Emmanuel and Gianni Morandi

(from the album "Quisiera", 1989)

The collaboration was pushed for by the Mexican branch of Cbs, which always kept a close eye on the Italian scene. In the summer of 1989 Emmanuel thus found himself in Bologna, where he'd already been more than once in the years immediately prior, to record new material at Malavasi's studios. The producer focused in particular on a track he'd just written, characterized by an irresistible, futuristic synth-funk sound.

Malavasi then unfurls his full arsenal as a keyboard wizard: a syncopated piano groove, a synth line that backs up – and at times replaces – the bass, layers alternating between atmospheric pads and digital organ, and finally a memorable horn riff mimicked by the typical preset of the Roland D-50: this last element is the song's winning card, so much so that its melody makes up the chorus note for note.

In 1992 Malavasi decided to bring the song to the Italian market and handed it to Gianni Morandi, using the same instrumental backing track: the eternal boy of Italian pop, however, chose not to follow the original lyrics' template, instead crafting a socio-political take: the language is simple and direct, as befits the artist's repertoire, but still contains a few surprising touches, such as questioning his own reassuring public image ("Quasi quasi cambio faccia anch'io, una vita che sorrido, che cavolo c'avrò da ridere?") or the insult aimed at Giuliano Ferrara ("Guarda quel ciccione lì, lo pagano per insultare"), which today he would probably phrase differently, calling out the man's aggressive tone without bringing his physical appearance into it (but in 1992 public sensitivity on these matters was practically nonexistent, even for a figure with the wholesome image of Morandi).

Meanwhile in Mexico, Emmanuel's version remains an untouchable monolith, periodically revived through his live albums, most notably when it was recorded for Mtv Unplugged in 2017: this rendition, while not replicating the energy of the original, is very accomplished and refined, with a folk-jazz arrangement dominated by a horn section, bass and electric organ (there's precious little that's actually unplugged about it, but that goes for every episode of the Mtv series, despite the title).