In 1979, after some years of soporific avant-garde, Franco Battiato woke up and turned his attention to the public. Don’t worry, “L’era del cinghiale bianco” is not just an easy pop album or a bleak effort to reach commercial success... In that period the “Halcyon days” of prog were gone and Franco Battiato, as many other artists, was looking for new musical ways. Here classical music and Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern folk influences blend with rock and pop in a very personal way, with the help of a group of excellent musicians. The lyrics don’t tell stories but the words are just like “flashes” trying to suggest the images... The final result is surprisingly good!
The wild white boar is a symbol taken from the Celtic mythology and in some way the weird lyrics of the opener title track (“L’era del cinghiale bianco” means “The age of the wild white boar”) seem to invoke the return to a new spiritual era of knowledge and wisdom... This is one of the best known of Battiato’s songs and it features a great interaction between the violin of Giusto Pio and the guitar of Alberto Radius (former guitarist of Formula Tre and Il Volo). The instrumental riff is very catchy and it leaves you hoping that “the age of the wild white boar will come back soon...”.
Mysticism for sale... The following “Magic Shop” is about money and religion: the ironic lyrics draw a caustic criticism against the habit of making money from faith, while the music is light and deep with a good line of bass and soaring vocals... “Can’t you see that the Golden Age was just a shadow of Wall Street?”.
“Strade dell’Est” (Roads of the East) is a kind of musical journey on the streets of the East, from Albania to Siberia, from China to Iraq, from Turkey to Russia. The percussion work of Tullio De Piscopo and the guitar solo of Alberto Radius are great and the result is an extremely interesting mix of rock and folk influences... “Roads of the East, immense horizons / Hidden cities of Persian language... They tell stories of princesses locked in castles for their great beauty...”.
“Luna indiana” (Indian moon) is an instrumental track with classical influences and a nocturnal mood where the interacting of piano and violin weave a “chamber music” atmosphere, the murmured vocals appearing at the end of the track seem to introduce the slow, magical mood of the following “Il re del mondo” where “the king of the world keeps our hearts in prison...”.
Next comes the ethereal, mystic “Pasqua Etiope” (Ethiopic Easter). It is sung in Latin and sounds like a kind of exotic prayer... “Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis...”.
The last track “Stranizza d’amuri” (Love strangeness) is sung in the dialect of Sicily and features a good percussion work and a “Mediterranean flavour” while the suggestive lyrics conjure up memories of first love.
The album is short (it lasts only 31 minutes) but every track is worth listening to. In fact “L’era del cinghiale bianco” is still far from the clever pop of Battiato’s successive albums and on the whole I think that it could be an excellent addition to an Italian prog collection...
You can listen to the complete album HERE
Raffaella Benvenuto-Berry: While prog purists may frown upon Battiato's move, open-minded music fans will find a lot to love in this intriguing, sophisticated album. In spite of its superficial 'poppy' feel, L'era del cinghiale bianco has many layers, which will unfold upon repeated listens. Granted, it is not 'conventional' prog by any means, and as such may be found disappointing by those who expect 20-minute epics, or wild time signature shifts... (read the complete review HERE).
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