Rediscovering Adriano Celentano
Finding Adriano Celantano again has created a zillion sub-thoughts in my head. I’ve been waiting all week to sit down, unleash, and write about this.
I need to start with the song – Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck – which is an absolute masterpiece.
On New Year’s Eve, my cousin played a DVD of Italian music clips. Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck (IRDVG for short!) starts sounding on the TV (the version where Adriano does a duet with Eros Ramazotti) and I started to recall the melody from my childhood.
The next day, I You Tubed it, and I’ve been obsessed with both the song and artist – Adriano Celantano (AC) – ever since.
Now, I remember AC from when I was much younger, but the memories are more of his movies, rather than his music. There were many family occasions where we watched his films in our lounge rooms. Lots of laughter. He’s iconic. Takes me right back to the days when my grandfather was still alive. My (Italian) family loved him just as much as the rest of Italy…
I was too young to understand just how brilliant this guy is. Now that I am more mature (and I have my own ideas of what brilliant is), I reckon this guy is it. The more I listen to him and read about him, the more fascinated I am. I love watching clips of him. I think he is so talented, funny and rather attractive actually! That smile… he has a great smile. And his charisma just knocks me out.
Many thoughts have followed since rediscovering IRDVG and playing the crap out of it. (Neighbours have copped a serious earful, but they can’t complain – they’ve gotten a free trip to Italy out of it. Hehe.)
Immediately, I had to know what the song was about. I was very impressed to learn that mr AC wrote the song himself. (I think it was at that moment that I became seriously hooked on him.) The song tells the story of a boy from Gluck Street (the same street that AC was born in) and how he had to leave his house in the country for a life in the city. When the boy finally returns to his hometown after eight years, a city has been built where his house once was.
I know, I know. Sad, soulful. Something about the way AC sings non lasciano l’erba… chissa, come si fara… chissa… bless him! And to think that I laughed when my auntie told me that the English version was called Tar And Cement… I thought it was a silly title, but then again I had no idea about the story behind it.
It was Verdelle Smith who recorded the snappy English version in the ’60s. Reading the English interpretation (which is not a direct translation of the song) still managed to make me all choked up. And then Francois Hardy did a French version which is just delightful. Neither come close to the awesome original though. Naturally.
While becoming obsessed with this song, I have started to learn the lyrics. I know most of it… mio caro amico disse qui sono nato, in questa strada ora lascio mio cuore, ma come fai, a non capire, e` una fortuna per voi che restate, a piedi nudi a giocare nei prati… (hey, this is my blog, so let me show off!) (and no, I am proud to say that I did not copy and paste that). Reciting the lyrics aloud has been helping my pronounciation in general, and I have realised that I can probably learn more Italian by listening to Italian music regularly! (Meanwhile, the neighbours buy ear plugs…)
So what does this all mean? I am missing Italy tremendously… it’s revving me up big time, and I want to go back again SOON.
And then came the epiphany. Which is amusing, really. It seems that when we are younger, we want to get away from where we’ve come from, and when we get older, we want to return and rediscover our roots. That’s me right now.
Ironically, a few days after the IRDVG rediscovery, I came across a song that was doing the rounds on the net; this song is not in Italian or in English, but in gibberish, and sounds like what English would sound like to an English-speaking person! (Did that come out right?) I found it amusing to see people blogging about “some Italian singer” as though Adriano Celentano was some kinda one hit wonder. (Look at me becoming defensive already over him!) The song is Prisencolinensinainciusol. Warning: this song is incredibly addictive, catchy and downright brilliant. If you can’t admire the guy after hearing/watching that song, then there’s something wrong with you. ;-)
I’ve always thought Italian music was incredibly corny (the modern music more so), actually, I still think it is, but with AC on the scene I can’t get enough.
Other tracks of his that I’ve put on repeat are ‘Pay, Pay, Pay’, ‘Azzuro’, ‘La Storia Di Serafino’, ‘Ti Avro and ‘Soli’. Tonight I discovered ‘Un albero di trenta piani’. I’m loving it ALL… I’m just in love with the way he sings.
It took me 32 years to get here. It’s times like these when I can’t imagine my life without music. I don’t have to be a musician to feel this way.
But back to IRDVG – here are some links to support what on earth I have been talking about! (Note how the song builds up, the violins at second verse, and then the bass coming in later. Masterpiece.)
Here’s the original track of IRDVG
Great live version, with snippets of what he looked like when he was performing about 15 years ago.
Here’s the version that I heard on NYE. (Absolutely hate the way Eros starts it off but I do enjoy the little soccer championship spin they put on it at the end.)
A version with an oldschool music video to go with it.
And my favourite version online.
I told you I was obsessed.
