be someone who writes music, it would be enough to study their scores to understand them. This is not the case for Fabrizio or for many others (the author mentions Luigi Nono), where it is necessary, for a complete understanding, to study the recordings. This consideration only served as a starting point for some of his reflections. In fact, Fabbri considers him one of the most important Italian musicians of the twentieth century, along with some of his colleagues, the aforementioned Nono, Maderna, Puccini, and Morricone.
Another category is poets, as certain singer-songwriters are often defined. Only that the ideal place for poetry is on paper, whereas the lyrics of a song are supported by music, which has a much higher communicative power. I will stop here; the subject is too complex, as is the figure of De André. He feels constrained within categories, even to be considered a perfectionist, a great interpreter with a great voice, a good guitarist, an excellent lyricist, someone who knows how to bring out the best in people and situations. Someone who goes in the opposite direction.
A small test Fabbri proposes is to pay attention to the entrance of the voice in "La canzone di Marinella." I was struck by this small detail, which revealed to me the complexity hidden behind an apparent simplicity.
And so it became even clearer to me why I like De André.
This short piece by Franco Fabbri closes with a detailed analysis of the changes in Fabrizio's vocal tones throughout his career.
We arrive at the heart of the book, namely the interviews conducted by Bertoncelli with those characters who were Fabrizio's travel companions. Obviously in chronological order, the first can only be Giampiero Reverberi, who was not only Fabrizio's arranger but also co-author of many music pieces in the early period, one in which there seemed to be more freedom, where songs were made when inspiration struck, for pure pleasure and also for fun. In that early period, Fabrizio used his voice in lower tones, a quality that very few others had and which was set aside in favor of a smoother diction, a great loss according to Reverberi. But this consideration must also be weighed considering his character and professional rigidity. It brings a smile when he declares he would slap Battiato for the arrangements of "Fleurs" and when he says he kicked Dané out of the studios while recording "Tutti morimmo a stento," because he talked too much.
And it's Dané who is the second character in our interviews, the one who had the marvelous idea of making an album based on the apocryphal Gospels, an album on which he and Fabrizio worked for a year. This was due to the complexity of the work and arrangements and the fact that Fabrizio, as described by Dané himself, was very undecided, insecure, more due to meticulousness but also due to a lack of decision-making aptitude. Strange, because with Reverberi, they recorded "Tutti morimmo a stento" in five days, with a determined and serene Fabrizio present.
And then more stories and the production of "Non all'amore..." and "Storia di un impiegato."
Another period for Fabrizio, considered the lighter one, where he sought collaboration with Bubola for "Rimini" and "L'indiano," albums with a more rock flavor but influenced by local cultures. Massimo Bubola focuses more on the music, mostly composed in Sardinia, than on the figure of Fabrizio.
The interview with Franz Di Cioccio follows, who had the idea of making an album with De André and pushed for its realization. He is undoubtedly the most likeable of all the interviewees and shares amusing anecdotes about Fabrizio, the successful collaboration with PFM, and Fabrizio's difficulties in relating to the audience, with this serious and composed figure of a singer-songwriter in contrast to the dynamism and cheekiness of a rock band like PFM.
In '81, Fabrizio decided to change direction in his musical path together with Mauro Pagani. Thus begins a new phase that will lead him to record what many consider his masterpiece: "Creuza de Mä," where, for the first time, ironically, he does not take part in the music creation.
After the difficult birth of "Le Nuvole," he reaches the final work with Fossati. Ivano clarifies many things, especially regarding their conflicts, which he describes as a polite tug-of-war between them, due to conceptual and stylistic differences, recounting many things, both small and large, from the background of "Anime Salve."
The book concludes with a biographical outline by Enrico Deregibus and the discography by Mariano Brustio.
This book tells me about a more human Fabrizio than I had imagined based on his works. It shows me an uncertain, hesitant Fabrizio who often found solace in alcohol.
I better understand that not all the things he left us are his, but the result of the work and ideas of many who surrounded him, and if at first, I was struck by a sense of disappointment, I then realized that one of his best qualities is precisely that of knowing how to bring out the best from others and from situations, even the most difficult ones. And yes, in this, Fabrizio was indeed a master. We will see if someone someday will be able to reach his mastery, who knows...
Loading comments slowly
