L'ombra e la macchina da cucire - The Umbrella and the Sewing Machine

Ero solo come un ombrello su una Macchina da cucire Dalle pendici dei monti Iblei A settentrione Ho percorso il cammino, arrampicandomi Per universi e mondi Con atti di pensiero e umori cerebrali L’abisso non mi chiama, sto sul ciglio Come un cespuglio: quieto come un insetto Che si prende il sole Scendevo lungo il fiume scrollando le spalle..... Che cena infame stasera Che pessimo vino Chiacchiero col vicino Lei non ha finezza Non sa sopportare l’ebbrezza Colgo frasi occidentali (Ragioni sociali mi obbligano all'amore, all'umanita) Schizzano dal cervello i pensieri - Fini le calze La Coscienza trascendentale No l’Idea si incarna Dice che questa estate Ci sarà la fine del mondo The end of the world Berretto di pelo e sottanina di tàrtan Have we cold feet about the cosmos? Ero solo come un ombrello su una macchina da cucire Dalle pendici dei monti Iblei A settentrione Ho percorso il cammino, arrampicandomi Per universi e mondi Con atti di pensiero e umori cerebrali (Ragioni sociali mi obbligano all'amore, all'umanita) L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro Welcome to the new world of Battiato/Sgalambro, a world where the lyrics are replete with references to philosophy and literature. The choral interlude mid-song is a fragment from the opera Il cavaliere dell'intelletto, written in 1994 by Battiato and Sgalambro to celebrate the 800th birthday of the amazing Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, whose kingdom was based in Palermo, Sicily. There is also a reference to the opposing positions of Kant ("Transcendental Consciousness") and Hegel ("the Idea incarnates") as regards the nature of thought and reality (transcendental idealism vs. absolute idealism).

I was alone with an umbrella over a sewing machine. On the slopes of the Hyblaean Mountains in the north, I followed the road, scrambling along for universes and worlds with acts of thought and cerebral fluids. The abyss doesn’t call me, I stay on the edge like a bush: quiet as an insect that takes in the sun. I descended along the river rolling my shoulders. What a foul meal this evening, what horrible wine. I chat with the neighbor. She isn’t very refined, she doesn’t know how to handle intoxication. I understand western phrases. (Social reasons compel me towards love, towards humanity.) The thoughts splash out from my brain – the ends, the stockings, Transcendental Consciousness. No, the Idea incarnates. It says that this summer will be the end of the world, the end of the world. Fur beret and plaid sottanina - have we cold feet about the cosmos? I was alone with an umbrella over a sewing machine. On the slopes of the Iblei Mountains in the south, I followed the road, scrambling along for universes and worlds with acts of thought and cerebral fluids. (Social reasons compel me towards love, towards humanity.) English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Breve invito a rinviare il suicidio - Brief Invite to Put Off Suicide

Va bene, hai ragione Se ti vuoi ammazzare Vivere è un offesa Che desta indignazione... Ma per ora rimanda... E' solo un breve invito, rinvialo Va bene, hai ragione Se ti vuoi sparare Un giorno lo farai Con determinazione Ma per ora rimanda... E' solo un breve invito, rinvialo Questa parvenza di vita Ha reso antiquato il suicidio Questa parvenza di vita, signore Non lo merita... Solo una migliore Breve invito a rinviare il suicidio © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "Breve invito a rinviare il suicidio" is based on a chapter of the same name from Sgalambro's book Theory of Song, published in 1997.

It’s fine, you’re right if you want to kill yourself. Living is an offense that deserves indignation . . . But for now, postpone . . . It’s only a brief invite, put it off. It’s fine, you’re right if you want to shoot yourself. One day I’ll do it with determination, but for now, postpone . . . It’s only a brief invite, put it off. This semblance of life has rendered suicide antiquated. This semblance of life, sir, doesn’t merit it . . . Only a better one. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Piccolo pub - Little Pub

Vi saluto amici, ci vedremo domani..... Se la notte non fa il suo colpo stanotte Trombe irreali, ululano cani, si sentono Odo marcette militari Nel '43, ero malato Vidi tutta la mia vita Sudato scorreva finita Vi saluto, amici, ci vedremo domani.... Se la notte non fa il suo colpo stanotte Cerimonioso, entro Nel suo centro vitale (L'armatura rimanda la Luce Originale.) Guerriero della vita Sospendo le armi e la battaglia Birra e urina Si scambiano le parti: La latrina è il tuo caveau Liquido vitale scorre in entrambe Regalo della notte, piccolo pub Nessuno o tutt'uno Vacca nera sono Gatto grigio nella tua notte Nessuno o tutt'uno Vacca nera sei Gatto grigio nella mia note © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro In "Piccolo pub," Sgalambro offers Battiato a lyric far from the spiritual realms explored throughout his career to this point. From "the domain of Pre-existence" to "beer and urine" in two short years!

Farewell friends, see you tomorrow . . . if the night doesn’t make its hit tonight. Unreal trumpets, dogs howl, I hear military marches. In ’43, I was sick, I saw my whole life, sweaty, it ran to its end. Farewell friends, see you tomorrow . . . if the night doesn’t make its hit tonight. Primly, I enter into your vital center . (The armor sends back the Original Light.) Warrior of life, I suspend the arms and the battle. Beer and urine exchange their parts: the latrine is your vault, vital liquid runs in both. Gift of the night, little pub. No one or all-one, black cow am I, gray cat in your night. No one or all-one, black cow am I, gray cat in your night. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Fornicazione - Fornication

Fornicammo mentre i fiori si schiudevano Al mattino e di noi prendemmo piacere Sì, l'un l'altro. Libero Ora la mia mente andava Seguiva le orme delle cose che pensava Una canzoncina ardita mi premeva Le ossa del costato... E, il desiderio di tenere Le tue tenere dita Libero, libero Vorrei tra giaculatorie di versi spirare - E rosari composti di spicchi d'arancia E l'aria del mare E l'odore marcio di un vecchio porto E come pesce putrefatto putrefare Libero, libero, libero, libero. Fornicammo mentre i fiori si schiudevano Al mattino e di noi prendemmo piacere Sì, l'un l'altro, sì, l'un l'altro, Sì, l'un l'altro, sì, l'un l'altro, Libero, libero, libero, libero. Fornicazione © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro After the first verse, there appears a fragment of a poem by Rafia Rashed recorded in a Cairo museum and used by the Italian prog rock/fusion band Area at the beginning of their song "Luglio, agosto, settembre (nero)" - "Come and let's live my beloved / and peace will be our cover. / I want you to sing, light of my eyes."

We fornicated while the flowers unfolded in the morning and we took pleasure in ourselves. Yes, each other. Free. Now my mind went, followed the tracks of the things it thought. A daring little ditty pressed the bones of my chest . . . and the desire to hold your tender fingers. I'd like between ejaculations of verses to expire – and rosaries made of orange slices and the sea air and the fetid smell of an old port, and like rotting fish, to decay. Free, free, free, free. We fornicated while the flowers unfolded in the morning and we took pleasure in ourselves. Yes, each other, yes, each other. Yes, each other, yes, each other. Free, free, free, free. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Gesualdo da Venosa

Io, contemporaneo della fine del mondo Non vedo il bagliore Né il buio che segue Né lo schianto Né il piagnisteo Ma la verità Da miliardi di anni Farsi lampo Concerto n° 4 in do minore Per archi di Baldassarre Galuppi (te, piccolo, minutissimo Mazzetto di fiori di campo) La settima frase di Ornithology L'ultima, prima della cadenza e dal da capo Via, il noto balzo da uccello, sull'ultima nota Di Charlie... (Pensiero causale - Imperativo categorico - Ferma distinzione dell'uomo dall'animale Teorema adiabatico!) I madrigali di Gesualdo, principe di Venosa Musicista assassino della sposa - Cosa importa? Scocca la sua nota Dolce come rosa Gesualdo da Venosa © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa was a late 16th, early 17th century composer of sophisticated madrigals and sacred music. He is also known for brutally killing his wife and her lover when he discovered them in the act. Also appearing in this pot-pourri of lyrics: a concerto by a Venetian composer, a bebop standard composed by Charlie "Bird" Parker, a philosophical concept from Immanuel Kant and a theorem from quantum mechanics.

I, contemporary of the end of the world, don’t see the glow, nor the darkness that follows, nor the crash nor the whimper. But the truth from billions of years becomes a flash. Concerto in C Minor for strings by Baldassarre Galuppi. (you, small, incredibly minute bunch of flowers of the field) The seventh phrase of “Ornithology,” the last, before the solos and from the top, away, the well-known bird leap, on the final note of Charlie . . . (Causal reasoning – Categorical imperative – Firm distinction of man from animal Adiabatic theorem!) The madrigals of Gesualdo, prince of Venosa, musician assassin of his wife. What matters? His note strikes sweet like a rose. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Moto browniano - Brownian Motion

Un frammento della Sfinge E altro Sospesi in acqua... Moto browniano Particelle di polline Pulviscolo londinese Un frammento della Sfinge E altro Sospesi in acqua... Provo sdegno verso alberi e fogliami Foreste onnipossenti Mi invita una terra spoglia Senza tracce di vita Uguali l'uragano E il tenue soffio di vento..... Mi tentano paesaggi Senza alcuna idea di movimento.... Dove l'immoto echeggia – riposi Moto browniano © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "Moto browniano" pairs the molecular world of incessant and random motion (known as Brownian motion) with an almost science-fiction world where not even the idea of motion exists (this part of the lyric is an adaptation of Sgalambro's 1991 work Of Brief Thought (Del Pensare Breve); to give a sense of how he altered the original, the final three lines of the last verse were boiled down from this: "They tempt me, lunar landscapes, spongy, where the rocky mass lies inert, without any idea of movement. Where motionlessness echoes antique reposes.").

a fragment of the Sphynx, and more, suspended in water . . . Brownian motion – particles of pollen, London particulates, a fragment of the Sphynx, and more, suspended in water . . . I feel disdain for trees and foliage, omnipresent forests. A barren land invites me, with no trace of life, equal the hurricane and the soft breath of wind . . . They tempt me, landscapes without any idea of movement . . . Where motionlessness echoes – reposes. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Tao

Tao, ama secondo il Tao Ritieni il seme Duecentocinquanta milioni di spermatozoi In un solo orgasmo Un solo uomo può popolare la terra Tao © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "Tao" - advice for men on their sexual practices from an argumentative, quasi-nihilist, self-taught Sicilian philosopher, delivered in a warped, very non-commercial "pop" song by Battiato.

Tao, love according to the Tao – retain the seed. Two hundred fifty million spermatozoa in a single orgasm – one single man can populate the earth. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

Un vecchio cameriere - An Old Waiter

Splendore inconsumato Di tutto l'universo, fiato Punto fermo del cosmo: Terra, desolata.......... Qualcuno ci lancia nella vita Questa nella coscienza: Anche quella di un povero commesso Che nel tempo stesso Apre gli occhi rabbrividendo Al giorno Che gli ghigna attorno Ein alter Kellner Un vecchio cameriere Anche la sua coscienza Getta sulla terra - Dolori e sofferenza I piedi che gli dolgono La moglie pazza E quanto gliene viene Dal fatto che egli è un uomo E appartiene alla razza Un giorno amò Ora si fa il bucato Sognando il re che sarebbe stato Mentre il pensiero di te Si unisce a quel che penso E i cicli del mondo si susseguono Issami su corde per vie canoniche Ascendendo e discendendo Non fate crescere niente Su questa terra Ein alter Kellner Un vecchio cameriere Anche la sua coscienza Getta sulla terra - Dolori e sofferenza I piedi che gli dolgono La moglie pazza E quanto gliene viene Dal fatto che egli è un uomo E appartiene alla razza Non fate crescere niente Su questa terra Ein alter Kellner Un vecchio cameriere © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro Battiato set the lyrics of "Un vecchio cameriere" in the Adagio of Franz Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in D Major, Op. 64.

Consumed splendor of the entire universe, breathless end point of the cosmos: Earth, desolate . . . . . . . . Someone throws us into life, this into consciousness: even that of a poor clerk who at the same time opens his eyes cringing at the day that sneers at him round about. Another Kellner. An old waiter, even his consciousness drops onto earth – pains and suffering, his aching feet, the crazy wife. And what comes to him of the fact that he is a man and belongs to the race? One day he loved. Now the laundry is done dreaming of the king he would have been. While the thought of you combines with that which I think and the cycles of the world follow each other. Boost me by ropes onto canonical pathways, ascending and descending. Don’t make anything grow on this land. Another Kellner. An old waiter, even his consciousness drops onto earth – pains and suffering, his aching feet, the crazy wife. And what comes to him of the fact that he is a man and belongs to the race? Don’t make anything grow on this land. Another Kellner. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways the opposite of Battiato. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List

L'esistenza di Dio - The Existence of God

Giovane teologo non fare Come in rue de Fouarre Dove si produceva amore Si produceva per Dio E arnesi per dimostrarne l'esistenza, Che già mostrava la sola competenza Lessing diciassettenne Arriva a Lipsia Per fare teologia Apprende prima la scherma e la danza La distinzione e la lontananza Camice, prego! Il teologo si prepari Agli atti della sua professione Ecco, no guardate Un po' più sotto Qui vedrete esattamente com'è fatto Dio L'attributo "buono" Delimita uno spazio Segna una distanza Il paziente non può aspettare Si proceda a regolare Dissezione Camice, prego! Signori, anatomia! Presto, bisturi. Klemmen her! Giovane teologo non fare come in rue de Fouarre Dove si produceva amore si produceva per Dio E arnesi per dimostrarne l'esistenza, Che già mostrava la sola competenza Signori teologi basta, ricucite Ancora una cosa Mente a Ockam prego: Dio differisce dalla pietra Perchè questa, dice, è finita La teologia vi invita Anzi vi impone di Immaginare Una pietra infinita Camice, prego L'esistenza di Dio © 1995 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "L'esistenza di Dio" critiques and makes fun of philosophical and theological arguments that claim to demonstrate the existence of God by human means, to know the infinite through the finite. According to William of Ockam, theology can't be considered a science, there being no connection between reason and faith. Hence the need to "imagine an infinite stone," a phrase taken from Sgalambro's own 1993 work Theological Dialogue. The German lyrics, recited by the writer Helena Janeczek, are taken from Sgalambro's 1987 book Treatise of Impiety. The music that underlies the Italian lyrics are borrowed from a traditional Romanian song, "Rind de hore."

Young theologian doesn’t do like in Rue de Fouarre where love was produced, it was produced for God. And tools for demonstrating his existence, that already showed the only competence. 17-year-old Lessing (Gotthold Ephraim) arrives in Leipzig to do theology. He first learns the keyboard and dance, the distinction and the distance. Shirt, please! The theologian prepares himself for the acts of his profession. Behold, no look a little lower, here you will see exactly how God is made. The attribute “good” delimits a space, marks a distance. The patient one can’t wait. One proceeds to regulate. Dissection. Shirt, please! Gentlemen, anatomy! Ready, scalpel. Pinch here! Young theologian doesn’t do like in Rue de Fouarre where love was produced, it was produced for God. And tools for demonstrating his existence, that already showed the only competence. Theologians, enough, resew. One more thing lies to Ockam, I pray: God differs from stone because it, he says, is finite. Theology invites you, actually commands you, to imagine an infinite stone. Shirt, please. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'ombrella e la macchina da cucire was released in 1995. It was recorded at Battiato's home using only electronic instruments, and for him it was somewhat of a return to the musical experimentation that characterized his 1970s work. The lyrics were written by Manlio Sgalambro, the Sicilian philosopher who said that, for him, Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit sung like music in his ears. References to philosophy and literature abound; the title of the album is taken from a line by the French poet Isidore Ducasse: "Beautiful as a chance encounter between a sewing maching and an umbrella on an operating table." This line, according to Max Ernst, is the key to understanding surrealist poetry - "the search for beauty through the pairing of two seemingly irreconcilable realities." Battiato felt liberated by not having to write lyrics, and he was stimulated to explore and discover new musical realms by the different aesthetic that Sgalambro brought to wordsmithing, one that flows from a man in many ways his opposite. Sgalambro described it this way: "Spiritual, transcendent, ascetic the first [Battiato]. Materialist, fleeting, anti-poetic, even cynical, the second [Sgalambro]."

Back to Album List         Back to Song List