Search - Franco Battiato :: Orizzonti Perduti

Depressing and Thought Provoking

J. GENIO | Earth | 07/11/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Orizzonti Perduti (Lost Horizons) contains a collection of highly effective, thought-provoking, and often depressing, tunes. Franco Battiato is a lot like Jim Morrison -- both are poets with a serious message. However, Battiato's poetry is difficult to understand, even for someone who is fluent in Italian. True, one may be able to translate the words from Italian into English. But that same individual may not be able to grasp the essence of what Battiato is trying to say. Waxing Biblical for a moment, don't focus merely on "Battiato's Letter," one should attempt to grasp the meaning behind "Battiato's Letter."As usual, Battiato uses his limited voice effectively. And, also as usual, Battiato optimizes his electronic-heavy music to absolute perfection. The opening song, "La Stagione Dell'amore" (The Season of Love), is not a love song. Instead, it is a hard hitting, "schiaffo in faccia" wake up call. Battiato is saying that the so-called "Zombie-ish" "Season for Loving" is finished, it is time to get on with life. "Mal D'africa" addresses exploitation of people. "Tramonto Occidentale" is probably what Morrison meant when he sings the lyrics "The West is the Best" in "The End." The songs throughout this LP contain similar messages. Battiato's lyrics express his philosophy on a myriad of subjects. Some how, I get the impression, that Battiato was (is) a perpetual student of history. His lyrics are full of historical references -- which he masterfully uses to support his arguments in song. Battiato is complicated. However, once you sit through his muscial lessons in philosophy and history, you will not only feel entertained, but enlightened. I strongly recommend this CD, and others that Battiato records. One Caveat: Unless you are deeply into Battiato, avoid his earlier 1970-ish works like "Fetus," "Pollution," "Za," etc. These contain experimental music. Although the music on these CDs are better than John and Yoko's avante garde senseless dribble, it is still highly experimental and not to everyone's liking."