August 26, 2020

Maurizio Monti ‎– Diavolo Custode (1976, LP, Italy)

LATO A
A1 - Io E La Bambina - 4:00
A2 - Piccolo Animale - 2:44
A3 - Ruote - 3:10
A4 - Cuore Di Rosa - 3:53
LATO B
B1 - Rosmarino - 3:03
B2 - Povero Idiota - 3:15
B3 - La Tessera Del Tram - 3:23
B4 - Il Diavolo - 3:49


Monti embraces a much more twisted songwriting here, with such negative, cynical and hopelessly ironic lyrics that he seems possessed by Mauro Pelosi‘s evil spirit; and while L’amore‘s signature sound was that of both acoustic and electric piano, most of the tracks in Diavolo custode are built around guitars (Adriano Monteduro is credited in the backing band, which also counts Paolo Rustichelli on keyboards, Carlo Bordini on drums and Glauco Borrelli on bass).
The subtly unconventional arrangements are by Monti himself together with Paolo Dossena – who’s in charge of the production as well – featuring staggering ambience shifts, breathtaking groove breaks (such as the coda to “La tessera del tram”, which people like Air would willingly give a couple of kidneys for) and also Italian folk hints, especially when the rythm section takes a marching band pace, like in “Ruote” or “Cuore di rosa”.

1 comment: