FERRO BATTUTO

Choosing a bit blindly between Franco Battiato's later works, I fell upon this one with a correct (even engaging artwork) and maybe an interesting concept and certainly a good play on word: Ferro Battuto (close Franco Battiato) meaning beaten or forged irons. Alas, there was no miracle as this record is an atrocious waste of time and money (even if I rented it), and it sure looks like the same can be expected of many of his then contemporaneous works.

This album is a feeble and twee version of some of his older ideas, sounding like a new age version of the Pet Shop Boys. Yyyuuuuccckkkk!!!!... Right??? Indeed so, totally so!!! And Franco Battiato's version of Hey Joe (which had sort of helped choose between the three albums I was hesitating on) must be the worst piece of feeble and twee junk with the worst possible chorus line repeated endlessly. There are a few names among the guests like Natacha Atlas or Jim Kerr, but it is precisely these names that give the whole schmuck album a real stinking foul stench.

Just as I had done last week with Sorrenti's Fliglie Delle Stelle, I transferred a wrong choice into a helpful review, thus sparing me on finding which album I would have to find to rate

One year after the turn of the century, 2001 and to be exact Mr Battiato releases Ferro Battiato his 22nd album release not counting compilations or Spanish editions which this album was released in as well.There are two notable guests on the album. The first being Natacha Atlas who contributes vocals on three tracks and the second being Jim Kerr from Simple Minds who only collaborates on track one. Primarily Electronica is the sound with a mixture of Pop, Rock and the Arabic feel which Franco Battiato has explored in the past on some of his previous releases, hence the addition of Natacha Atlas but the influence does appear on another track where she is not present and that being Il Cammino Interminabile with the Rythmn used within the composition.

Running Against the Grain which Jim Kerr and Franco Battiato share vocals is one electronic driven pop song with each artist sharing vocals in their own native language. Often I will admit on occasion Franco Battiato can border close to pop tack but I find as within this album he does not cross that line. Bist Du Bei Mir is the second track while it is interesting I find nothing outstanding and could be considered just another song but the gem of the album is track three La Quiete Dopo Un Addio with a keyboard swirl this Ballad begins and really is one beautiful song. Along comes Natacha Atlas for the next song ( Personalita Empirica) with Battiato and she sings her part in French and one nice fusion composition is the result delivered over a mid tempo rythmn. Track seven and a cover of the Hendrix song Hey Joe which has been toned right down from the original and is given The Franco Battiato stamp with assistance from Natacha Atlas on some of the vocals. Il Potere Del Carto is the finisher for the ten track album which again has Natacha doing vocals and rythmn is the key and you will notice with the driving beat.There is a hidden track on the cd after the last song. There are other songs I have not mentioned and Lontanaze d'Azzuro is one which is a ballad and a quite good one at that but the rest are primarily pop.

Being electronic and containing a fair amount of pop I approached this with reservations especially after the first time that I heard the album but time has changed my opinion of the album as it contains some wonderful songs and the gem that I mentioned is worth the price of the album alone but I find a little patch but even those songs are not bad. Do I want to play this album again straight after I have heard it and the answer is yes and that to me must generate four stars for this well done effort from Mr Franco Battiato.

The defect of this album is to include different sides of Battiato, so that listeners who don't have followed his whole career can be surprised by some track. Personally I think that his cover of Jimi Hendirx's Hey Joe values the price of the album, but I wouldn't be surprised if a Hendrix fan finds it awful because of its classical-ethnic arrangement.

The other song "out of the lines" is the long closer "Il Potere del Canto (The Power of Singing) which is one of the sonic patchworks which caused Battiato to be laid off by his label in the 70s.

Of the many people credited on the album, a special mention goes to Natacha Atlas whose voice adds a lot to "Personalità Empirica". She sings also on "Scherzo in Minore" but it's just background vocals.

The other songs are well arranged. The lyrics of "Sarcofagia" are in line with Battiato's apparent nonsense full of quotes he was used in the 80s, while some other songs are closer to the 90s output, but the highlight for me if the closer and its ghost tracks. It's hypnotic with a tempo and sounds which come from the old krautrock-like past of Battiato's early 70s. The first ghost track is quite psychedelic but I don't feel it as a separate song. It's a trippy dreamy track which fades into a TV speech in German which he has used at least on another album. In the last part there's more editing. He must have joked a lot with scissors and playbacks to obtain this old fashioned psychedelic electronic thing.

It's a good album that I think is currently underrated on this site.