I dedicate this review to users Ribaldo and Marco Orsi.
Probably everything has already been said about this LP, it forcefully enters the professor's interviews, but apart from the famous title track, the songs struggle to make it into concert setlists, even today, whereas the repertoire of the '70s is not neglected at all, quite the opposite.
I realize I'm once again voicing an unpopular opinion, but alas, I try to do it quickly and painlessly: this LP just didn't succeed. Sandwiched between his two greatest masterpieces 'Elisir' and 'Calabuig', we find this moment of little inspiration and much autobiography, which often ends up being a pretext for... nothing much.
Apart from the song 'Samarcanda', almost disowned in the following years by the professor, who stated about this great sales success that 'Samarcanda is not a success, it's a coincidence. 'Luci a San Siro', for me, is a success because of its value, etc... etc...' In short, he distinguishes between easy songs and those truly dear to his heart and views as successful. Beyond this, personal opinions of journalists, debasers, and avid casual listeners differ.
For me, in the seventies Vecchioni alternates between great moments and others of recovery, where an almost mediocre LP allows him to catch his breath: the same goes for 'Robinson', a less significant episode between the previous 'Calabuig' and the subsequent 'Montecristo'.
This album has obvious fillers, especially in the first part, on Side A, for those who own the LP. Things improve with the spoken and therefore somewhat improbable and ambiguous 'Blu(e) notte', followed by the trio 'Per un vecchio bambino', 'Canzone per Sergio', and 'L'ultimo spettacolo'. A kind of family trilogy, composed of songs that are much more than just a melancholic memory of the brother and childhood together, of the father, an eternal kid, who finally becomes an adult with his disappearance, and of the farewell to his wife.
In particular, two songs: 'Per un vecchio bambino' and 'L'ultimo spettacolo' are relevant, indeed, for me perhaps the only ones to include in a hypothetical anthology, relating to this LP.
There aren't any particular reasons, they just appeal to me. I actually do not appreciate much the oversized theatricality of the last track, a bit forced, it loses in genuineness. Quite the contrary for the other song, where the dad becomes a child, a very sweet, beautiful, and poetic track.
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Other reviews
By ilsuonatorejones
"Samarcanda is a jewel of Italian music, a beautiful and well-crafted text."
"Seven minutes on the edge of emotional tension, with words that seem stifled by tears."