Ascolti imperdibili – AA.VV.: “Canzoni di fuga e speranza”, disco tributo agli Yo Yo Mundi
A 35-year career is a long time, especially if lived without interruption, with the right spirit that allows you to keep going, always seeking new challenges and paths to explore.
By doing so, you don’t risk losing sight of the meaning of your work or seeing your inspiration diluted.
by Gianni Gardon – Pelle e Calamaio
Yo Yo Mundi have done exactly that, and are still doing it, because it is right for them to speak in the present tense, despite the happy and impromptu solo release by their figurehead, Paolo Enrico Archetti Maestri.
At the end of 2024, the singer and guitarist, lyricist and main composer of the group, released a truly significant and exciting album under his own name, aptly titled “Amorabilia”, which I felt the urge to mention on these pages after my first enthusiastic listenings.
However, he himself took care to immediately reassure fans about the future of the band, announcing, among other things, some news, precisely in view of the anniversary of its foundation.
While a very interesting exhibition dedicated to the history and works of the band had already been inaugurated at the end of the year, in 2025 it was decided to follow up on that initiative, keeping the same name. Originally conceived as a gift from the various members of Yo Yo to their leader, “Canzoni di fuga e speranza” (Songs of Escape and Hope) has thus become a tribute album, in which many artists from various backgrounds have revisited a small piece of this fantastic story.
Kindred spirits, old friends, soul mates, shared intentions, similar values: human relationships are at the heart of these collaborations.
The artistic direction of the project (published by Nota in a CD book that also includes an engaging story by Giorgio Olmoti) is by Eugenio Merico, with Gianluca Spirito (formerly of Modena City Ramblers), Maurizio Camardi and the technical collaboration of Dario Mecca Aleina.
It was exciting to try to bring together so many names who then managed to get in tune with some of the historic pieces from the Acqui Terme group’s repertoire.
The peculiarity of this album also lies in the fact that each artist who attempted to reinterpret the chosen pieces did so by adding their own touch, but without distorting the originals, whose beauty remains intact.
Scrolling through the list of participants, we immediately come across the Tupamaros, a band that started from similar premises and, like the others included here, shares fundamental ideas with the protagonists.
Their reinterpretation of a fundamental song for the band, “Freccia Vallona”, immediately makes it clear that the overall level of the work will be very high, but then again, the raw material is excellent.
How else can one judge immortal songs from their repertoire, old and more recent, such as “Chi ha portato quei fiori per Mara Cagol?” (Who brought those flowers for Mara Cagol?), performed by an excellent Alessio Lega; “Chiedilo alle nuvole” (Ask the clouds) by the unusual pairing of Ricky Gianco – Lalli, or “Alla bellezza dei margini” (To the beauty of the margins), embellished by Massimo Carlotto‘s interpretation?
Also noteworthy is the Gang‘s version of a very significant episode such as “Tredici” on Banda Tom.
These are all songs that every participant in this tribute has approached with enormous respect, without distorting them but still trying, as mentioned, to add something, such as the excellent Lastanzadigreta grappling with “Evidenti tracce di felicità”, Roberto Billi, formerly with Ratti della Sabina, with the poetic “Ovunque si nasconda”, Flexus, who bring rhythm and vigour to the historic “Carovane”, not to mention the wild Banda Popolare dell’Emilia Rossa, who modernise “L’ultimo testimone”. And then there is Massimo Ghiacci of Modena City Ramblers, who maintains the original spirit of “Ho visto cose” (I have seen things), Daniele Gennaro, who treats “Fosbury” with extreme delicacy, and Simona Colonna, who moves us deeply with her acoustic and intimate version of “Il respiro dell’universo” (The breath of the universe).
In truth, all the artists involved in this project deserve a mention, and I warmly invite you to listen to them, because in my opinion Yo Yo Mundi have never been sufficiently celebrated for their undoubted merits.
This compilation (as they used to say) is therefore a welcome opportunity to shine the spotlight on them once again, accompanying us on a 24-stage journey that has never faltered in over thirty-five years.
This post is also available in: Italian
