The "Images" Operation

In the mid-Seventies, Lucio Battisti was something more than a national star. He was, in all likelihood, the most internationally minded Italian singer-songwriter, not just in terms of popularity but in his approach and musical language. This is shown, for instance, by the esteem David Bowie had for him, who went as far as calling him "the best singer in the world" alongside Lou Reed (in this other feature we've already told the story of how Bowie and Battisti "indirectly" ended up co-writing a song together).

The singer-songwriter from Poggio Bustone thus appeared to be an artist capable of engaging with Anglo-American pop-rock on its own turf. It's no coincidence that, in those very years, Battisti was pushing his sound beyond the boundaries of Italian tradition, moving toward an increasingly sophisticated and international form of pop, with a particular eye on the other side of the ocean. If "Anima latina" had marked a crucial turning point in his career thanks to the decisive South American influences absorbed after a trip to Argentina and Brazil, the United States soon became the next target for the singer-songwriter from Poggio Bustone — and for his record label.

The genesis of the "American record"

Albums like 1976's "Lucio Battisti, drums, double bass, and so on" and 1977's "Io tu noi tutti" had already flaunted sounds steeped in funk, soul and disco music, the fruit of a trip to the American West Coast. Sounds not so far removed from those being made at the same time by American institutions like Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan. Battisti, fresh off his startling withdrawal from public life that had only heightened the aura of mystery around him, was determined to keep going down that road, surrounding himself almost exclusively with foreign musicians, as if to test himself beyond the confines of the Italian scene.

It was in this context that the idea of "Images" was born, the English-language album that in 1977 was meant to mark his official landing on the American market. As early as 1975, during a trip to the United States to keep up with new musical trends, the Lazio-born singer-songwriter had envisioned a kind of collection of his most representative songs, reinterpreted in English.

Rca, meanwhile, had its own reasons for encouraging the operation, partly for financial ones. Two theories circulated on the matter: either the label needed to quickly invest a substantial sum so as not to lose funding from its American parent company, or it was American Rca — which in 1974 had bought all of Numero Uno's shares held by Mogol for 400 million lire — that needed to recoup its investment by financing an international production. In either case, "Images" became the ideal tool for balancing the books before the year was out. But pressure from the record executives ended up hurting the project. Battisti would have preferred more time, perhaps to move permanently to the United States, learn the language better, understand the workings of the market from the inside, even play small clubs. None of that proved possible.

The making of "Images" was troubled and fragmented. A first phase took shape in 1976 at Il Mulino studio in Anzano del Parco, where Battisti began working on the English versions with Marva Jan Marrow, an American singer-songwriter and poet signed to Numero Uno, and girlfriend of Patrick Djivas of Area. Within a few months, the first lyrics were written and demos and near-final backing tracks were recorded, including for "Our Dear Angel", the English version of "Il nostro caro angelo". Then, in early September, work was interrupted by an important personal event: Lucio's marriage to Grazia Letizia Veronese.

Immediately afterward, however, the Italian Rca began applying increasingly insistent pressure. Battisti was told the album had to be finished by the end of the year. The label arranged studios, musicians and a lengthy stay in Hollywood between October and December. In the United States, Battisti would complete "Images" working exclusively with American personnel, as required by local regulations, and above all with entirely new lyrics. Mogol, in fact, without consulting him directly, had shelved the lyrics written by Marva Jan Marrow, entrusting the rewrite to Peter Powell, an American acquaintance of his living in Rome. It was a choice driven mainly by Mogol's fear of seeing his reputation as a lyricist diminished. But it would turn out to be one of the main causes of the project's failure, altering its original structure and further stiffening its use of language.

Landing in Los Angeles

Between October and December 1976, a discontented Battisti landed in Los Angeles, where he completed the album. Musically, the result proved remarkable, thanks precisely to the contribution of top-tier American session players such as Mike Melvoin (who had worked with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon and the Jackson Five, and was also the father of Wendy, future guitarist of Prince's Revolution), Ray Parker Jr. (Stevie Wonder, Barry White, the Rolling Stones, etc.), Hal Blaine (drummer for Elvis Presley, the Ronettes and the Beach Boys) and Michael Boddicker, a synth virtuoso who would also contribute to hits by Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Barry Manilow and Quincy Jones.

So while the sonic packaging was impeccable, the linguistic side of the operation raised far more doubts. Battisti sang in English with an uncertain accent, but the deeper problem lay in the lyrics. Mogol, in fact, had insisted on an almost literal translation, with the result that the English came across as stiff and unnatural, at times downright surreal. Take "Keep On Cruising", the new title for "Sì, viaggiare", which — as Donato Zoppo notes in "Il nostro caro Lucio" — invites confusion with the slang expression "cruising for sex", meaning to go looking for casual or paid sex. Choosing a different lyricist would undoubtedly have helped — someone like Peter Sinfield (King Crimson), who had already worked with Pfm. But Mogol's choice ruled out that kind of solution.

Released in the United States in August 1977 and shortly afterward in Italy, "Images" gathered English-language reworkings of five tracks from "Io tu noi tutti" — "To Feel In Love" ("Amarsi un po'"), "The Only Thing I've Lost" ("Ho un anno di più"), "Keep On Cruising" ("Sì, viaggiare"), "There's Never Been A Moment" ("Neanche un minuto di non amore"), "Only" (an improbable translation of "Soli") — along with English-language versions of two of Battisti's classic hits, "Il mio canto libero" ("A Song To Feel Alive") and "La canzone del sole" ("The Sun Song"). On the whole, these reworkings came across as watered-down and unconvincing, with perhaps a couple of exceptions (the romantic ballad "To Feel In Love" and the rocking "Keep On Cruising").

This was not, then, an entirely new project, but a linguistic transposition devised specifically for the Anglo-American market. A gamble that, in the end, even Rca itself seemed not to believe in very much, judging by the limited promotional push: in the States, Battisti appeared only on a few minor radio programs, but on no major show.

The missed opportunity

The flop, in short, was almost a foregone conclusion. Not only in the United States, where "Images" went practically unnoticed after a fleeting appearance at n.11 on the charts, but also in Italy, where it would go no higher than eighth place (59th by year's end) and would even be withdrawn from the market just days after release, to avoid tarnishing his image. Paradoxically, its early disappearance would only boost its value, turning it into a highly sought-after collector's item, right up until its reissue in 1998, the year the artist from Poggio Bustone passed away.

"Images" marked the end of Battisti's American adventure, though he didn't give up without a fight: he also attempted an English-language version of the following album, "Una donna per amico", this time entrusting the lyrics to Frank John Musker, intending to release it under the title "Friends". The project never came to fruition and was shelved before release, but an official trace of it remains: the single "Baby It's You"/"Lady", English versions of "Ancora tu" and "Donna selvaggia donna", released by Rca Victor in 1979. Today that 45 has become a collector's item, only available on the secondary market at high prices.

Clear-eyed and self-critical, Battisti himself would state: "After achieving certain results in Italy, it was a bit absurd to expect to immediately reach the same heights in a language I barely knew, but it was worth it: I adjusted my aim and it gave me new energy". And that's exactly how it went, because after this first (and only) American misstep, the Battisti/Mogol duo would bounce back the very next year with the refined "Una donna per amico". Even so, their partnership wasn't destined to last much longer. Shortly after, Lucio Battisti would open a completely different chapter of his career, turning to the hermetic lyrics of Pasquale Panella and creating the so-called "white albums", steeped in wave and electronic influences. A radical transformation, perhaps also born from the frustrations and lessons learned during his American experience. But that's a story for another time. What remains is the regret over a great missed opportunity, one that could have made the international reputation of one of Italy's most beloved singer-songwriters shine even brighter.

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13/03/2026