Roberto Vecchioni
Di Rabbia E Di Stelle

"I gave you Goofy and Mickey Mouse

and Donald Duck and everything I have

but there's something in the pocket,

something my dear that I won't give you.

Not even if you cry in Chinese,

not even if you cry in Chinese."

Being a singer-songwriter and at the same time maintaining the same quality levels as in the past is certainly no small feat, especially given the current state of the classical singer-songwriter scene in our peninsula: there are those who have succumbed to a lack of inventiveness, dropping in quality (Bennato, Dalla, Daniele, Venditti) and those who have remained at fairly high levels (Fossati, Conte, De Gregori, Guccini). But among the latter, one who definitely deserves a special mention is indeed Roberto Vecchioni.

The Professor, as we all know him. Loved and hated at the same time. There are those who praise his lyrics but do not do the same for his chansonnier-style singing or his arrangements, and there are those who praise both. He has written many songs, 90% of which are truly successful. Everyone knows "Samarcanda" and "Luci A San Siro". Far fewer people know "Canto Notturno", "Dentro Gli Occhi" and "Tommy". He has also done some very modest works (in the negative sense) and quite forgettable ("Ippopotami" and "Rotary Club Of Malindi", of which the latter is slightly superior to the former), but this did not prevent him from always holding his head high, with the ability to redeem himself in the right way.

This "Di Rabbia E Di Stelle" is a work dated 2007. And it's an album where the Prof not only redeems himself from the previous "Rotary...", but demonstrates he still has a lot to say despite the years, with an album that could be a sort of autobiography.

The autobiography of each of us. We, able to be ever more sincere with ourselves in looking at the surrounding reality, in a mixture of pain and anger, but at the same time love and life. Perhaps these are the four key words of the work.

Pain, found in songs like the acoustic "Non Amo Più", a portrayal of a true disappointment, and "Amico Mio", dedicated to someone who is no longer there, returning to the steps of that Tommy, honored last decade.

Anger, a sentiment that shapes compositions like "Questi Fantasmi" and "Mond Lader (Mondo Ladro)", where, in a nearly playful Milanese, our protagonist puts himself in the shoes of a worker consumed by anger because he cannot make ends meet ("What will become of me tomorrow when all I have is crap in my hands?").

Love, seen in all its facets, which emerges in "Non Lasciarmi Andare Via" and "O Amore Amore Amore".

Life, the life of everyone. Thus, also the life of the "Scared Warrior Comedians" (could the Prof be an admirer of Stefano Benni?), all those young people full of doubts and at odds with the world. The life of Vecchioni himself (subliminally present in "Il Cielo Di Auschwitz"), of his wife ("La Ragazza Col Filo D'Argento"). Our life ("Tu, Quanto Tempo Hai?"), of us who, looking up at the sky, realize that maybe that same God we got angry with could be the last chance to know what we are searching for ("Le Rose Blu").

Finally, there are two moments full of healthy and friendly irony: "Neanche Se Piangi In Cinese" and "Il Violinista Sul Tetto" (sung with Teresa De Sio).

"Di Rabbia E Di Stelle" is an album capable of blending together craft and quality. Because, in today's vast musical landscape, made of the good and the so-called good, of the beautiful and the ugly, but also of the undeserving and the hoggish, there are still singer-songwriters who carry their years well, without losing their shine.

And Roberto Vecchioni admirably follows this example.

"How far, God, how far the sky is

from everything I believed to be true..."