FRANCO BATTIATO + JOE PATTI’S EXPERIMENTAL GROUP : LIVE AT NUOVO TEATRO CARISPORT, CESENA 31st OCTOBER 2014
Franco Battiato at Cesena
Franco Battiato is an elder statesman of Italian popular music with a distinguished career spanning more than four decades. His standing and popularity remain high in spite of, or perhaps because of, remaining slightly aloof from popular trends.
Many of his songs are commercial enough to appeal readily to mainstream tastes yet he always manages to be one step removed from the brash commercialism of pop or rock marketing.
This was the first time I had seen him in concert and while he has an image of being a serious even remote figure, on stage he exudes a warmth and refreshing lack of pretentiousness.
Battiato has the look of a priest although not one of the hellfire breed as he’s more likely to preach on the healing power of love than to lecture us about the sins of the flesh.
Italians call him ‘il Maestro’ (the teacher) reflecting the strong element of didacticism in songs which are steeped in the kind of mystic imagery of the kind you’d expect to find in spiritual texts. Continue reading
“Love is so deep / And it makes my life complete/ Like a mountain in the sky/ Love is high, so high”
