LA VOCE DEL PADRONE

While this Battiato effort has a distinctly 1980s feel, his skill with a well turned vocal phrase or creative tune trumps the dated factor handily. It's Battiato by way of the Buggles, which means solid pop with good musicianship and skilled computer programming. This is especially evident on "Bandiera Bianca" and "Centro de Gravidade Permanente", both infectious pieces in which communication occurs at a variety of levels, not all of which I understand, but all of which I appreciate. They benefit from unusual yet catchy vocal effects.

"Gli Ucceli" is more of a romantic ambient ballad - Battiato can pull this off without sounding schmaltzy - and in fact he contrasts this nicely with a pickup in tempo for a clever instrumental outro. At times Battiato does get carried away by the technology a little, as demonstrated in "Cuccurucucu", which seems a bit cliched and a bit too robotic. "Segnali Di Vita" tries to be sultry but the saxophone doesn't really fit, and the melody is less inspiring. On the other hand, the vibraphone on the closer proves that traditional instruments can be successfully integrated into this electronic concoction.

With few exceptions, this is mostly a well crafted pop album, which, combined with the short running time, limits its rating, but like most Battiato it is so well crafted that I cannot justify awarding less than 3 stars.