FRANCO BATTIATO

This is unlike any RPI album i've heard before.It's mystical and other-worldly sounding.The style here of Electronica,Psychedelic and World music should appeal to Krautrock fans.This really is a trip for the mind,heck even the album cover gives the impression that this is an Italian Psychedelic recording.And yes i'll always think of "Micky" when i look at that cover as i'm sure most on this site do.By the way check out Micky and Raff's reviews 'cause they both have a long history with this artist and know his music well. Every word i've used to describe this album in my intro gets it's fullfillment in the side long masterpice "Sequenze E Frequenze".An absolute journey for the mind much like the great Electronic,Krautrock and Psychedelic bands have done before and since this album was released.It starts out dissonant and eerie all wrapped in a haunting mood.The soprano female vocals and synths are both crying out before Franco himself comes in singing beautifully in an ethnic atmosphere.This really has to be heard to be appreciated.A beat before 4 minutes as we start to move.Other sounds come and go during the next 12 minutes as the mood and tempo continues to shift.For me this is anything but boring.An amazing track. "Aries" is an instrumental that opens with these haunting waves of sound as electronics join in.The tempo picks up but it's still spacey.The mood and sound changes 1 1/2 minutes.It's brighter.Vocal melodies 2 1/2 minutes in and sax a minute later.The intensity rises until it ends. The focus is more on the vocals during the first half of "Aria Di Rivoluzione".Franco's vocal sections are contrasted with female spoken words in German with violincello.The last half is ethnic sounding and instrumental. "Da Oriente Ad Occidente" sounds very cool vocally as Franco's vocals overlap.The music is almost eerie.He stops singing before 2 minutes as aboe and mandola take over.An Oriental vibe comes in a minute later.The sound seems to build after 4 1/2 minutes right to the end and includes some chanting from Franco. The side long opening track is by far my favourite,but this whole record delivers something special to my mind.

'Una Vita Scellerata' (eng: 'An Evil Life')... A definition for Benvenuto Cellini or Battiato's Music?

This album is the O.S.T. of a film about Benvenuto Cellini ((Florence, 3 November 1500 - Florence, 13 February 1571, a goldsmith, sculptor, Italian writer and artist) that is one of the most important Italian artist. In a certain sense Cellini and Battiato have too common points and for these reasons this album is extreme good also, if as me, you don't have see this film.

The music contained in this album is a mix between the experimental phase of Battiato's music (the 70's) and Vangelis. the song lenght are between 0'35'' and 3'12'' but most of them do not reach 2 mins. Battiato use the spirit of Vangelis and his style for to create the right climax, also if the songs present, in most cases, a single musical phrase. It is true that this album is very enjoyable, although not easy, and flows like a river when it arrives in the plain. In this album is the more serious and true Battiato that transpire.

I am not able to describe the songs because I am not a musician. But I am able to describe the power and the feelings of the songs. I think that, in first plan, Battato tried to carry Cellini in the XXth Century, and we at the time of Cellini. Only secondarily combined these transport in Benvenuto cellini's film. Clearly the two aspects interact perfectly.

In so doing Battiato was approached Vangelis but was able to carry even his music of the 70's in Classic Music field, without leaving his personal POP. And 'Musiche per il film su Benvenuto Cellini: Una Vita Scellerata'' (eng: 'Music for the film on Benvenuto Cellini: Am Evil Life'') probably is the more accessible (but not easy) Battiato's album.

His Masters Voice and does this album show that. This is the album that put Battiato on the map. It sold over a million copies in Italy and when you listen to the album it is not to difficult to understand why.

The 4th Track Cuccurucucu was a hit and it as catchy as they come.Pure Pop synth driven with the first 3 verses in Italian and the last 2 in English which is repeated and is basically song titles put together:

Lady Madonna With A Little Help from my Friend Ooh Goodbye Ruby Tuesday Come on Baby Lets Twist Again Once Upon a Time you dressed so Fine...Mary Like Just a Woman Like A Rolling Stone..stone

Silly Lyrics who cares if Police can do A Do Do Do a Dah Dah Dah why not.

Throughout this album a Male Choir is used as backing on three of the tracks the above included only on the first 4 lines of the last verse and they are used on track 2 and 6 to a really good effect. I particularly like on Centro Di Gravita Permanete a clap effect which is the main percussion with a sax drifting in and out over a good beat.

Gil Uccelli is the only progressive song on the album with almost a Celtic feel after the first vocals Franco Battiato sings in the song but then the tempo picks up it is brief but was it there. Lovely song and it really helps with the track listing on how it was placed on the album as the third song. It is obvious that Battiato thought highly of it to put it there.

The only song that really does not much for me is Track 5 Segnali di Vita but that is only my personal taste and usually we all find that one track on most albums that does not quite do it

This is a beautifully crafted pop album from 1981 and was the third album he recorded with EMI. I would play this album album to a pop fan if I was recommending Battiato to them for the reason the songs are catchy and these are the kind of albums that get people interested in these artists and before you know it they will out looking for Sulle Corde Di Aries to play.

In some ways the natural follow-up to the great Sulle Corde di Aries, in some ways not, but the quality found on that album is just as prevalent on Clic. Instead of the organic, vibrant flow and exoticism found on tracks such as Sequenze e Frequenze, Clic's collection of songs are definitely more out there, with somewhat sterile Kosmiche elements and minimal electronic rhythms and melodies fusing into Battiato's most celestial and "intellectual" work so far. Powerful images of deep blue oceans, cold space and the inner workings of a clock all come to mind when you close your eyes and let the music guide you. Impressively, Battiato's music just becomes more and more emotive going through his discography up to this point, at the same time as it grows more and more enveloped and sterile. There's a confidence and fluidity in the compositions, or a sense of purpose that is lacking on his first two and one that was definitely there, but not as outspoken, on Sulle Corde di Aries. This drive forms a pattern in the otherwise floating compositional style and makes for a reflective, close to meditative listen, brutally taken down to earth by the return of the nostalgic jumps in time via sound clips of the most diverse sorts.

The choice of taking things down a notch musically, favouring care of every note instead of a lively, ever-changing soundscape, may not please everyone though, but as I see it, this marks the high point of Battiato's compositional skill. Every little ingredient matters, and really stands out on its own. It grabs you, guides you, and eventually brings you to unexpected musical climaxes where you enjoy the sudden bloom even more.

On a general scale, a lot of what you're going to hear on Clic is synthesisers and piano. The distant, towering and floating tones that kick off the album on I Cancelli della Memoria forms a mysterious foundation around which a contrastingly shrill saxophone can work at full effect. These synth runs often stay in the background, almost hazily, and just slowly changes along with the rest of the music. Add to this a minimalist piano and mesmerizing Krautrock-like guitar and experimental vocals, and you end up in a territory not far from Popol Vuh (or why not Tangerine Dream). The dry and artificial looped bass lines and scrambled pseudo-percussion shouldn't fit in, but it's impossible not to get dragged into its propulsive beat.

On the other hand, Clic can just as often be a spindly sound collage, enhancing the void rather than filling it out, only to grow into an up-close and personal vocal performance by the vocally chameleon-like Battiato. Crystal-clear, nimble melodies that all of a sudden transforms into a celebratory string section or a maze of whirling, overdubbed synth explorations.

It's hard to pinpoint a certain mood, since the focus constantly changes, and you get a feeling that is music by a contemplative observer rather than by an emotional perceiver. The borderline between new-agey Oldfield symphonic sensibilities, avant free-form, minimalism, and rich electronic droning is paper-thin. The last song, Ethika fon Ethica, is perhaps not even music. It's memory seen through a chance generator. As such, it's a fractured album, but that goes for most of his output anyway.

Perhaps not for everyone, but if this seems like an appealing melange, I don't think you'll find something better.

4 stars.

//LinusW

3.5 stars actually...

A very famous singer/songwriter/composer in Italy,FRANCO BATTIATO was born near Catania in Sicily and he moved in Milan at the age of 20.After recording a few pop songs he formed ''Osage Tribe'',a psych/heavy prog band, in 1970 with whom he released only a single,before quiting.1971 sees BATTIATO focusing on his personal career and presenting his first solo-effort ''Fetus'',an uneven work of different styles and definitely an experimental sound with questionable result.The same album was released a year later as ''Foetus'' with english titles.1972 was also the year of the sophomore BATTIATO work,''Pollution''.

Maintaining his experimental inspiration but with a more accomplished style this time,BATTIATO presents a great blending of experimental/avant-garde music through good use of electronics with the typical rock instrumentation,featuring also heavy doses of piano and organ.Some tracks also offer female chant-like vocals,doubled by deep bass work and psych guitars,while others are definitely over-the-top experimental and minimalistic with electronics in the background and obscure vocals by BATTIATO.Acoustic guitars are also present with a dark sound in a couple of tracks,accompanied by superb vocals and bizarre synth sounds...and yes,there are also some fine instrumntal passages with nice electric guitars and great rhythm section parts to please any sick rock-head!Anyone after some weird effects and obscure electronics but also lots of influences and rock musicianship should approach without hesitation.FRANCO BATTIATO belongs among the most daring musicians of the world and ''Pollution'' deserves much of your attention.

When this album was released, back in 1979, it came as a surprise to those who knew Franco Battiato as a wacky, avant-garde artist known for near-unlistenable records - such as its predecessor, the notorious L'Egitto prima delle sabbie. However, L'era del cinghiale bianco (a title referring to both Celtic and Hindu mythology, in which the wild boar was a symbol of spiritual renewal) took the Italian music scene by storm, even if it did not become a massive hit like its followers eventually did. Neatly packaged in a stylish cover brimming with all kinds of esoteric symbols, it features music that is at the same time accessible and sophisticated, Battiato's distinctive vocals, redolent of the Middle East, and his trademark lyrical style, a brilliant mixture of the nonsense and the cultivated. While you do not need to understand Italian to appreciate Battiato's music, it is undeniable that, if you don't, you are missing out on something - though his voice is fascinating even without having a clue of what he is singing about. I believe not enough has been said about how innovative Battiato's singing style has been for the Italian music scene, where singers are usually expected to have either very pleasant and melodic, or very theatrical voices. In some ways, Battiato's style can be compared to another great innovator's, Lucio Battisti (not yet included in the database at the time of writing) - neither gifted with powerful lungs, but both aware of the effectiveness of using one's voice as an additional instrument, and of the frequent superiority of expressiveness versus mere power.

One of the things I have always loved about Battiato's lyrics is their strong visual quality, very evident on the album's title-track (introduced by an awesome, utterly memorable violin riff), which conjures up images of exotic cities like Tunis and Damascus; while Strade dell'Est (whose strong rhythmic beat is vaguely reminiscent of a train) takes us on a journey through Central Asia, though hidden cities, crowded markets, and ancient legends. On the other hand, the mellow, hypnotic Il re del mondo references the theory of René Guénon about the 'spiritual centre' of the world, and its negative effects on free choice. Album closer Stranizza d'amuri, sung by the artist in his native Sicilian dialect, is somewhat older than the other tracks, having been written in 1975 (it is also included in the compilation La convenzione). Luna indiana is a beautiful, mostly instrumental, piano-based track, and the atmospheric Pasqua etiope is basically a prayer sung in Latin.

While prog purists may frown upon Battiato's move, open-minded music fans will find a lot to love in this intriguing, sophisticated album. In spite of its superficial 'poppy' feel, L'era del cinghiale bianco has many layers, which will unfold upon repeated listens. Granted, it is not 'conventional' prog by any means, and as such may be found disappointing by those who expect 20-minute epics, or wild time signature shifts. Knowledge of Italian is a bonus (unless one day I decide to translate the lyrics), but in no way essential to enjoy Franco Battiato's mesmerising musical world. Four solid stars from this reviewer.

Under normal circumstances, we should be halfway into Franco Battiato's full exposure to avant-garde oriented music, impressed or at least intrigued by his tricky, complex, uncanny, fresh, meta-mature and valorous (in one way or another) experiments. However, at least taking 1977's Battiato as reference, out of a total of four potential ones, deception turns the main word. Perhaps a soft one, too.

Career-wise, we could indeed talk about a peak (not necessarily with this album, because the award-winning upcoming L'Egitto prima delle sabbie seems the logical ultimate climax, but including it in the ascension) since we're browsing through samples of unbound, straightforward, academic, concrete & hermetic music. But even here I'm very much tempted, thanks to the dry impression provided by Battiato, to daringly conclude that much of this phase could only be counted as a big intersection between Battiato's juiciest eclectic art and the new times when he'll become highly popular for a different, lighter type of music. While no doubt acknowledging Battiato's final dream of shaping his classical-trained idea(l)s of experimentation without setbacks, results such as Battiato are nevertheless plain bizarre drafts compared to the earlier and way more profound (plus, from this perspective, classic) tetralogy. If albums such as Foetus and Pollution (perhaps Clic as well) are remembered as of an acquired taste, Battiato's standard could disappoint the vital fans of the style itself.

Stylistically, it would wrong to completely demote this work, as, especially through the convincing first composition, it's a pretty close match of the modern classical language Battiato wished to approach, the second epic of this album being surprisingly a more random, even if more fulfilling as well, experiment. With a tiny bit of optimism, the predictable shock of the first experience will wash away, allowing a mature future appreciation. Musically however, the verdict is strict: Battiato's study is of a difficult appeal, a recording session far too intimate, with a (theoretically) proper yet hard-to-survive minimalism klavierstück (obvious hint, of course), contrasted by a far too shy vocal-instrumental collage, compared to much wilder examples in the 1971-74 tapes. Obscurity fates this release from the very beginning, but even if unfolded, the chances of sounding incredible are very slim. Calling it a collector's item makes the most sense, but treasuring it in this way ultimately doesn't.

Battiato rarely worked so condensed as he does now and throughout the mid 70s, traditionally filling the two sides with, here on, weak epics. First up is the Stockhausen memento, the introduction of the IXth Klavierstücke being reproduced and, a bit, enhanced. Describing this minimal, obstinate exercise in too many words would be silly, the key symbol being sound and its pure experimentation. What I'm missing is the depth the sound would need, in this situation, in order to actually attract and move the listener. General effects can be discerned, even by those who would tag this echo music or ambient, but the scarce nuancing points out another major flaw, the cheap rhythm patterns and the slight shift of chords not doing much to improve the feeling. Within the resonance, I'm picking up some metallic notes, as if electric keyboards were added to the piano (and they probably were, I'm just relating to the impression), creating an unwanted artificial splinter inside the natural aura of the music. Neither secco, nor slipping into soundscapes, Zâ offers no pleasure, and hardly fascinates.

Through repeated listening, a rough epic such as Zâ will flow better and better, proving pretty okay at this chapter. So does the other epic, Cafe-Table-Musik, by paradox less restraint, but still minimal and, in my opinion, rudimentary. This time, Battiato isn't alone in a white cubic chamber, with his piano and nothing else, but he could just as well be in the recording room, trimming and merging excerpts, creating a collage, shaping a suite. Alida Maria Salvelra provides the vocals, a bit of opera here and there, dialogue and meditative lines in the rest, backed up in a couple of fragments by another voice, un-credited, presumably Battiato himself. The lyrics overall seem to have a random origin, emphasizing a desired punch. The element that recurs, in a much smoother form, is the piano music, alternating at first, blending soon after with the vocal codex. A symphonic drop of essence falls lofty somewhere in between, with no special result. Austere and repetitive, the melody matters, once again, less in comparison with its potential of effects, but nothing is truly different, since the lack of artistic nuances persists, and we're stuck in a slideshow of abstract, bare images. The style surfaces adequately, but the music sounds inmost modest, to not mention the better things Battiato composed in this direction.

Anyone taking a deeper incursion into the progressive rock library bumps into more unusual samples, mostly avant-garde oriented or unearthly experimental ones, sooner or later. In this case, prog rock is out of the question, and the discovery is sadly unrewarding. This is mainly a view back into modern classical/proto-electronic music, done with a degree of professional, still with a forgotten subtlety. I'm surprisingly giving the second star for Zâ, the track that can possibly annoy everyone who'd listen to it, but is the more meaningful one of the two presented.

A mere consolation star, though, for hopefully the weakest of the four albums that outline this special phase: inferior, interior music all around, with hardly any rich taste.

Possibly the most eclectic, innovative artist on the Italian pop/rock scene, Sicilian-born Franco Battiato, like many of his contemporaries, started his long career in the early Seventies, when the boot-shaped peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea was swept by a wave of musical creativity inspired by the British progressive rock movement, but not entirely rooted in it. The ancient island of Sicily possesses a rich cultural tradition, where north and south, east and west comfortably meet and influence each other, and Battiato's music is the living embodiment of this archetypal 'melting pot'. Even his poppier Eighties songs are brimming with references to the heady exoticism of the Middle East and India, or the melancholy, decadent milieu of Central Europe before WWI. Similarly, he is not averse to interspersing his songs with verses sung in foreign languages, adding a note of mystery to an already intriguing combination. His erudite, thought-provoking lyrics draw upon a vast body of knowledge, not solely limited to the western world - philosophy, mythology, religion, literature, art, all is fair game for Battiato, the man who brought multiculturalism to Italy way before the current wave of immigration.

Released in 1973, at the height of the popularity of prog rock in Italy and elsewhere, Sulle corde di Aries is in every way a quantum leap from Battiato's first two albums, the interesting but somewhat immature Fetus and Pollution. Even if for today's standards it is a very short recording (a bit over 30 minutes in length), its four tracks pack an aural and emotional wallop that much longer offerings can only dream of achieving. The 16-minute-plus electronic tour-de-force that is Sequenze e frequenze opens with haunting strains of synths and wind instruments, which only hint at what is to come - then Battiato's filtered voice kicks in, a voice miles away from the big, dramatic vocals so characteristic of RPI bands (à la Francesco Di Giacomo). Somewhat thin and reedy, with a heavy Sicilian accent, it is however perfectly, exquisitely modulated, and strongly redolent of the Middle East - almost reminiscent of a muezzin's call. The few lines that make up the song are incredibly evocative in a visual sense... When he sings 'ogni tanto passava una nave' (every now and then a ship passed), in my mind's eye I can see a ship slowly moving over the horizon in a hazy summer's day. Such is the power of Battiato's music... Then, the track turns into an orgy of eerie, trippy sounds wrung out of a VC3 S, overlaid by the hypnotic, lilting beat of a kalimba - almost nothing else. Very simple, even minimalistic, but at the same time extremely powerful, in a way that so much electronic music can rarely achieve.

Aries, which introduces what used to be the B side of the album, is a mostly instrumental track with a stronger avant-garde vibe, featuring somewhat harsh saxophone and 'galloping' percussion beats. An excellent piece of music indeed, but in my opinion not as successful as the remaining two tracks. In both, Battiato's distinctive singing style is pushed to the fore, enhancing their already considerable musical interest. Aria di rivoluzione paints a picture of Europe in the years between the two world wars - the Italian lyrics reference the Abyssinian war, while the German ones (courtesy of Wolf Biermann, spoken by Analogy's Jutta Nienhaus in a deep, almost sensual tone) mention Hitler and Stalin. The juxtaposition of two such different languages, of the singing and the spoken word (a strategy that Battiato would further pursue in his career), adds depth and interest to what is the most melodic offering on the album. Finally, Da Oriente a Occidente is the closest the record gets to world music (as the title fittingly states), with Battiato's chanting vocals skillfully backed by two sopranos, and a beautiful, mandolin-laden, folky coda.

I saw Battiato performing live in the early Eighties, when he was on his way to becoming much more than the cult artist he had been for years. I entered the theatre as a sceptic, and came out as a convert... Though I cannot count myself as a full-fledged fan, I have the utmost respect for this unique musician, who at least for a time brought something genuinely new to the staid Italian pop scene, showing that there was a whole musical world to be explored beyond the established tradition of the opera and the 'canzone'. I will review some of his 'pop' albums at a later date, because I feel they deserve to be discovered and enjoyed by the users of this site, especially those who have some knowledge of the Italian language.

Sulle corde di Aries is undoubtedly one of the absolute masterpieces of Italian prog, and one of the still-undiscovered gems of progressive rock (any subgenre). Even if the album may not be easy to find for people outside Europe (though in Italy it can be found for VERY cheap), I hope this review, and the others before mine, will encourage more people to delve into the music of this amazing artist.

Finally... My five-star review is dedicated to ProgArchives' biggest fan of this album, who also happens to be my beloved husband.

Sulle Corde di Aries is one of those works where you can feel some sort of important decision has been made prior to its realisation. Whether conscious or unconscious, this the third album (not counting the English version of Fetus) is decidedly a more focused, comfortable and interesting album compared to its predecessors. Where you could sense a certain amount of uncertainty concerning direction, stylistic stamina and level of artistry emanating from Fetus and Pollution, Sulle Corde di Aries is more or less a done deal from start to finish.

Dropping sometimes too obvious ear-catchers such as sharply contrasting, truly electronic-sounding synthesisers, the occasional singer-songwriter guitar-and-vocal performance and the cubic, unsynchronised composition actually opts for something of a fresh start. This is Battiato expressing himself in a more organic, flowing and stable way where synthesisers and nimble percussion dominate. It's rich, but still subtle and minimalist in the meaning of underlying structural and dynamic changes. They're few and far between, with songs living their own life around a steady, simple rhythm where instruments can join, leave, change their melodies and interact in a successful and very effective way, making the overall sound an ambient micro-cosmos full of different sorts life and thus forcing the listener to heighten his awareness and enjoyment of the music. However, if you don't reach (or have trouble reaching) that state of concentration and positive feedback, it's just as likely the music will be perceived as.plain boring. Just a warning.

All these characteristics can be found in Sequenze e Frequenze, the epic of the album, and as such also half of it. Stunningly beautiful, with a haunting introduction of oboe, clarinet and a dark spectrum of synth sounds, gradually shifting towards the towering and majestic towers of synth that I find so characteristic of Battiatio. A recital vocal section on top of that, continuing over an oscillating melody that'll introduce the deliciously simple main beat of this amazing piece of music. And off it goes, with a steady foundation in the more low-key synth sounds and effects, with loads of delicate, spindly keyboard and percussion melodies dancing over it (like falling rain!) as the track progresses. Careful guitar textures anchors it with its earthy and familiar, yet intricate sounds the first minutes, only to drift into the background as the song grows more and more hypnotic. A short period of slightly off-beat, chunky drumming/percussion marks the shift into the intense and very much vibrant calimba section, where the synths manages to distance themselves at the same time as they increase in intensity. And then it continues down the same path, with many subtle changes along the way. A composition I immediately fell in love with, with its strong imagery, therapeutic qualities and exquisitely suggestive, subtle richness. One of those songs that lifts you up, being neither bright nor dark in character, but somehow above all of that. That goes for the entire album, to be honest.

Left are three shorter songs, all three around 5-6 minutes. Aries has a wonderful, slightly understated and distant introduction, with echoing guitar tones glimmering in the general emptiness (building in strength to be replaced by chord work). Again just a simple underlying beat to keep everything together and floating, choral vocals deep down in the mix. There's a great and whirling sax solo to be heard hear as well. Lighter than what came before, but nicely tripped-out nevertheless. Areknames from Pollution is never really far away when you hear Battiato's vocals and some of the melodies on Aria di Revulozione, but with a lot more sense for detail and the addition of tribal drumming, woodwind and saxophone. Strangely frozen in atmosphere and progression, it forms a nice interlude before Da Oriente ad Occindente. The interwoven, dancing vocals of the last track are delightful to hear, and yet again you're treated by the naked beauty of acoustic string instruments, effective, earthy rhythm and the autumnal, saturated sounds of woodwind. For being six and a half minutes long, it manages to creep under your skin just as much as Sequenze e Frequenze. A fitting end to a great album.

While I feel I have managed to get the most out of Sulle Corde di Aries' potential, I just can't call it an absolute masterpiece. For me to do that, it would require that the album gave me the same chills and emotional rush every time I hear it. And it just doesn't. Battiatio's music walks on a thin line between highly emotional and downright cold, a price he pays for making condensed and intellectual music. But the always present enigma also makes me want to come back time after time and, perhaps, with time, I'll be able to add that fifth star.

4 stars.

//LinusW

I'm in a strange position. This because 'Come Un Cammello In Una Grondaia' (eng.: 'Like A Camel In A Gutter') is an album of Classic music. Or better this album is an album of Classic music... But only for instruments. Not guitar, electronic keyboards, electric bass... Only an orchestra and 6 soloists... But sure the first 4 composition, written by Franco Battiato are... Normal Franco Battiato's composition but the other 4 songs are not simple to describe, also because are compositions by Van Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner and Berlioz... So 'Come Un Cammello In Una Grondaia' is a hybrid album between Battiato's compositions and Classic Music.

In my opinion the Battiato's section is traditional Battiato's Avant Garde POP style, also if with not Rock instruments. The song are typical Battiato's composition also for lyrics. As usual Franco Battiato sings a kind of mental revolution against the power of things. He is against everything and would like to return to the purity of life that they were in its infancy but with the comforts of today. This album does not write lyrics that describe personal situations but sings only talking about this revolution against how to exercise command. But all in respect of those who held the command!

The rest of the album is so called Classic Music but in truth is not true Battiato's album. In fact I can not treat the two parts af this album and making an album. I seem to be two separate albums and that annoys me, though I admit that 'Come Un Cammello In Una Grondaia' is a good album. Then the second part is not sung in Italian language.

In conclusion 'Come Un Cammello In Una Grondaia' is a great album in the first 4 tracks. For the rest is not the album that I was expecting it to be.