| Samarcanda | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Roberto Vecchioni | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Italian singer-songwriters | |||
| Length | 39 min 27 s | |||
| Label | Philips | |||
| Producer | Michelangelo Romano | |||
| Roberto Vecchioni chronology | ||||
|
||||
Samarcanda is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni, released in 1977. The work was highly successful, mostly thanks to the title track, and established him as one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Italy.
As usual for Vecchioni, the lyrics mix autobiographical themes such as love life, nostalgia with literary and poetical ones.
"Samarcanda" is inspired to an Oriental fable (sometimes called "Appointment in Samarra") about a soldier who, in a feast to celebrate the end of the war, sees Death in the form of an old woman amongst the crowd. He madly rides to Samarkand to escape, and finds her there waiting for him.
"Vaudeville" is a reference to the "process" suffered during a concerto held in the previous year by Vecchioni's colleague Francesco De Gregori, as well as the time's perception of the singer-songwriters in Italy.
"Due giornate fiorentine" is about the betrayal suffered from his first wife, Irene Bozzi.
"Blue(e) notte" tells the meeting with the poet Sandro Penna.
"Per un vecchio bambino" (meaning "For an old child") is dedicated to Vecchioni's father.
"Canzone per Sergio" is instead entitled after Vecchioni's brother, a notary in Lipari.
"L'ultimo spettacolo", is a long ballad beginning with a slow motif about Homer's heroes, but finishing with more dramatic lyrics describing the departure of Vecchioni's wife to meet her lover. The episode of the singer accompanying her to platform of the train to Turin will reappear in several of his future songs, such as "Vorrei" (in the album Robinson) and Montecristo (in the Lp with the same name).
Angelo Branduardi, also a popular singer-songwriter, appears as musician in the LP.