album of the day
allmusiclover
Review by Marisa Brown
Originally released in 1971 (and reissued on Water in 2006), Lucio
Battisti's seminal Amore e Non Amore was actually put out by his former
label, Ricordi -- who still had the rights to the songs -- after Battisti
and lyricist Mogol left to build up their own company, Numero Uno. Still,
it stands as one of the artist's most important records, and it's a big
step forward in Italian rock music. Moving away from the more sentimental,
sweet-string-laden songs and arrangements that haunt Romance-language pop
(including Battisti's), Amore e Non Amore is as good as any album released
that year (and yes, that's referring to Zeppelin IV and Sticky Fingers).
Battisti's voice has a rough, unpracticed quality to it that heightens the
emotional intensity of his songs. He sounds desperate, or perhaps just
unbearably nervous, like a panicky teenager on his first date, in the
opener, the fantastic "Dio Mio No" (also found on the 1969 self-titled
debut), as he waits for a woman to arrive at his house for dinner. Later
in the song, he's hardly able to control himself when he sees her
approaching him in pajamas, his voice a half-sob/half-yelp of joy as he
squawks out "cosa fai, che cosa fai?," before the song breaks into two
minutes of modal organ and guitar riffs. Even though half of the eight
songs are instrumentals, their long, descriptive titles ("Davanti a un
Distributore Automatico di Fiori dell'Aeroporto di Bruxelles Anch'io
Chiuso in una Bolla di Vetro" or "7 Agosto di Pomeriggio, fra le Lamiere
Roventi di un Cimitero di Automoboli Solo Io, Silenzioso Eppure
Straordinariamente Vivo") explain the situation as well as any of Mogol's
lyrics do. The band -- and everything is arranged and composed by Battisti
-- is tight and crisp, yet loose enough to allow for improvisation and
pure groove. It's great, affecting rock music: the two guitars and the
piano play off and with one another while the bass, drums, organ, and the
occasional orchestral arrangement add a warm rhythm that moves the song
along with concentrated and direct feeling. Amore e Non Amore is short: it
clocks in at just over 35 minutes, but it's an excellent album that shows
Battisti at his best and most beloved, with honest lyrics that are
reflected in his voice and in his music.
--
questo articolo e` stato inviato via web dal servizio gratuito
http://www.newsland.it/news segnala gli abusi ad ab...@newsland.it