Album Review: Dietro Le Sbarre Una Domenica All’Ergastolo Di Porto Azzurro by Giovanni Bertini
Let’s get one thing straight—this ain’t your typical music album. Nope. This is something else entirely. It’s like someone handed you a cup of espresso and said, “Here, drink this, but also listen to these conversations.” That’s what Giovanni Bertini’s Dietro Le Sbarre Una Domenica All’Ergastolo Di Porto Azzurro feels like. An Italian time capsule filled with raw, unfiltered stories that stick to your brain like gum on a hot summer sidewalk.
The whole thing falls under the "Non-Music" umbrella, which makes sense because there aren’t any catchy hooks or beats here. Instead, it's just voices—interviews, spoken word bits—that pull you into another world. The two tracks, "Dietro Le Sbarre Una Domenica A Porto Azzurro Prima Parte" and its sibling "Seconda Parte," are basically two halves of the same story. And let me tell ya, they hit differently.
Now, I gotta say, the first track grabbed me right away. You can almost picture the scene: a Sunday at the prison in Porto Azzurro, where life doesn’t stop for anyone. There’s this gritty honesty in the way people talk about their lives behind bars. One guy talks about missing sunlight—not just seeing it, but feeling it—and man, that stuck with me. Like, how often do we take sunshine for granted? The tone is so real, no frills, no fluff, just pure human emotion spilling out. It’s not polished, but that’s the charm. It’s messy, like life itself.
Then comes the second part, and oh boy—it gets darker. Someone starts talking about regret, about choices made years ago that still echo today. Their voice cracks a little, and suddenly, you’re not just listening anymore; you’re feeling it too. It’s heavy stuff, man. These aren’t actors reading lines; these are real folks baring their souls. By the end of it, I felt kinda exhausted, like I’d been sitting in that cell with them. But isn’t that the point? To make you feel something?
What strikes me most is how intimate the whole experience feels. It’s like eavesdropping on a conversation you weren’t supposed to hear. Bertini didn’t just slap some interviews together—he crafted an atmosphere. The lack of background music actually works in his favor. No distractions, just raw storytelling.
So yeah, this album won’t top any pop charts (duh), but it doesn’t need to. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always have to sing or dance to move you. Sometimes, it just needs to speak.
And hey, if nothing else, this record will make you rethink your next lazy Sunday afternoon. While you're sipping coffee and scrolling through memes, somewhere, someone's living a completely different kind of Sunday. Wild, huh?
