GIUBBE ROSSE

Quite interesting album. At the end of the eighties, after commercially successful albums like "La voce del pardrone" and "L'arca di Noè", Franco Battiato released this peculiar live work dressing up in new sounds some of his songs.

Most of all strikes here the unusual line-up: just Filippo Destrieri on keyboards and synthesizers, Ricky Belloni on guitar, Donatella Saccardi's soprano vocals and an orchestra conducted by Giusto Pio. Then the track list: near some commercial "smashing hits" (Cuccurucucu", "Centro di gravità permanente", "Voglio vederti danzare") you can find here some tracks coming out from Battiato's prog past like "Sequenze e frequenze", "Aria di rivoluzione" (both from "Sulle corde di Aries") and "No U Turn" (from "Clic" - at the end of this track there's also a fragment of "Areknames", song originally released on "Pollution") and some underrated prog-pop gems like "L'era del cinghiale bianco", "Gli uccelli" and "E ti vengo a cercare". The aim seem to blend smart pop and classical influences, past and future, lightness and spirituality. The result is good!

In the whole this is an album, though not essential in a prog collection, that is worth listen to.

As noted in his bio and various reviews, after pushing the boundries of minimalist 'music' in the late 70's, Battiato for the third time shifted stylistic course and entered a commerical phase that lasted into the 80's. When introduced to this phase by Raffaella it was with with high praise. Where artists like Alan Sorrenti or the New Trolls made music that...well....could be considered mediore pop music. What Battiato's music lacked in outright progressive nature it made up for in downright catchy hooks, a more subtle progressive nature... pop prog?.., and an intelligence often lacking in popular music. While the lyrics.. unfortunately still are still beyond my ability to decifer yet, with a bit of help.. it is rather clear that they are creative and intelligent.

This album recorded during a series of shows in late 1988 is a great introduction for the interested listener to that phase of Battiato's career. Much like a live greatest hits I guess haha. For the prog fan though there are some real treats.. in particular for me. Two songs off of Sulle Corde di Aries. Sequenze e frequenze and Aria di rivoluzione. I know several of my fellow collabs thought Sequenze e frequenze was a bit too long, this one is half the length of the original studio version. Those who thought the length worked against it might find this version a better one...those that loved the original, like me, will still love this abbreviated live version. I much perfer the studio version of Aria di revoluzione to this live version but it is not bad by any measure. The albums Clic and Fetus are also represented here with a medly version of No U Turn with Areknames. Again what is special for the fan, especially one who has only had a chance to hear the studio versions, is the chance to hear such songs performed in the live enviroment.

All in all... I really really like this album. It sold me to continue my explorations of Battiato past the standard... and non-standard hahha prog albums that he did. For the site...3 stars.. not essential by any means, but for the open-minded music fan. A real interesting album to own. For mysef.. 4 stars... would have loved to have heard more live stuff from his 70's albums ...but I'm not complaining about this album at all.

Michael (aka micky)

The RPI (and related) live reviews series vol.5

The first live of Franco Battiato is focused in 80's Avantgarde POP. This music isn't Prog. But not a simple POP. In this sense I think ht the Battiato's success with this music isn't expressed in relation to the music since it be it's difficult to assimilate. In my opinion Battiato conceives a very Prog POP that is good for a great conoisseur of a fine music but that is too difficult for a simply listener. Is it for this reason that wrote a Classical Music albums? Is it for this reason that conceived an album like "Il Vuoto"? In the 80's Battiato plays a song that play easy but that easy are not. Because "Voglio Vederti Danzare" isn't a simple song... To play and to listen to. And because... "Giubbe Rosse", "Lettera al Governatore Della Libia", "Oceano Di Silenzio", "Sequenze E Frequenze", "Summer On A Solitary Beach" or "E Ti Vengo A Cercare" are simple POP song. The lyrics are very hard to undrestand because too squanders from a simple POP songs. For me "Giubbe Rosse" is a great live, Prog or not Prog.