MONDI LONTANISSIMI

"Mondi lontanissimi" was an album of transition. Less synthetic pop and more classical influences and acoustic instruments... Franco Battiato interest for classical music was growing (in 1987 he released his first "opera", "Genesi"), but the commercial pop side of his discography here is still present and this album seems a kind of compromise...

The opener "Via lattea" (Milky Way) is very good, with a beautiful melody upon a marching beat rhythm and an inspired strings arrangement; lyrics are about an imaginary journey through the Milky Way... Good also the two following tracks "Risveglio di primavera" and "No Time No Space" (partially sung in English), pop songs with a peculiar classical flavour...

"Personal Computer" is more experimental but not completely convincing... Not bad "Temporary Road", with an almost "renaissance-style" beginning sung in English and funny Italian lyrics about traffic jams in the second part more "pop oriented"... The last original track is the final "L'animale", with introspective lyrics and a beautiful melody soaring upon a classical-like arrangement... "Inside of me there are signs of fire / It's the water that extinguish them / If you want to make them burn / Leave them in the air / Or on the ground..."

To complete the album (short as usual in Battiato's discography) there are two new versions of songs originally released as singles, "Chan-son egocentrique" and "I treni di Tozeur" (very successful pop songs, but I prefer the original versions in duet with the pop singer Alice)... There is also a new version of "Il re del mondo" from the album "L'era del cinghiale bianco" (frankly useless, the original version is definitely better)...

In the whole not a perfect album but with some good moments and surely interesting for the fans of this artist...