Vasco Rossi
Buoni o cattivi

THE REVIEW

"I want to find a meaning to so many things...
even if so many things don't have a meaning...a....!" _{("Un senso")}

Yeah... how cruel, right? Killing grammar like that! Without mercy! ...yet I wouldn't throw this song away, just like the record it's on. Ok, it might not be a masterpiece, but it contains some songs that really are.

First and foremost is "Un senso", an airy ballad with truly well-crafted music, perfectly matching a verse that may be repetitive but fits the theme, reaching its peak in the magnificent chorus (I want to find a meaning to this, that, and the other... But ultimately, who cares, life goes on!). As for the ungrammatical ending... As mentioned: who cares!!! Poetic license.

Then there's "Come stai", a rather dark rock song about stubborn nonconformity and the refusal to settle down, even though everyone else has long done so, because the nonconformist "distinguishes himself from the commonplace."

Sweetest ballad and, according to Vasco himself, the gem of the album is "E...," in which, on an incredibly intense guitar-piano-bass-drum base, Vasco sings of the purest and most honest love.

The more bitter "Anymore", on the other hand, is an acoustic ballad about ended love and resulting disillusionment ("what can we do if not end badly, what can we do if even love can end, come on... Give me a drink!")...because in the end, it always comes back to drinking.

The imposing "Hai mai" is then a substantial rock song paired with a suffering text. Words and music reinforce each other in what is a full-fledged outburst, something only those who feel the emotion described can understand. It's Vasco in his purest form, singing sensations, not stories. Because you insert the story yourself, with your experiences.

But there's also room for fun on this album...and here comes the wild rock of "Cosa vuoi da me" (with a riff, alas, plagiarized) and "Rock n'roll show," both focusing on female figures like "La strega (la diva del sabato sera)."

The ballad "Senorita" is also worth saving, a declaration of love to a woman who can make a man feel like someone, and the title-track, a piece with an interesting text, courted by a fantastic rocking base, but it's a marriage not meant to happen.

The rest, from "Da sola con te" to "Non basta niente" passing through "Dimenticarsi...", are just nice little songs with mediocre tunes pumped with overbearing strings. Nothing special, really.

It's worth noting that despite the title and the pompous lead single title-track, "Buoni o cattivi" is a very introspective album with a mostly dark sound.

My rating for the album is three stars.