Roby Facchinetti turns 80

Camillo Lorenzo Ferdinando Facchinetti in art Rob Today he turns 80. His name is indelibly associated with that of Poohbut there are also a handful of solo albums to his credit, in one of these, “Together”teamed up with Riccardo Fogli. And it is with our review of this 2017 album that we wish him a happy birthday.

For Pooh fans, 2017 was the first, difficult year since their favorite band broke up.

Having cried all the tears of joy, sadness and emotion on the evening of last December 30th at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno (Bo), the Pooh fan woke up the next day thinking yes about the shots to be fired in the evening in deference to the arrival of the new year, but with more than a veil of melancholy for what has been and (probably) will no longer be. But life must go on… and so must music. And at the end of the day, 2017 wasn't such a bad year after all. The five Poohs – Riccardo Fogli must rightfully be included in the count – said goodbye to the brand, but certainly not the music. So we find ourselves, a year later, with two new recording projects. About a month ago the band's guitarist, Dodi Battaglia, released the double album recorded live entitled (every reference is clearly completely coincidental). “And the story continues…”, where, needless to say, are the great songs of Pooh to be proposed and celebrated. A short time later, “Insieme” reached the market, an album signed by Roby Facchinetti and Riccardo Fogli.

“Insieme” is a record composed of eleven songs of which eight are unreleased – four of these come from the pen of Valerio Negrini, including “Strade” song chosen as the first single and two (to remain in the big family) by Stefano D'Orazio – plus three covers. The covers concern the “Storie di tutti i giorno” which Riccardo Fogli led to win the Sanremo Festival in 1982, the revisitation of “Notte asurprise” (included in the twelfth Pooh album “Viva” of 1979, by Facchinetti-Negrini, sung by Roby Facchinetti) and “In silence” (included in Pooh's second album “Contrasto” from 1968 with lyrics by Negrini, music by Facchinetti and vocals by Fogli).

In the press conference to present the album, Facchinetti and Fogli recalled their first meeting in 1966, when Roby, seeing him in concert with his band at the time, chose Riccardo as Pooh's new bassist.

There the friendship between the two was born. In the name of old friendship, this project was born, characterized primarily by the successful coexistence of the voices of the two musicians. And friendship is the theme of “To save you, all you need is a friend”, as the relationship with the other half of the sky guides “Women know us” and “Arianna”. It is inevitable in “Together” to breathe an air that leads back to the Pooh epic and God forbid. But what matters most is that the album stands up to comparison with these giants and, indeed, surprises with its compactness and homogeneity while maintaining the level of the proposal more than discreet.

These two guys who have brilliantly reached the milestone of 70 years will present “Together” in concert next spring and there is no doubt that it will be a success. Without a doubt for what has been sown in his career and for the unchanged affection of the people, but a small merit will also go to the new compositions which will not make a bad impression in the presence of the numerous hits that will inevitably be proposed.