“29 Settembre” (1969) – Lucio Battisti * Written by Mogol and Lucio Battisti * LP: Lucio Battisti * Label: Ricordi
Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti (who passed away in 1998) was rarely the acoustic guitar type, which is too bad, because whenever he was, the sound suited him especially well. Battisti’s first full album appeared in 1969, when he’d already developed enough of a songwriting reputation to have placed songs with the Grass Roots (“Bella Linda”), the Amen Corner (“(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice”), and the Hollies (“Non Prego Per Me”). Throughout the rest of his professional life in the Italian music industry, he would maintain the persona of a studio hermit who rarely gave interviews or played live. His song “29 Settembre” (the 29th of September), about romantic ecstasy and confusion on a sunny autumn afternoon, is a refined folk rock number from the debut that leaves you wishing for a full album with similar instrumentation. Battisti collaborated with the one-named lyricist Mogol (born Giulio Rapetti) until 1980.