Cristiano De André

When the lights go down in the hall and Cristiano De André sits on a stool in front of a microphone and crosses his legs "just like that", picks up a bouzouki, and, with the very first chord, you recognize the notes of "Mégu Megùn": for people like me, it's enough to give you goosebumps, as if someone were dragging their nails across the smooth surface of a chalkboard. Cristiano's voice is different from his father's, but the resemblance, especially in certain passages, is striking; this, if nothing else, gets rid right from the start of the comparisons that, particularly over the last decade, have weighed on the shoulders of De André the son.

The songs Cristiano chose are the ones closest to him, the ones he felt he could interpret and rearrange with his own personal touch, and indeed, in a few passages, it really sounds as though Fabrizio's songs had crossed paths along the way with a bit of Peter Gabriel, U2 and Coldplay. The setlist is, inevitably, a compendium of the coming-of-age journey shared by many generations: "La canzone di Marinella", "Quello che non ho", "Zichiriltaggia", "Smisurata preghiera", "Un giudice", "Don Raffaè", "Se ti tagliassero a pezzetti" (a deeply moving moment, since Dori Ghezzi, the other protagonist of the kidnapping the song refers to, is in the audience), "Fiume Sand Creek", "Andrea", "La cattiva strada", a particularly intense "Ho visto Nina Volare", while "A' Cimma" is embellished by a hypnotic arrangement in which Luciano Luisi's work truly deserves applause. Final encores: "La Canzone dell'amor perduto" and "Pescatore".

Compared to the summer tour dates, "Dietro la porta" (the only track written by Cristiano) and "Oceano" were dropped, while "Anime Salve", "Bocca di Rosa" and a truly superlative version of "La collina" made their way into the setlist. If I had to pick just one song, though, it would have to be "Amico Fragile", the most autobiographical track in Fabrizio's catalogue and the one that Cristiano himself seems to "feel" most deeply. The chemistry on stage is that of a band that's been playing together for years, not just a few months: alongside the already-mentioned Luisi on keyboards (who deserves much of the credit for the arrangements), special mention goes to Osvaldo Di Dio on guitar, Davide Pezzin on bass and Davide De Vito on drums, plus Cristiano himself on bouzouki, guitar, violin and keyboards.

"De André canta De André" is truly a gift for everyone who loved Fabrizio's music, but also for everyone who has always been a fan of Cristiano's work (which, until now, certainly hasn't received the recognition it deserves — just try to find better songs than "Dietro la porta" and "Nel bene e nel male" among those needlessly clogging up radio playlists) and who wanted to see him return.

For the artist, this tour was probably also the only way to shake off those comparisons mentioned above, as inevitable as they are pointless, while for the man it was the most effective catharsis for coming to terms with the pain of a loss. During the evening, Cristiano De André shared private, personal anecdotes and emotions with the audience: like the story of the night "Verranno a chiederti del nostro amore" was born, told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old boy spying on his parents through the keyhole, and the account of how "Cose che dimentico" came about, the only song written jointly by Fabrizio and Cristiano, dedicated to the memory of a poet from Gallura.

Cristiano De André has been sorely missed over these years, and on this occasion he seemed particularly moved, perhaps because much of his family was present in the hall, or perhaps because the affection for him was palpable in the air at the Smeraldo.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google