Usually, I'm a bit reluctant to listen to tributes. This time, however, the fact that twenty-one representatives of the Italian underground scene decided to gather to pay homage to one of the most interesting Italian artists of the last twenty-five years intrigued me greatly. I approached listening with a bit too much reservation. Yes, because what you hear on this double CD is a pleasant surprise, albeit with some small fluctuations in quality.
The Krisma start with a good version of "Australia", a track that appeared on the album "Fuori per sempre" from 1995. Angelo Bellandi and the Derivando (who record for Discipline, Garbo's personal record label) present "On the radio", an atmospheric track from Garbo's first album, "A Berlino... va bene" from 1981. A bit too computerized for my taste is the version that Madaski (Africa Unite) gives of "Radioclima", while "Cose veloci" rerecorded by Ottodix is beautiful and heartfelt. The version of "A Berlino... va bene" by Boosta is the same as the one appearing on the album "Iconoclash," where the Subsonica keyboardist reinterpreted Italian electropop tracks from the '80s. "Io e te" is a piece taken from the album "Blu" of 2002 and is here rearranged by the Jetlag with an interesting arrangement of harp and triangle. "Danse une nuit ainsi" by N.A.M.B. has echoes of certain "noise" sounds like Afterhours, while "Forse" is a track that Lele Battista renders very well with a soft, atmospheric arrangement. "La/La/La" is a song that Gionata delivers with an intro that starkly echoes "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop. "How do I get to Mars?" was one of those pieces appearing on the strange but fascinating album "Up the line" where Garbo was accompanied by texts by Isabella Santacroce, Tommaso Labranca, Niccolò Ammanniti, Aldo Nove, and other exponents of "Nevroromanticismo." Here, the track is interpreted by Styloo and (hear, hear, who returns to the scene!) Valerie Dore (anyone remember "Get closer" and "Romantic dance"?).
Also very beautiful is the version of "Il fiume" by Andy (Subsonica) which closes the black CD. The white CD opens instead with Francesco Bianconi and Rachele Bastreghi from Baustelle who interpret a B-side of the single "Un bacio falso": this track ("Un graffio") is also rendered in a heartfelt and participatory way.
The Anarcord are on the tracklist with a techno version of "Troppe cose", while then arrives one of the peaks of the tribute with Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi singing a track that seems tailored for him, namely "Generazione". The Soerba reformed for the occasion and render a good version of "Dance citadine" (strange that the pieces from "Scortati" are all on the same CD, coincidence?). Then there's the piece that strikes me the least, which is "Up the line" with Zu & Meg, frankly it doesn't seem like much to me, while excellent is the version of "Vorrei regnare" made by the Xelius Project, which starts with a singing in German and moves toward a very "industrial" sound. Marco Notari is an interesting exponent of the Italian indie rock who here redoes "Un bacio falso", then it's the turn of the Lombroso to remake "Due foglie di settembre" in a very personalized way, turning it into an interesting rock piece (in reality the original is nothing but the Italian cover of "Eyes without a face" by Billy Idol), while Alessandro Zannier and Georgeanne Kalweit (Delta V) resurface "Grandi giorni" with another good version. The same Delta V then close the tribute with "Quanti anni hai?".
The Delta V close the tribute, but Garbo then reopens it, because, as Garbo himself writes in the liner notes, "...When I was informed of what was happening regarding this project, I felt strong and mixed emotions. On the one hand, amazement... after all, I have never been a chart-topper idol or a classic singer-songwriter for many generations... on the other hand, I also felt gratification and pleasure in knowing that many artists were taking care of something I had and have scattered in the ether all these years..." Thus, Garbo himself decides to offer this tribute three small hidden gems from his repertoire, namely his personal interpretation of "Comme d'habitude" (the original version of "My way"), with only voice and piano, a new electro-acoustic version of the piece "Garbo" (the original was in "GialloElettrico") and a 1999 demo titled "E non so perché".
In conclusion, it must be said that none of these artists is on this tribute just to show off, but only to make a beautiful and heartfelt homage to a musician that they all respect and love. Well done!
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