L'ARCA DI NOÈ

The main problem with this album is that it seems to have been released with the leftovers of its successful predecessor "La voce del padrone". The ingredients are the same (the use of the choirs to emphasize some melodic passages, the "experimental" lyrics, an exotic flavour on the "new wave receipt") but the result is not so fresh and original.

This album lasts less than 30 minutes and the only tracks I really like are the funny "Voglio vederti danzare", with oriental and classical shades on a pop rhythm and "Scalo a Grado", with lyrics about an Easter Day spent in Grado (a little seaside town on the Adriatic Sea famous for its bathing establishments) and a music interesting for blending pop and a "Catholic mass atmosphere". The rest of the album flows away without prise or blame in a light pop vein filtered by the Franco Battiato's peculiar taste.

Recommended only for the fans of the artist.

After the very huge commercial success of its predecessor Franco Battiato started writing for and producing other artists like Alice, Giuni Russo and Milva. This may be one of the reasons why this short album seems to be a collection of songs discarded from "La Voce del Padrone".

The lineup consists of some of the usual collaborators like the keyboardist Filippo Destrieri, but features a great guitarist as Alberto Radius (Formula 3) and the violinist and director Giusto Pio who will later release some solo albums.

Giusto Pio is another reason of disappointing. His arrangements were very original and have been fundamental in the commercial successes of this period, but his "unique" style has no variations, like he's arranging always the same song.

"Radio Varsavia"(Radio Warszawa) and "Clamori"(Shouts) are nice radio-friendly songs and the lyrics denote a little improvement, specially in the second that's not so hermetic or nonsense as in most of the songs of the previous two albums.

"L'Esodo"(The Exodus) has an operistic intro that could give the impression of a Zeuhl song, but turns quickly into 80s electronic pop like "The Cars". The song is about the nuclear holocaust, a theme very familiar in that period inspired by things like Reagan, Thatcher and Falklands. A good pop song with very few prog.

"Scalo A Grado" (Stop at Grado) is quite trivial, in the sense that's exactly the kind of song that one expects from Battiato in 1982. No surprises at all, while the following song "La Torre"(The Tower) seems to be taken from the soundtrack of Flashdance with the contamination of Kraftwerk. If you survive to the disco intro it's not so bad.

"New Frontiers" starts with the opera choir. It's since "Bandiera Bianca", the song that launched him to the mainstream public that it sometimes appears. This song is nothing more than an attempt to recycle a successful formula. A forgettable song.

The closer is the best song of the album and the only one that Battiato still performs live. There have been also several covers of it by other artists (even a disco version). The song is mainly about the Dervish dance, but about dance in general and has a middle eastern flavor. Dance not intended as "disco" but as shamanic rituals. Unfortunately it's the only very good song of the whole album and one song is not enough to have 3 stars also because it can be found on compilations and lives.

Even though it had a quite good commercial success in the prog world is just a collector's item.

If I remember correctly, when "L'Arca di Noè" (Noah's Ark) came out, "La Voce del Padrone" was still in the rankings, such was great and long its success. Noah's Ark had the ungrateful task of providing a follow-up to this bestseller that had agreed public and critical. Did it succeed? In terms of sales, yes: he managed to reach the first place in the Charts and stay there long (not as much as the predecessor). At the level of the public, no, there is no way to match La Voce del Padrone. L'Arca di Noè was an unsuccessful album, which contains only two classics: "Radio Varsavia (Warsaw)" and "Voglio Vederti Danzare" (I Want to See You Dance).

The first, which is the opening of the album, indicates a less cheerful mood than La Voce del Padrone. "Radio Varsavia" is a good electronic track with a thrilling mood, a dramatic pathos (Vote 7,5). "Voglio Vederti Danzare" is an happy electronic piece, carefree, with a waltz finale, that could have been on the previous album (Vote 7,5).

The second song, "Clamori", is one of the most conventional songs (strophe-refrain) with an uninspired melody (vote 6). The third song, "L'esodo" (The exodus) is the longest (almost five and a half minutes) and maybe the best song (vote 8), thanks to the initial chorus (Madrigalisti di Milano), to the epic and austere mood (and the arrangement by the master Giusto Pio). End of side A. Two good songs, and a quite bad song.

"Scalo a Grado" (Stop in Grado) brings a carefree and danceable rhythm, typical of La Voce del Padrone, but it is not very effective: it could be a scrap of the previous album (vote 6+). "La Torre" (The Tower) is perhaps the worst piece of the album, a danceable dance with a social satire, that does not go anywhere (vote 5,5). What Have I Said? That The Tower is the worst piece? Sorry, I must correct myself: the worst piece is "New Frontiers", maybe another scrap of the prevoius album (vote 5+). After that, comes Voglio Vederti Danzare, the last track.

Medium quality of the songs: 6,57. Vote album: 6+. Two Stars.

"L'Arca di Noè" è il dodicesimo album di Franco Battiato ed è un album che ha venduto circa 550.000 copie ed è stato uno degli album al n°1 in Italia in quel 1982. The album was recorded at the "Studio Radius" by Alberto Radius, former guitarist of Formula 3 and Il Volo and his trusted collaborator together with Giusto Pio, here in the role of violinist and author. The rhythm section is made up of Paolo Donnarumma (bass) and Alfredo Gollino (drums). Furthermore, Pietro Pellegrini, Luigi Tonet, Shane Dempsey and Filippo Destrieri also play (various keyboards and synthesizers) and the choirs are from I Madrigalisti from Milan. This list of musicians would be enough to say that "L'Arca di Noè" could not be a wrong album.

Musically "L'Arca di Noè" is an album devoted to a POP which I classify as Synth POP although it is very close to a Lite Prog but keeping its distance from it. The use of electronic instruments such as sequencer and Fairlight make the album very interesting but a little cold (which was intentional, at least for me) and, in any case, Alberto Radius is little used (and he is brilliant in "Scalo a Grado" where he his solos are useless). I also mention "Radio Varsavia" linked to the strikes that were underway in Poland and "I want to see you Danzare", a simply brilliant song that I can't fit into a specific genre and which has become an evergreen of Battiato and of all Italian music. Also interesting are "La torre" and "New Frontiers" for their unconventional songwriting.

"L'Arca di Noè" is not a difficult album to listen to. As mentioned, it is very close to Synth POP while remaining in an experimental field. And then it's a very cold album and, at least for me, very calculated as a result: it must be easily listenable and remain imprinted in the mind. However, it remains an experimental product that has aged really well. But, in the end, not Franco Battiato's best album of the POP breakthrough.