Her name was Elena. She had left Sicily twenty years ago and had never met anyone in this grey city who knew Franco Battiato. She told him that “L’Ombra della Luce” wasn’t just a song, it was a prayer. He told her that he’d been living in a permanent gravity, and that Battiato had taught him to shift his center.
Released in 2004 by EMI Music Italy, The Platinum Collection stands as a definitive 3-CD anthology of Franco Battiato’s most transformative years. Spanning 53 tracks, the collection captures the "Pop Mystic" at the height of his commercial and creative powers, charting his journey from experimental pioneer to the philosopher-king of Italian pop. A Three-Act Journey Through Sound franco battiato the platinum collection
The album does have a specific caveat: the production is very much of its time. The 80s digital synths and gated drums are immaculate, but they are distinctively retro. However, this time-capsule quality now feels charming and ahead of the curve in the current wave of retro-synth nostalgia. Her name was Elena
The record store was a dying thing, smelling of dust, old paper, and the faint ghost of cigarette smoke from a decade ago. Leo ran his finger along the spines of the CDs, looking for nothing in particular. He was a man who collected silences now, not music. His wife had left in the spring, taking the sonos and the upbeat playlists with her. All that remained in his apartment was a cheap CD player and a void. He told her that he’d been living in
For the uninitiated, Battiato’s career is generally divided into two distinct eras: the avant-garde experimentalist of the early 1970s and the sophisticated pop philosopher of the 1980s and beyond. This collection focuses heavily on the latter, which is arguably his most accessible and influential body of work.
If you have ever felt that modern pop music lacks soul or substance, The Platinum Collection is the remedy. It is sophisticated, melodic, and endlessly fascinating—a perfect introduction to a man who looked at the world and saw music where others saw only noise.
Franco Battiato's impact on the music world extends far beyond his own impressive discography. He has inspired a generation of Italian musicians and has been cited as an influence by artists such as Kate Bush and David Sylvian. His eclectic style has also influenced the work of film directors and composers.