VERONA PROG FEST 2015
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CELEBRATING MOTHER NATURE
Alienaturais the second album by Il Tempio delle Clessidre and was released in 2013 on the independent label Black Widow Records with a renewed line up featuring Elisa Montaldo (keyboards, vocals), Fabio Gremo (bass, classical guitar, backing vocals), Giulio Canepa (electric and acustic guitar, backing vocals), Paolo Tixi (dums, backing vocals) and Francesco Ciapica (vocals). After the excellent eponymous debut album, the old vocalist Lupo Galifi left the band to join the reformed Museo Rosenbach and Francesco Ciapica stepped in proving that in Italy there's no shortage of excellent singers. All the good qualities of the band's previous album are confirmed here, the overall sound is a wonderful mix of vintage sounds and new ideas and all the compositions are convincing and well performed. Somehow the beautiful art cover by Alessandro Sala depicts in a very effective way the content of the music and lyrics inviting you to wander under the moon, looking for the right balance between your every day life and an alien nature that the contemporary society can't understand.
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| Alienatura - art cover |
The beautiful opener "Kaze" sets the atmosphere. It's an instrumental track with a touch of exotic mysticism where you can hear lost, distant sounds and voices still blowing in the wind. In fact, kaze is a Japanese word that means wind and the music flows away with many changes, carrying you from east to west, from Oriental waves to echoes of native American rites... By the way, on this track you can hear for a moment the voice of Yoshiko Kase, a Japanese friend of the band and a passionate prog fan.
Next comes "Senza colori" (Colourless) that depicts in music and words a man on the edge of a deep personal crises who reflects about his past errors. Slowly part of him gets lost in the spiral of time, his memories get blurred and his hopes melt, suffocated by an oppressive reality. The mood is dark, but never say never! Even when his world seems crumbling down his inner will is still pulsing and pushes him to find a balance to repair what's wrong and to look for that kind of madness that's called Truth...
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| Il Tempio delle Clessidre 2013 |
"Il passo" (The step) is another great track that describes a man who's falling down, betrayed by his self confidence and his desire of adventures. He was walking in the mountains, now he can remember nothing but the sound of his steps in the void and the wind blowing around him. He's scared and the night is coming down. Nobody will find him, lost in a solitary ravine, injured, surrounded by the desperate roots of the trees and naked rocks. His rage burns inside his chest as he shouts for the last time... Oh, what a lucky man he was!
"Fino alla vetta" (Up to the mountain top) is about hiking in the Alps and tells in music and words about the spiritual experience of a day spent in touch with beautiful, breathtaking panoramas, far from the daily grind. At dawn you can walk to the top breathing fresh air and listening to the melodic sound of soft rain drops falling on the trees until you get lost under a spell, led by the moon, free from the chains of civilization, in harmony with Mother Nature...
On the dark, nightmarish "Onirica possessione" (Oneiric possession) the music and lyrics describe in a theatrical way a very troubled night. As the veil of darkness comes down you fall asleep in a vortex of obscure thoughts, then your mind begins to fly across scary, bleak landscapes. You're filled with a strong sense of fear and risk to get lost, eternal prisoner of your madness and of your ill dreams. Then you see a creek in a wood and clear water flowing. Maybe there's another reality, you try to go forward to touch the illusion of a life after death while your thoughts fall down like autumn leaves... But soon you realize that your feet are sinking in the quicksand, the burden of your pain makes you heavy, the curtain opens and a crazy, dramatic play begins... In the last section you can hear the suggestive call of a demon and his false promises interpreted by Elisa Montaldo.
"Notturna" (Nocturnal) is a short, dreamy piece where you can fully appreciate Elisa Montaldo lead vocals. Here the music and lyrics depict arcane rites of cosmic harmony under the moon and a myriad of dancing stars, an ethereal celebration in honour of a pagan goddess who speaks of mountains, trees, rocks and of a world where your soul is free to fly high...
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| Elisa Montaldo 2013 |
The magnificent epic "Il cacciatore" (The Hunter) concludes this excellent work in a perfect way. It's divided into five parts and tells the story of a hunter who gets lost in the forest following the tracks of his pray. He's tired, stranded, injured. Who is the pray now? When he meets a wolf he's almost helpless, ha can't use his bow and arrow anymore. But the wolf is merciful and protects him. At last he repents, he understand that shooting down an innocent life is pointless and cruel. So, he becomes a new man who's finally aware of the importance of living in a perfect balance with Mother Nature... Well, a nice fable and another great track!
On the whole, this is really a wonderful album, full of passionate melodies, mellow symphonic passages and a pinch of melodramma. I think that this is a real must for every prog lover! Anyway, judge by yourselves: you can listen to the complete album HERE
Il Tempio delle Clessidre: Alienatura (2013). Other opinions:
Paul Fowler: The sound is rich, warm and full with some incredibly powerful moments alongside the more reflective elements. After a few plays the sometimes subtle and complex melodies really grab you. It's not always immediate but persevere and you'll be rewarded with a fantastic body of work... (read the complete review HERE)
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BROKEN WINGS
Il Cerchio d’Oro's roots date back to the seventies when they released some singles. After a long hiatus, the band came back to life in 2006 and in 2008 released their first full length album, Il viaggio di Colombo. In 2013 they released an excellent second work on Black Widow Records, Dedalo e Icaro,with a consolidated line up featuring veterans Franco Piccolini (organ, piano, Mellotron, synth), Giuseppe Terribile (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals), Gino Terribile (drums, gong, vocals) and Piuccio Pradal (12 string acoustic guitar, vocals) plus a new member, Bruno Govone (electric guitar). During the recording sessions they were helped by some prestigious guests such as Pino Sinnone (drums), Marin Grice (flute, sax), Giorgio "Fico" Piazza (bass), Ettore Vigo (piano), Daniele Ferro (electric guitar) and Athos Enrile (mandolin) who contributed to enrich the sound. The new work is a concept album freely based upon the myth of Daedalus and Icarus where the music and lyrics do not try to tell in an emphatic way a story that probably everyone already knows, but rather focus on the emotions and feelings of the protagonists trying to stir your imagination. Well, maybe the beautiful art work by Stefano Scagni describes the content of the album better than all my words...
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| art cover |
The music and lyrics of the opener "Il mio nome è Dedalo" (My name is Daedalus) introduce the character of Daedalus and his challenge. We meet a proud, unscrupulous genius who is able to invent an endless array of tools and who is jealous of his secrets and of his craft. The music starts softly, then the rhythm rises following the course of a baroque vanity. At last Daedalus accepts to build a labyrinth without a way out for the king of Cnosso and the following "Labirinto" (Labyrinth) is a beautiful instrumental track that depicts this challenge trying to evoke all the difficulties of the project and of its realisation...
The long, complex "La promessa" (The promise) begins with a vocal part a cappella, then the rhythm rises and goes through many changes in mood and atmosphere and you can feel desperate rage, hope and overwhelming energy. This track depicts in music an words a man betrayed but still untamed, prisoner of his work and art. Daedalus is in the labyrinth now, there's no way out, his world has begun to fall to pieces around his head but he does not accept his destiny and he's planning an escape for him and for his beloved son. He swears that he'll find the way...
Next comes the calm, dreamy "L'arma vincente" (The winning means) that describes the feelings of Icarus. He's just an unconscious, curious boy attracted by the splendour of the sun and he's sure that his bravery will help him out... Then it's the turn of "Una nuova realtà" (A new reality), a beautiful track that announces the end of the nightmare and conjures up a feeling of hope in a better future. You can dream of a breakthrough obtained defeating old taboos, soaring in the air and talking to the wind...
"Oggi volerò" (I'll fly today) describes in music and words the day of the take off and the strong, fiery emotions of the departure, a dream that comes true, flying away, higher and higher, towards the sun... Then the nervous rhythm of the following "Il sogno spezzato" (The broken dream) takes you back to earth. Icarus is falling down, his ambitions are melting in the sun like his wings of wax. For Daedalus it's time for mourn and pity, his moaning will to fly for ever... Can you hear it?
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| Il Cerchio d'Oro 2013 |
The last track, "Ora che son qui (Icaro... La fine)" (Now that I'm here - The end of Icarus), describes Icarus' final lament, his last thoughts and feelings, his regrets and his pain. Now he's in the afterlife and asks just for a flower that will bring him another bit of sunlight... Can you hear him?
On the whole, I think that this is really a great album. Of course, every now and again the influence of bands such as PFM, Le Orme, New Trolls, Delirium or the Trip is apparent, but the band managed to recreate a vintage atmosphere without sounding out of date nor derivative and the final result is impressive!
Il Cerchio d'Oro: Dedalo e Icaro (2013). Other opinions:
Michael "Aussi-Byrd-Brother": It may not have the same reckless energy, rough around the edges charm that a lot of the vintage defining releases had back in the 70's, but there is no denying it is a high quality album, full of strong melodies and terrific playing. It's also nice to hear something so upbeat and full of life, from a band that is really excited and humbled at still having an audience craving quality Italian progressive music. Definitely one for fans of the first album after a more sedate pleasing listen, and deeply romantic Italian progressive bands like Locanda delle Fate...(read the complete review HERE)
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WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS
Barnum's Freak began life in Naples in 2012 on the initiative of Massimiliano Romano (guitars), Sergio Vassetti (keyboards) and Salvatore Oroso (drums). Their music was influenced by seventies prog bands such as Pink Floyd, Goblin, Focus or PFM but also by post rock and more recent acts. The name of the band refers to some attractions of Barnum's Circus, monsters and curiosities such as Joice Heth, an African-American slave who was exhibited by P.T. Barnum with the false claim that she was the 161-year-old nursing "mammy" of George Washington. According to the band, the monster is necessary to the mental integrity of us all and, against its will, increases the cohesion of the so-called ‘normal people’ against all the forms of perversion. A quite confused conception, but sufficient to satisfy the early craving of normality: that blurry desire of conformity and uniformity that each of us harbours inside ourselves.
In 2014 Barnum's Freak self-released a debut work featuring the collaboration of two guest musicians, Alessandro Bagagli (bass) and Manuela Papa (vocals). It's a concept album about a spiritual journey towards a new awareness titled Revolution Loading,where the words revolution and evolution are in some way merged to create something new. The album is almost completely instrumental and you have to rely upon your imagination and on the explanations of the band to understand and appreciate the storyline. According to the band, the world in which we live is a professional system created to hide a terrible reality... We are all slaves, locked into a prison with no walls, no bars, no smell, a prison to our mind... So, we have to search for a way to breakthrough!
The calm opener "Appearance (DayDream)" describes an unconscious, apparent normality made by conformity and uniformity. It's sung in English and, unfortunately, it's the only track where we can appreciate the vocal qualities of Manuela Papa. Behind an ethereal, surreal dreamy mood you can feel an impending change in the air...
The following "Doubt (UnReal)" begins by the sound of a storm in the background and marks the loss of confidence and a state of uncertainty. The rhythm rises, doubts are spreading all around, you feel confused... It leads to the dark, powerful "Crisis (SetBack)" which tries to describe the dramatic inner conflict and the confrontation with the ‘other-than-itself’.
Next comes "Awakening (Resurgence)" that tries to depict the birth of a new attitude in the way you observe and perceive the world. You begin to breathe again fresh air under a dark sky, eventually the sunlight shines through the clouds... "NeWay (Beaming)" ends the album with a surge of cosmic energy and a touch of optimism while the gates of the house of the king open for you.
On the whole, an interesting debut work from a band that deserves credit and that could have a bright future.
You can listen to the complete album HERE
You can listen to the complete album HERE
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A BLACK AND WHITE STATION
Il Viaggio (The journey) is the third album by Murple, a Roman band whose roots date back to the seventies. It was released in 2014 on the independent label AMS/Btf with a renewed line up featuring historic members Pier Carlo Zanco (piano, keyboards, vocals), Duilio Sorrenti (drums, percussion) and Mario Garbarino (bass) along with the new recruits Mauro Arnò (guitars) and Claudia D'Ottavi (vocals).After a long hiatus, the band came back to life in 2007 and in 2008 released a long awaited second album, Quadri di un'esposizione, followed by a good live activity. In my opinion this new work is better than the previous one, here the mix between vintage and modern sounds is more calibrated and all the new compositions are convincing and well performed. Forty years have passed since the wonderful 1974 debut album Io Sono Murple,but the band is still alive and kicking and the new members are able to give new energy to the overall sound with excellent results.
The opener "Il viaggio" (The journey) begins by a short acoustic guitar intro. The guitar is played with a bottleneck and this is rather unusual for an Italian prog album... Then the other instruments come in and conjure up the black and white images of an old railway station. The lyrics compare life to a metaphorical journey where everyone has a train to take. There are so many rails, stations, connections, the other passengers are ever changing, someone gets out while others come in... No one can know where his journey will end but one day you will hear your train slackening and you'll arrive in a black and white station lost in the mist, from where you won't set off any more...
Next comes the beautiful, mysterious "Alejandra". The title seems to refer to a charming woman of Hispanic ancestry while the music blends dark keyboards passages with more solar parts where electric guitar and synthesizer bring a touch of joyful lightness evoking the suggestive evolutions of a dance under the full moon.
According to the band, the following "Nani e clown" (Dwarfs and clown) was composed in 1973 and performed live at the Be-In festival in Naples. Starting from an old tape, the band re-arranged and properly recorded it in the studio breathing a new life into this piece that describes in music and words an acrobat who walks on a tightrope during a circus show. Dwarfs and clowns are his only family and he enjoys the spotlight when he puts his life at stake for the delight of the public... The music goes through many changes in mood and rhythm underlying the acrobat's feelings and the emotions of the crowd gathered below him... Excellent!
Next comes the calm, dreamy "Angelika", an instrumental track that could make you think of a wonderful woman in the ethereal, breathtaking atmosphere of a Nordic landscape. It leads to the melancholic "Per una volta" (For once) where the music and lyrics depict a proud, vain man without ideals who is wasting his days looking for something that does not exist... The charming voice of Claudia D'Ottavi warns him to change and to break down the wall that he has built around him before it's too late.
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| Murple on stage 2012 |
Then it's the turn of "La battaglia" (The battle), a sumptuous instrumental track with baroque echoes and a lively pace that conjures up the image of an army on its way to the battlefield... Then the ironic "Sirene" (Sirens) ends the album. A beautiful voice warns you that nowadays sirens are not half-women and half-fish as in the old lores and legends but they can still threaten and kill evil men with their spells. They were born from a beautiful woman in love, cheated by her husband who pushed her from a high cliff. Instead of dying into the sea, the woman was transformed into a siren... Now her spawn look like every other woman but they're hungry of vengeance: beware! If you listen to their singing you'll die!
On the whole, this is a very nice album that's really worth listening to (despite the dangers evoked by the final song!). The art cover by Cesare Pietroiusti portrays the shapes of three men, three ghosts coming from afar but still able to give us some excellent music. I really hope that this will not be the last leg of their journey and I'm looking forward to Murple's next work.
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ALTERED STATES
Posidonian Fields is the third album by Taproban, a band from Rome formed in 1996. It was released in 2006 on the independent label Mellow Records with a line up featuring Gianluca De Rossi (keyboards), Guglielmo Mariotti (bass, guitars, vocals) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion). It's a concept album containing three long suites that tell about a journey through an imaginary submarine abyss, a metaphorical one way trip in the subconscious. The lyrics by Davide Guidoni are loosely based on Altered States, a 1980 American science fiction-horror film directed by Ken Russell and are based on a novel by the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky about a sensory deprivation research conducted in isolation tanks under the influence of psychoactive drugs. Davide Guidoni took also charge of the art work that in some way depicts the content of the album... Anyway here words, images and notes are like touches of colour used to stir your imagination and you have to fill the gaps. As for the music, every now and again the overall sound could recall bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Le Orme, with the use of a wide range of vintage instruments such as Hammond C3 organ or Minimoog, but the song-writing is brilliant the final result perfectly fits the storyline.
The first suite, "Chapter One: Immersion", is divided into three parts and begins softly, with the narrative vocals in Greek and the mysterious atmosphere of "EvapZis". The second part, "Immersion", begins by a dreamy acoustic guitar arpeggio and floating vocals to bid farewell to reality... The one way journey to the unknown begins while colourful psychedelic images appear and melt during the long dive into the submarine kingdom of Poseidon... On the third part, "Caronte’s Ship Imponderability", the rhythm rises while frenzied keyboards waves and rough, nervous bass lines take you across the Styx to a kind of blue hell...
The second suite, "Chapter Two: Suspension", is divided into four parts and begins by the surreal calm of "Riding in Posidonian Fields" that depicts in music and lyrics the meeting with a strange creature. A strummed acoustic guitar pattern reminds you that the ocean is like a desert with its life underground where you can find nameless seahorses and other creatures riding into the blue... The second part is the instrumental "Entwinings" that conjures up the image of a mysterious dance into the deep and fades into "Suspension" where you can hear the echoes of a choir of submerged voices coming from a world that you can't reach. Then you relax, you get lost in your dreams, among corals and fishes you become someone or something else in a kind of new Genesis... The fourth part, "Octopus!", suggest what could be the result of this metamorphosis...
The last suite, "Chapter Three: Oblivion", is divided into three parts and begins by the dark, nightmarish "Uncontrolled Dreams", where you risk to get trapped behind a series of doors corroded by time... The rhythm is frenzied and the tension is higher and higher while you seem unable to climb out from the abyss... Well, an altered state of consciousness is a condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state and the expression describes induced changes in one's mental state, almost always temporary... But beware! Sometimes there's no way out and the following part "No Return" marks a new awareness while you realize that you can't turn back and that it's too late to escape from the fog of your subconscious. The mystical final part, "Farewell (including Rebirth)", marks the beginning of a new journey towards the eternal mystery of the afterlife while your soul spreads beyond the infinite...
On the whole, an interesting concept and a very nice album, although I think that's a pity that the band did not exploit their mother language for the lyrics as in their previous works.
You can listen to the complete album HERE
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SICKLE, HAMMER AND GUNS
Area had been one of he most important bands of the Italian prog scene of the seventies. Their debut album, “Arbeit Macht Frei”, was released in 1973 on Cramps with a line-up featuring Demetrio Stratos (vocals, organ), Patrizio Fariselli (piano, keyboards) Giulio Capiozzo (drums), Patrick Djivas (bass), Paolo Tofani (guitar, synthesizers) and Victor Eduard Busnello (sax and reeds). The musicians came from different experiences and the overall sound of the band was an incredible and “revolutionary” cocktail of influences ranging from Mediterranean folk to free jazz and rock, always characterized by a strong political commitment. Their producer and advisor Gianni Sassi, co-founder of the independent label Cramps, took care of the lyrics and of the art cover and could be considered a kind of guru for the band, almost an additional member. Thanks to him the band could meet and collaborate with some exponents of the artistic avant-garde as John Cage. Area’s music is challenging and never banal, the lyrics are strong and in some way shocking but never vulgar...
The “explosive” opener “Luglio, agosto, settembre (nero)” (July, August, black September) deals with the Palestinian issue and terrorism and was inspired by the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. It’s a seminal, controversial track, but it’s not exactly a song against terrorism. It begins with female narrative vocals in Arab (1). “Forget your rage / Forget your pain / Drop your weapons / Come with me my darling / Come with me, let’s live / Our cover will be the peace...” (2). Then, on a progression of organ chords the particular voice of Demetrio Stratos soars describing the horror of powerful politicians playing dangerous games and the consequences of their acts... “To play with the world / Smashing it into pieces / Children that the sun / Has already turned into old men...”. Then follows a section inspired by a Balkan melody where the vocals state the refusal of resignation and of an unbearable peace that is the equivalent of submission... “It’s not my fault if your reality / Compels me to move war to this guilty silence / Perhaps one day we will know / What it means / To drown in the blood the whole humankind... Read in history all my pain / Look at my people / Who do not want to die... It’s not my fault if your reality / Compels me to move war against humankind...”. A chaotic section follows before a more melodic part and an instrumental reprise of the previous “Balkan” melody. In the early seventies Area supported the extreme left wing Italian movements that were characterized by strong anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism. In the lyrics what prevails is a feeling of empathy with terrorists. Times have changed and today former members of Area point out that they are now against every form of violence but also that the problems generating the hate leading to terrorist attacks are not solved. To complement comprehension of this track I could suggest seeing Seven Spielberg’s film “Munich”...
“Arbeit macht frei” (Work makes you free) is a track against capitalism. In the booklet you can see a picture which portrays an elegant businessman with the head of a bird of prey and the words “Arbeit macht frei”. This slogan was placed at the entrances of a number of Nazi concentration camps but here it could refer to modern factories where workers are employed on assembly lines and treated as slaves. The piece opens with a drum solo and experimental sounds, then a repetitive bass pattern comes in. Try to imagine Charlie Chaplin in “Modern Times” while listening to the frantic rhythm section and to the sax evolutions... “In your miseries you will recognize / The meaning of an Arbeit macht frei / Bleak economy, daily humility / Always push you towards an Arbeit macht frei / Awareness will make you see / One more time / What is Arbeit macht frei...”.
“Consapevolezza” (Awareness) is a dramatic call to revolution. Jazz rock and exotic atmospheres lead to a hypnotic rhythm pattern from where suggestive vocals soar inviting you to take a lift and go up in the sky, open your eyes and see what’s happening on earth... “You will see all the bleak reality... All the love reduced to nothing... Smash merciless against the wall / Your morality that wants to keep you imprisoned among mediocrities... Start up and take power!”.
“Le labbra del tempo” (The lips of time) is another great, complex track featuring jazz and Mediterranean suggestions where the voice of Demetrio Stratos is perfectly at ease. It’s an obscure reflection about life, time and the need to fight for your rights overcoming fears and superstitions... “Inside me / I feel that a deaf rage is rising...”.
“240 chilometri da Smirne” (240 kilometres from Izmir) is an instrumental jazz rock track where all the musicians are allowed to showcase their great musicianship.
The last track, “L’abbattimento dello Zeppelin” (The shooting down of the Zeppelin), is conceived as a criticism against the music business and depicts conceited, haughty bands flying through the sky swollen by the wind, drunk with power. Here the vocals are ironic and theatrical... “Everyone says that it’s my fault / Everyone plays with the body deflated by the wind / That has no memory / Everyone says that it’s my fault / The wind says that I will die...”.
(1) In the booklet they say that the voice was “stolen from a Museum in Cairo” although some other sources say that the voice was that of an Arab girl, a strip-tease dancer who used to work in Milan near the studios where the album was recorded. See D. CODUTO, Il libro degli Area, Auditorium, Milano, 2005, p. 70
You can listen to the complete album HERE
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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Pollution is Franco Battiato's second album and was released in 1973 on the independent label Bla Bla Records. During the recording sessions Franco Battiato took charge of vocals and synthesizers and the line up was completed by Gianni Mocchetti (bass, vocals), Gianfranco D'Adda (drums, percussion), Roberto Cacciapaglia (synthesizer, piano) and Mario "Ellepi" Dalla Stella (guitars, vocals). This album, as its predecessor Fetus, features a provocative art work by Italian graphic artist and cultural agitateur Gianni Sassi. The inner sleeve contains a picture of the band with Gianni Sassi and his wife and the mysterious copy of a manifesto of an imaginary agency, the International Centre of Magnetic Studies, announcing an experiment that would have switched off for twenty-four hours all the internal combustion engines circulating in Italy...
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| art cover |
As you can guess the content of the music and lyrics involves environmental issues and a poignant criticism against the industrialized world. Anyway, despite the subject matter, this is probably the most easy and accessible album of Franco Battiato's "prog period". Here all the tracks are bound together and form a long suite with recurring themes holding it together. The opener "Il silenzio del rumore" (The silence of the noise) begins by the echoes of a Viennese waltz by Strauss, then comes Battiato's recitative voice that in some way tries to wake you up from a sleepy, passive life-style characterized by addiction to noise and where people don't think with their own head and can't perceive the importance of being free and independent... "Have you ever been wondering / What is your function?". A "percussive" rhythm guitar and a church organ follow and lead to the sonic explosion of "31 dicembre 1999 - ore 9", just a few seconds of musique concrete. In the aftermath the sound of keyboards introduces the theme of the following "Areknames", that goes on with strange vocals and "experimental" lyrics written in "reverse style" (for example Areknames = Se mancherà).
It leads to "Beta", where you can listen to sound effects and recitative vocals that conjure up a "mystical mood" while the piano plays some notes of the previous theme. The lyrics are based upon the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In the novel, from birth, people are genetically designed to fit into one of five castes, which are further split into 'Plus' and 'Minus' members and designed to fulfil predetermined positions within the social and economic strata of the World State. Fetuses chosen to become members of the highest castes, 'Alpha' and 'Beta', are allowed to develop naturally and are given stimulants while maturing to term in 'decanting bottles'. Fetuses chosen to become members of the lower castes of 'Gamma', 'Delta' or 'Epsilon' are subjected to in situchemical interference to cause arrested development in intelligence and physical growth. Here we can listen for a moment to the voice of a happy Beta, interpreted by Franco Battiato with poignant irony. A short orchestral passage taken from a symphonic poem by Smetana ends the first side of the original Lp while a question arises... "Inside of me some micro organisms live my identical life without knowing that they belong to my body / I, what body do I belong to ?".
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| inner sleeve |
The second side of the original album is divided into three tracks. The first is the dark, surreal "Plancton" that describes in music a words a kind of evolution in reverse, a regression from the human form to the shape of a strange sea creature. Hands become scales, hair become algae... Then a weird "space tarantella" passage leads on a solitary beach where you can hear the sound of the waves... Here you can listen to a nice, dreamy melody and to a strummed acoustic guitar, then soaring vocals evoke formulas used in physics and engineering, fluids dynamics and hydrometry... In fact, on the next track, "Pollution", the music and lyrics conjure up magnetic fields and expanding gas in a world formed by atoms and molecules that follow the rules of physics. The melancholic instrumental "Ti sei mai chiesto che funzione hai?" (Have you ever been wondering what is your function?) ends the album mixing regretful laments and whining with echoes of classical music. It seems to forecast a gloomy fate for a human race victim of his knowledge and technology...
Franco Battiato: Pollution (1973). Other opinions:
Michael Berry: A step forward here? oh yes.. take an afternoon and listen to his albums chronologically. Fetus was mainly a showcase and a first draft if you will for Battiato and his minimalist aspirations for composition and instrumentation. His VCS3 was the 'star' of the album... other instruments were mainly for texture other than the violin of Cariocinesi. Here, both compositionally and of curse in instrumentation Battiato has stepped forward... A wonderful album with some POWERFUL moments and I find the contrast this album represents fascinating. Highly recommended and may be the best place for new fans of Battiato to start... (read the complete review HERE)
Jim Russell: This is pure RPI (in spirit, if not in peer conformity) with all of the experimental flair so common in the genre, influenced by spacey English psych and Krautrock I would guess. Battiato's first three albums are all very high quality but different enough to make each essential listening for RPI fans in search of a deep collection. He is certainly more eccentric and weird than the symphonic giants like Orme, so if you are an RPI noob, be warned he may take some getting used to. But if you like outlandish sounds and trippy aural festivities, Battiato will not disappoint you... (read the complete review HERE)
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PLANET WOMAN
I Dik Dik were formed in Milan in 1965 by Pietruccio Montalbetti (guitar, bass vocals), Giancarlo Sbriziolo (guitar, vocals), Erminio Salvaderi (guitar, vocals), Mario Totaro (keyboards) and Sergio Panno (drums). They have been active for more than forty years and were very successful in Italy during the late sixties and early seventies thanks to their collaboration with Lucio Battisti and Mogol and thanks to the Italian versions of songs like “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum or “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas And Papas. They have always been just a beat and pop band and “Suite per una donna assolutamente relativa” is their only true progressive effort. The album was released in 1972 (a period when almost everybody in Italy seemed to go crazy for prog) but it was a commercial flop so, after this album, the band turned back and took another musical direction.
“Suite per una donna assolutamente relativa” is a concept work featuring lyrics by the eclectic artist of Jewish origins Herbert Pagani. It was conceived as a musical and poetical journey through “planet woman”: the female body here is compared to an unknown world to explore, both physically and spiritually... The music was composed by keyboardist Mario Totaro and it’s an excellent mix of progressive rock and Italian melody.
The opener is the melodic, light “Donna paesaggio” (Woman Landscape). A man is flying over a strange planet, “Woman landscape / I’m flying over you with caresses / And along my journey I can see lands, lakes, mountains and the mirage of my happiness / I will sing of you / Like a Greek poet of the ancient times... And my voice will be a hymn to your naked freedom...”. The music is rich and features beautiful touches of church-like organ and mellotron...
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| I Dik Dik |
On the second track “Il viso” (The Face) our “hero” comes down with his parachute landing in a forest of “hair-trees”, then he explores the brows surrounding “two lakes of blue water” (the eyes), then the nose, the ears... “I can already see your lips on the horizon / Your mouth is smiling to me / And your smile reveals a city / Atlantis of light that kills me... And to know a little bit more / I breathe awhile / Then I dive and go down...”.
The sound of the moog marks a change in atmosphere that becomes darker in the next track “Il cuore” (The Heart). “Like a cast-away on his raft / I’m sailing down, along your veins...”, our hero is now flushed away by brooks of phosphorescent blood... “I hear the thunder of a factory / The central engine of the heart appears enormous to me / I can see red Niagara falls swallowing me...”. The rhythm becomes frenzied, the mood dramatic but our “explorer” awakes alive, wet and out of danger because the heart let him break through...
A short interlude leads to the “Cathedral Of Love”... “I’m climbing stairways of placenta / As if by magic I feel a body who is singing for me unknown Ave Marias / Cathedral of Love, cathedral of love / My heart beats fast but I go on...”. Well, the lyrics describing the womb are a little bit bizarre (to say the least!) but the music is really good, here almost mystic I dare say, featuring excellent harmony vocals...
Next track, “Gambe” (Legs), describes the dizziness provoked by a “walking continent” on the streets of a city. “The earth is trembling / New danger / Legs of woman / White vertigo... When you walk in the city / It’s like a forest / That goes in a desert of concrete...”. Here the rhythm rises sprinkled with flashes of moog, then melts into a nice short pastoral interlude (the instrumental “Suite relativa”).
“Monti e valli” (Mountains and Valleys) is a bright, happy ballad and the subject matter is, as you can guess, the bosom... “I see pyramids and coliseums... Mountains and valleys of the youth / My hands are caressing you / Like ocean waves / My fingers are like horses breaking into gallop upon you...”.
Next comes the delicate, sweet “I sogni” (The dreams) that tries to describe in music and words the dreams of a woman as the souvenirs of a childhood, the nightmares of the war, the wounds of past lovers that consciousness tries to hide. “I dream your dreams...”. In my opinion this is the best track on this album.
The next track “La notte” (The night) tries to describe the act of procreation. Tense vocals soar over a beautiful piano pattern counter pointed by the sound of the moog... The poetry of the lyrics is perhaps a little bit clumsy and naive but the overall result is not so bad.
“Sintesi” is a reprise of the opening theme and it concludes a particular, interesting album... “Woman poetry / You are a miracle of rhythm and harmony / You are the most fragile fortress on earth / You resist the world but love will open you / And from the country of your body new lives will blossom / Until life will be...”.
I don’t think that this is an essential album but it is a very good one and it would have deserved a better destiny. On the whole I think that this work is more ironic than pretentious, as the funny art cover, and it’s really worth listening to. It was re-released on CD in 2003 by BMG with a nice paper sleeve reproducing the original LP jacket and I’m sure that Italian prog lovers will love it...
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A NEW MOON AND OLD MEMORIES
Aurora Lunare come from Livorno and began life in 1978 on the initiative of a bunch of friends in love with the music of bands such as EL&P, Yes, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme or Area just to name but a few. In that period progressive rock was on the wane but the band went against the tide and remained active on the local scene until the end of the eighties. In those years they hadn't the chance to release an album and it wasn't until 2006 that Aurora Lunare could manage to self-release a double CD with their non-professional old recordings to keep the memory of the band alive. In 2007 a real reunion followed and after years of hard, passionate work in 2013 the band finally released an official eponymous debut album on the independent label Lizard Records with a line up featuring Mauro Pini (vocals, keyboards), Luciano Tonetti (bass), Marco Santinelli (drums) and Stefano Onorati (piano, keyboards, electric guitar). During the recording sessions they were helped by many guests such as Tolo Marton (guitar), Gianluca Milanese (flute), Alessandro Corvaglia (guitar, vocals), Corrado Pezzini (synth-vocals), Graziano Di Sacco (vocal effects), Nicola Santinelli (classical guitar), Greta Merli (vocals) and Valentina Cantini (violin) who contributed to add more colours to the musical palette of the band. The result is excellent and I'm sure that Italian progressive rock lovers will not be disappointed by this album. By the way, in the booklet you'll find many pictures and some paintings by Luciano Tonetti that describe the content of the music and lyrics...
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| album cover |
The beautiful opener "Evasione di un'idea" (Escape of an idea) begins by a marching beat that seems coming out from the mists of the past. In fact, according to the liner notes, the first part of this track is taken from an old tape containing a live recording from 1980 but after a minute and a half the mist gives way to a brilliant symphony of lights and shadows evoking the eternal struggle between dreams and reality, youth and maturity. As a gust of wind blowing away the cry of a man, an idea rises over the void that surrounds you. It shouts, trying to erode heavy metaphorical stones and negative memories and you can feel that soon a song of joy will break through, one day or another...
The following "Eroi invincibili... son solo i pensieri" (Invincible heroes... They are just thoughts) is in the same mood and begins by a piano solo pattern, then soaring melodic lines and heartfelt vocals lead your through indescribable landscapes where you can find lost temples and wide meadows burnt by the fire of a thousand emotions. You have to walk the beaten tracks, crawling on layers of madness and taking the risk of drowning in the sea of your lost chances... A church like organ solo passage ends this track and introduces the next one, the wonderful instrumental "Mondo fantasmatico" (Phantasmatic world) where you can let your imagination run free following the notes of a magic flute until you get lost in time and space.
"Riflessi indicativi" (Indicative reflexes) draws in music and words a surreal tableau reflecting images of distant worlds in the morning light. You can see black corals, crystal nets and strange buildings all around you while your memories start to get blurred... Then comes the dark, crazy experimentalism of "Corsa senza meta" (Running without a goal), an instrumental digression where dreams seem to turn into nightmares.
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| Aurora Lunare 2013 |
On "Secondo dubbio" (Second doubt) the rhythm rises again and the atmosphere is definitively brighter. The music and the hermetic lyrics conjure up images of hope shining through an suffucating mist and old memories from a tormented past. The following "Interlunio" is a short instrumental track for organ and flute that leads to another beautiful instrumental, the dreamy "Sfera onirica" (Oneiric sphere). The final track, "All'infuori del tempo / Ritorno al nulla" is a cover taken from Le Orme's masterpiece Felona e Sorona and represents a tribute to one of Aurora Lunare's most important sources of inspiration. It's enhanced by the presence of former Le Orme's guitarist Tolo Marton and by the female vocals of Greta Merli.
On the whole, this is an excellent album where historic pieces from the old repertoire of the band and some new tracks have been arranged and performed with painstaking care and great musicianship for the pleasure of the listener: a must-have for every Italianprog fan!
Aurora Lunare: Aurora Lunare (2013). Other opinions:
Michael "Aussie-Byrd-Brother": 'Aurora Lunare' is everything a symphonic progressive rock fan could ask for, and with setting the bar so high for a debut release, one has to wonder where the band can can go from here. Not bad for a group already over thirty five years into their career! Better late than never, and if this is what the band could have achieved back in the vintage era of the 70's, they'd possibly be being talked about as something very special from the heyday of the RPI genre now... (read the complete review HERE)
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PHOENIX AGAIN
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LOGOS
Live in Castel Mella (BS)
May 22, 2015
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FABIO ZUFFANTI AND Z BAND
Live in Savona
May 8, 2015
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https://www.facebook.com/events/886506524729606/
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A MULTIFORM BEAST
After the long awaited 2012 debut album Quanah!, the Venetian band Quanah Parker came back in 2015 with a second work and a renewed line up featuring Riccardo Scivales (keyboards), Elisabetta Montino (vocals), Giovanni Pirrotta (electric and acoustic guitars, bass), Paolo Ongaro (drums, percussion) and Alessandro Monti (bass, recorder, bells, tabla, claves, triangle). The new album was released on the independent label M.P. & Records and it's titled Suite degli animali fantastici. According to the liner notes, the main course of the album is a long suite sung in Italian that was inspired by a friend, Edward J. Shanaphy who came with the idea of writing an album about some fantastic beasts. The initial idea was then developed by the band's leader and composer Riccardo Scivales with the help of lyricist and multi-instrumentalist Alessandro "Unfolk" Monti who, identifying these "fantasy creatures" as projections of a human mind, imagined them setting off on a fascinating journey through space and time to finally come back to their creator. The whole band contributed to refine and complete the music and lyrics adding colours and emotions to make the dream come true. In my opinion, the result is amazing!
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| Quanah Parker 2014 |
The hypnotic opener "From Distant Lands" is not part of the suite but perfectly fits the subject matter and represents a wonderful introduction to the album. It begins softly and you can feel an exotic magnetism in the air. Then you can hear the soaring song of a mermaid playing with her hair under the water and through the light. She's smiling...
Then comes the long, complex "Suite degli animali fantastici" (Suite of the fantastic beasts) that is divided into eight parts and starts with the dreamy "Risveglio Onirico" (Oneiric awakening) where the music and the narrative vocals conjure up gentle waves breaking on the shore of a fantastic island on a timeless sunny morning. Here, slowly a dream comes to life, sneaking its way through imagination and reality, coming out from the threshold of sleep... On the second part, "Danza di un mattino" (Morning dance), the rhythm rises and there's an electric atmosphere while Elisabetta Montino gives voice to the fruit of a sensory illusion that begins to move around in an ecstatic dance. "Interludio Notturno" (Nocturnal interlude) is a short, dreamy passage featuring male and female vocals evoking an invisible beast hiding in the shadows, under the moon, keeper of a mysterious secret... The following "Déjà Vu Fantastico" (Fantastic Déjà Vu) is brighter and the soaring vocals take you up in the air, across the sky and beyond the borders of myth, where echoes of past lives resound and you get lost among strange, ever-changing shapes. Two eyes are staring at you, shining like stones of light...
"Luci dagli Abissi" (Lights from the abyss) is a calm instrumental passage the leads to the mysterious "Cantico Marino" (Sea song) where you can almost hear the breath and the voice of talking dolphins. You're getting lost in an illusion of eternal life, you can't stop sinking into another dimension... The music and lyrics of the following part "Animale Multiforme" (Multiform beast) depict a beast that can breath into the abyss of memory and that can generate a rainbow in the air just by a twist of its tail. It can fly beyond the clouds and through the galaxies and now it's running, leaving its tracks in the labyrinth of your mind... The last part, "Ritorno alla Mente" (Back to the mind) marks the end of this cathartic dream painting the awakening with soft, autumnal colours. The dream is gone but something remains: illusions, fantastic stories, tangled thoughts under the rain and a new awareness... What a wonderful suite! Perfectly at ease with her native language, Elisabetta Montino vocals can be ethereal and powerful in the meantime and her theatrical approach here underlines the visionary strength of the music and lyrics with great effectiveness. Moreover, not only did she interpret the storyline with her vocal performances but also with images since she also took charge of the drawings for the beautiful art work.
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| Quanah Parker on stage |
After the "fantastic suite" comes a tribute to Francesco Di Giacomo, the late vocalist of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso who passed away in 2014. "A Big Francesco" (To Big Francesco) is a melancholic instrumental track filled with emotion and poignant nostalgia that recalls the best moments of the Roman band now kept alive by Vittorio Nocenzi.
Well, so far so good! Unfortunately, the last two tracks, "Death Of A Deer" and "Make Me Smile" are not at the same level of the rest of the album and sound to my ears almost like fillers or bonus tracks. Both are sung in English, the first one is a long piece with some folksy passages where Elisabetta Montino tries to give voice to the feelings of a hunted deer while the latter is a love song with a jazzier mood. Anyway, do not worry: the last two tracks do not spoil the pleasure of listening to this beautiful work! Have try, I'm sure it will be an excellent addition to every prog collection!
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AND THE MUSIC GOES...
Posto Blocco 19 (the name means Check-point 19) began life in the province of Parma in 1972 under the name Collettivo Musicale Collecchiese on the initiative of a group of friends in love with the music of bands such as Premiata Forneria Marconi, Santana or Deep Purple. The band had been active until 1983 but during their early days they never had the chance to release an album and their only record was a single released in 1981, when progressive rock was considered a genre completely out of fashion. After a long hiatus the band came back to life in 2005 but it wasn't until 2014 that they could release a first full length album on the independent label Lizard Records. It's titled "Motivi di sempre" and collects the band's most significant pieces re-arranged and some new tracks recorded with a renewed line up featuring along with founder members Raimondo Fantuzzi (guitar, vocals) and Vittorio Salvi (drums) also Francesca Campagna (vocals), Massimo Casaro (bass), Stefano Savi (percussion) and Graziano De Palma (keyboards). The result of their efforts is excellent and the beautiful art work taken from some paintings by Teo De Palma (father of the keyboardist) in some way reflects the music and lyrics with its soft colours and dreamy mood.
The opener "A un passo dal cielo (suite 1)" (One step to the sky) is a brilliant instrumental track that recalls the best tradition of Italian Progressive Rock and takes you back in time with its positive energy, its warm organ waves and the soaring electric guitar solos...
The following "E la musica va" (And the music goes) was originally released in 1981 and here is dressed up in new colours and revitalized by the new line up. It's a song about racism and multi-ethnic conflicts and some melodic lines remind me of an Italian band called I Nomadi. The lyrics conjure up the images of shooting men, soldiers in an unwanted war who are nothing but pawns in the game of mischievous, unscrupulous politicians. Blacks and poor people do not fear to get killed, they're just blood and tears, love and death... Try to imagine the corpse of one of these men lying in the dust. He was just a tramp, a poet, a free spirit who used to fly high on the wings of love. The evocative music and the soaring vocals tell about hate and nostalgia mixing the colours of a scared painter...
Next comes the dreamy "All'alba del giorno dopo" (At dawn on the day after) that invites you to stop running after this crazy, busy world and to enjoy your life seizing every fleeting moment. The visionary lyrics tell that you can let your dreams drive... The past is gone but you can ride on new horizons towards crystal lakes, you can travel through far deserts and clear skies until you'll find in a legendary treasure box the ancient fairy tales that will make you lord of the castle of triumph allowing you to tame new planets on the course of your flying ships...
"Scandendo il tempo" (Beating time) was originally released in 2011 on the Musea-Colossus compilation "Decameron Part 1". This piece was re-recorded in 2014 by the new line up and the vocalist Francesca Campagna here brings new energies and freshness. It starts softly, the mood is dreamy and the music is calm while the poetical lyrics deal with the relativity of time and space. Try to imagine the wind riding raging sea waves in the dark while the borders between reality and imagination get blurred... Then image some flocks of birds on the wires: they are like notes coming from deep throats while they're looking at falling stars and distant planets, sparks in an abstract universe...
Then comes the beautiful instrumental "A un passo dal cielo (suite 2)" that in some way closes the circle of your daydreams and takes you back to Earth with its delicate Mediterranean flavours and Latin rhythms.
The last piece, "L'ultima acqua" (The last water), is credited as a bonus track and was originally released in 2010 on another Musea-Colossus compilation, "The Divine Comedy Part III - Dante's Paradiso". It was remastered in 2014 and features Bernardo Lanzetti (vocals) and Giancarlo Di Bella (keyboards). The band here interpret with heartfelt passion and personality the spirit of the immortal lines by the sommo poeta... "On the edge of the last water seize the hope / At the right time many will return...". A great track!
On the whole, I think that this is a really good album. Every now and again the music could recall bands such as Premiata Fornaria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Il Castello di Atlante but Posto Blocco 19 are not just emulators playing by rote and they do not sound derivative. I'm sure that this album will be an excellent addition to any Italianprog collection!
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THE BRAND OF THE WITCH
Strigmais the fourth studio album by the Roman band Taproban. It was released in 2013 on the French label Musea Records with a renewed line up featuring, along with founder member and main composer Gianluca De Rossi (keyboards, flute, vocals), a brand new rhythm section formed by Roberto Vitelli (bass, electric guitar, synthesizer) and Francesco Pandico (drums, percussion) who replaced Guglielmo Mariotti and Davide Guidoni. According to the band, the title is a crasisthat blends two Latin words: strix(witch) and stigma(brand). It was inspired by the idea of the element of fire associated with women and in some way this concept was developed through music, images and words. The album is almost completely instrumental but the beautiful art cover by Daniela Ventrone and the art work by Gianluca De Rossi that you can find in the booklet can give you a clue of what the music is about. Well, the overall sound could recall bands such as Le Orme, Goblin or Banco del Mutuo Soccorso but the band showcase great personality and freshness blending vintage sounds and original ideas...
The long, complex opener "Nesia al notturno congresso delle streghe" (Nesia at the night meeting of the witches) alternates calm, dreamy passages to fiery sections where obscure energies and warm colours take you in the whirls of the infernal dance portrayed by the painting on the cover, entitled “La Danza delle fiamme” (Dance of the flames). There are no lyrics but in the booklet you can find a drawing that describes this track with a mysterious blackbird perched on the branch of a spectral tree and below some words in Latin: concurrentia ad maleficia nefandissima in genus humanum opera venefica... Welcome to the Sabbath! Anyway, do not expect black metal growls or frenzied heavy riffs, here the music goes through many changes in atmosphere and rhythm but never leaves its oneiric, almost poetical dimension and there's more mysticism than violence or luxury in this esoteric dance.
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| Taproban on stage 2014 |
Next comes the instrumental "Lo sguardo di Emily" (Emily's glance) that starts with a sudden surge of energy. The band chose an image of Cupid's bow to describe this piece. In classical mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. His bow and arrow represent his source of power and everyone who is shot by Cupid's arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire. So you can guess that Emily is a woman burning with love and longing for a romantic waltz, her glances are like flames trying to melt the cold desert of a meaningless life... Let the music drive and let Emily's eyes draw you away for a little while!
The last track is a nearly 19 minute epic, "La porta nel buio" (The door in the dark). It's a wonderful suite divided into six parts with many changes in rhythm and atmosphere where you can listen to some fantastic keyboard passages. It starts softly, you can hear the noise of a door creaking on its hinges, the atmosphere is almost hypnotic. There's a door in the dark, but what kind of door? Are you dreaming? There's something that you can't understand... The rhythm rises, the mood is disquieting, tense. You're scared and you try to run away at breakneck speed, down the stairs... But you get lost, you're still in the dark... Will you ever see the light again? You're desperately looking for a way out that you can't find, you're freezing inside and you don't know why, you can't see where you are. Is it nightmare or reality? You're alone and Gianluca De Rossi evocative vocals lead you into the fortress of the solitude, amid rag men and broken dolls... Will you ever leave it? The last part of the suite suggests that there's a way to escape and that you can break through... A great track! Although Le Orme influence looms large over this piece of great spiritual and musical grace, this it is not a recreation of the past and the songwriting is absolutely brilliant...
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| Taproban on stage 2014 |
On the whole, I really like this work. If you like modern progressive rock that’s based on classic prog, you really have to check this album out!
Taproban: Strigma (2013). Other opinions:
Michael "Aussi-Byrd-Brother":"Strigma" is a triumph for lovers of the usual Italian sophistication, with complex arrangements and consumate playing, wrapped in an intoxicating darker mood that's perfect for night-time listening... (read the complete review HERE)
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RED SHADOWS
From Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock
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Goblin were formed in Rome in 1974. The line-up on their debut album, released in 1975, featured Massimo Morante (guitar, vocals), Claudio Simonetti (keyboards), Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Walter Martino (drums, percussion) who replaced the original drummer Carlo Bordini. All the members of the band had previously played in other acts such as Oliver, Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray and Seconda Generazione that never had the chance to record an album. The turning point of Goblin’s career was meeting film director Dario Argento who recruited them for the soundtrack of “Profondo rosso” (Deep Red), one of his most successful films.
Murders, blood, mystery but also music and humour are some of the ingredients of this extraordinary thriller that tells the story of an English musician, Marcus Daly (played by David Hemmings) who, after witnessing the murder of a famous psychic, gets involved in the crime investigations teaming up with a female reporter. Actually, the soundtrack was initially commissioned to Italian jazz musician Giorgio Gaslini but he didn’t fulfil his task (in that period he was involved in other projects) and the band managed to complete it in an excellent manner. The music perfectly fits the scenes on screen adding tension and rhythm to dialogues and images. Both film and score were extremely successful and the name of the band became indelibly associated with this thriller and its strong colours.
Both film and album begin with the notes of the dark, hypnotic title track, by far the best known Goblin piece. The album is completely instrumental but images can be even stronger than words... If you haven’t seen the film try to imagine a cradle tumbling down, a rag doll tortured with pins, some strange direful puppets, then marbles, knives and daggers, a single eye watching you... A face reflected in a pool of blood, deep red! “Sometimes what you really see and what you imagine getting mixed up in your memory like a cocktail and you can’t distinguish the different flavours anymore...” (1).
The next track “Death Dies” is more aggressive and is associated with scenes of murders in the film. Flashing blades and leather gloves in action, blood stains and gloomy puppets come to mind while the music flows nervous and tense...
“Mad Puppet” could recall Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” and it’s a perfect background for the exploration of a villa haunted by ghosts and dark memories or for a visit to a deserted school in the middle of the night while a psychopathic murderer is lurking...
“Wild Session” begins with sound effects and the wind blowing. There is a presence... “I feel something like a blade entering my flesh...” (2). An evil thought is still hanging in the room when the rhythm takes off on the notes of a haunting piano pattern...
“Deep Shadows” is disquieting and dark. It features peculiar percussive patterns and many changes in rhythm. Stop and listen, let your imagination drive you through a corridor full of mirrors and strange paintings... Then imagine climbing up the wall of a mysterious house looking for a missing window... It’s dark, you risk falling, be cautious while moving like a clumsy acrobat, there’s a threatening presence observing what you’re doing...
The last two tracks were composed by Giorgio Gaslini and feature orchestral arrangements. “School At Night” is a nursery rhyme that in the film is linked to the perverted mind of a serial killer. “Gianna” is light and romantic and in the film is associated to the character of female journalist Gianna Brezzi. A good way to conclude a 30 minute ride on the edge of folly.
Goblin’s debut album was not only successful but also very influential on the whole Italian music scene... A must for every Italian prog lover! By the way, the re-release on CD features unreleased tracks from the film score and from the sessions...
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(1) - (2): Words taken from a dialogue in the film
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RED AND YELLOW
Giallo! - One Suite For The Murderer is a compilation of pieces inspired by Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), a seminal thriller directed in 1975 by Dario Argento featuring a famous soundtrack by Goblin. It was released in 2008 on the independent French label Musea Records in collaboration with the Finnish Colossus. Some talented Italian artists were recruited to interpret with their own music and lyrics the scenes and the characters of the film, creating something new while paying in the same time a due tribute to Dario Argento's work, one of the best known Italian Gialli. In fact, "giallo" is an Italian word that means "yellow" but that also defines a genre of literature and film named after the colour of the cover background of a series of cheap paperback mystery novels... All the artists involved in this project showeda great respect for the film that inspired it and for its mood. Anyway, if you are not familiar with it, do not worry: the rich booklet with its nice artwork and the extended liner notes will make you understand what the music is about.
The opener is a short instrumental track, "Frammento Rosso / Intro", that sets the atmosphere. Composer and keyboardist Alfio Costa (from Prowlers, Tilion, Daal) here plays Grand piano and Minimoog with great effectiveness conveying a strong sense of mystery and tension...
Then comes the first suite, "Visions of Helga" by Dark Session. Dark Session is mainly the brainchild of composer and multi-instrumentalist Flavio Costa (from Tilion) who, with the help of his brother Alfio (keyboards) and Hamadi Trabelsi (vocals), here paints in black feelings and notes trying to explore what's behind the mind of the murderer. This piece describes the part of the film where a famous psychic, Helga Ulmann, perceives the evil presence of a serial killer during a public meeting... Through his eyes and his hands she looses her soul and her life! It's a prevalently instrumental track that, in my opinion, perfectly fits the subject matter mirroring in some way the images of the film with sounds and words.
The second suite, "Vecchi giochi" (Old Games), was provided by Leviathan, a Roman band whose roots date back to 1985. Here the line up features Fabio Amici (keyboards, Hammond), Fabio Donna (bass), Andrea Moneta (drums, electric guitar) plus the guests vocalists Pierfrancesco Drago (from Revelation and Arcadelt) and Rossella Salvucci. This piece is divided into four parts and it was inspired by the private investigations of the main character of the film, Marcus Daly. The music and the intriguing lyrics by Beatrice Pietrangeli describe this particular hunting game from the point of view of the lurking murderer rather than that of the improvised detective. So, Marcus Daly here becomes the pray. The first part, "L'avvertimento" (The warning) begins softly with organ and piano in the forefront and theatrical male vocals... The killer's house is like a piano where he composes his troubled existence, every fear is like a black and white sequence, a music from the heart that is driving him insane, he's ready to strike and he's biding his time in the dark... Thin deadly melodies soar on the second part, "L'indagine" (The investigation), delivered by the wonderful voice of Rossella Salvucci. The third part, "L'assassinio" (The murder) features a long instrumental section and the rhythm rises... Run away if you can, but beware! The killer knows where and when he can get you... The final part, "La villa" (The manor), is disquieting and darker than ever, there are some narrative vocals and a church-like choir in the background, then the music and lyrics lead you to the closed gates of mysterious, abandoned villa... A great track!
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| Floating State |
The third suite, "Suite dall'inconscio dell'assassino" (Suite from the subconscious of the murderer), is the contribute by Floating State, an experienced band from Bari featuring Marco Esposito (vocals, classical guitar, flute), Grazia Stella (sax), Mimmo Ferri (Theremin, electric piano, organ, synthesizers), Gigi Ferri (electric guitars), Francesco Antonino (electric bass) and Beatrice Birardi (drums, percussion, vibraphone). This piece is divided into ten sections and begins where the previous track left you: in front of the gate of the mysterious manor. You can hear the gate creaking on its hinges, then the music and lyrics take you in and welcome you to a nightmare where the insane instincts of the murderer, his feelings and sensations unfurl as if they were on trial in a hazy court of justice, accused by his subconscious. There's delirium and madness, evil and mercy in this outstanding track that features also some short excerpts from "School at Night (Lullaby)", from the original soundtrack of the film.
A short, evocative instrumental track by Alfio Costa, "Mirrors / Outro", ends this excellent album where the music flows away in perfect coherence without weak moments.
Various Artists: Giallo! - One Suite For The Murderer (2008). Other opinions:
Olav Martin Bjørnsen: As with all releases in what is often referred to as The Colossus Projects, this one is also an outing that should appeal most to fans of ‘70's symphonic rock, in particular those who enjoy long and elaborate epic compositions... If you enjoy intense moods and atmospheres, and find dark emotions fascinating, this is a release that should have a good chance of providing many hours of joy...(read the complete review HERE)
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Alfio and Flavio Costa:
Leviathan:
Floating State:
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A STRANGE FRONTMAN
Feat.Esserelà began life in Bologna in 2009 on the initiative of Francesco Ciampolini (keyboards), Renato Minguzzi (guitar) and Lorenzo Muggia (drums), three friends in love with vintage sounds, progressive rock, jazz, fusion, funk and many more. According to their website, the name of the band refers to an old dummy lying in their rehearsal room that they used to call, quite unceremoniously, just quell'esserelà (that creature over there). As time passed by, they began to bring the old dummy on stage as a prop meant to add humour and colour to their live performances and they began to introduce it as their frontman. After years of fun, hard work and a good live activity on the local scene, in 2015 the band released an interesting debut album on the independent label Joe Frassino Records, distributed in collaboration with Lizard Records.
The album title, "Tuorl", and the art cover by Michele Tomasini recall a living yolk, a kind of nucleus of vital energy in fieri, but you don't have to take too seriously this concept. In fact, what prevails in this completely instrumental work is a strong fun-loving attitude that is also mirrored by the ironic, non sense titles of the eleven tracks and by the funny pictures and drawings that you can find in the booklet. The sparkling opener "Don't leave your dinosauri at home" sets the atmosphere with its frenzied rhythm and seventies influences, followed, in the same vein, by "Anche cotoletta" (Some cutlet as well), "Il nostro batterista ha un buco nella gamba" (Our drummer has hole in the leg) and "Canguros de la ventana" (Kangaroos at the window). In my opinion, these pieces could form a perfect score for an old Italian poliziottesco film full of car chases and breathtaking rides through the streets of Milan or Rome...
On "S.r.l.à" the rhythm calms down for a while, the atmosphere becomes darker, almost spacey, then the music takes off again towards new heights and horizons. The following "No ( )" is longer, more complex but never boring. In the booklet the band thank artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Stefano Bollani and Claude Debussy for the inspiration of these last two tracks but in my opinion the band's songwriting is brilliant and personal and I think that they fully succeeded in mixing different influences into a new, tasteful brew.
"/°\ \°/ /°\ \°/ /°\ \°/" starts with a weird funky rhythm, then evolves into something else through psychedelic rides and sudden changes of mood. The following "What a (tetra) pack" is lively and brisk and leads to the more complex "Un duettrè qqua" and "Stichituffelpa rampa esserelà tum perugià", two excellent tracks driving you through a colourful maze of sounds and colours. The funny live atmosphere of "Loop o' pool" and a short hidden track a cappella end this interesting album. If you like bands such as Calibro 35, La Batteria or Accordo dei Contrari, check it out!
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FATE AND DREAMS
Four Destinies is the third studio album by Alex Carpani and it confirms all the good qualities of its predecessors, Waterline (2007) and The Sanctuary(2010). It was recorded with a line up featuring Alex Carpani (piano, Hammond, Mellotron, Moog, vocals), David Jackson (sax, flute), Ettore Salati (electric and acoustic guitar, bouzouki, balalaika), Giambattista Giorgi (bass), Alessandro Di Caprio (drums) and Joe Sal (vocals) and produced by Cristiano Roversi who engineered, mixed and mastered all the pieces. The album was finally released in 2014 on the independent Festival Music label with a nice packaging and an art cover reproducing a statue by Michelangelo Pistoletto, The Etruscan, from the Forth Worth Museum collection. According to the liner notes, this is aconcept album based on four eventual destinies that a man can find on the path of his life: four destinies that irradiate, moving from the same point, in four different directions of life. To be honest, the concept is not very clear: the lyrics alternate parts in English and in Italian and do not try to tell a story but rather conjure up images adding more colours to the four musical tableaux on the album, the rest is up to your imagination! Four destinies, four long tracks with many changes in rhythm and mood, very rich in ideas and musical colours well performed by an excellent team of musicians...
The beautiful opener, "The Silk Road", takes you on a long journey through valleys and deserts, following the ancient tracks of merchants and adventurers such as Marco Polo. It's a road that marks the destiny of many different people in a melting-pot of races, colours, smells and sounds... A road that crosses the borders between science and faith, where you can hear secret stories whispered by silent shadows under the moonlight...
"Time Spiral" takes you on the mountains where you can sit on the banks of a brook and bathe in the icy waters of the springs of Time. There you can get lost in the mystery of life, you can feel the weight of your days passing by like dust and sand carried away by the current... But a threatening storm is approaching and the rage of the wind will soon blow away everything around you in the crazy spiral of a deadly fate...
"Sky And Sea" begins softly and features some dark passages that recall Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. The music and lyrics take you on a boat sailing across raging waters under a thundering storm in a dark night... You've got to gather all your energies and fight hard for your life against the fury of the elements. At last the storm calms down, you see a lighthouse and you can breathe the smells of a seaport, you can reach a safe harbour. Now the danger is gone but sometimes tears take a long time to dry...
"The Infinite Room" takes you on a sleepwalk through an enchanted world, as in a H.P. Lovecraft story... Your body is out of control while you're strolling through the streets of a fantastic, unreal city. At dawn the dream melts and you wake up confused by feelings, thoughts and visions that are driving you insane. You can hear a strange music that's shaking your soul... "The sound of weird lyric melody was what aroused me. Chords, vibrations, and harmonic ecstasies echoed passionately on every hand; while on my ravished sight burst the stupendous spectacle of ultimate beauty..."(H.P. Lovecraft, from Beyond the Wall of Sleep).
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| Alex Carpani Band 2014 |
On the whole, I think that this is a very good album: if you like bands such as Genesis or Van der Graaf Generator and Italian progressive rock, have a try! I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
Alex Carpani: Four Destinies (2014). Other opinions:
Jerry Lucky: The music of Alex Carpani is best described as classic Italian Symphonic Progressive Rock and he has all the musical elements in place humming like a precision clock. You hear old or classic familiar sounds set against a host of newer textures, blending together to create a wonderfully enticing modern album. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended... (read the complete review HERE)
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THE MASTER OF TIME
Fate Of A Thousand Worlds is the second album by Gran Torino, an interesting prog band from Verona. It was released in 2013 on the French label Musea Records, two years after the promising debut grantorinoProg, with a renewed line up featuring Alessio Pieri (keyboards, piano), Gian Maria Roveda (drums), Fabrizio Visentini (bass) and Leonardo Freggi (guitars). According to the band's website, this is a conceptual work about a man who travels in space and in real time throughout the universe that is based on a short sci-fi story written by one of their friends, Paolo Gadioli, that you can find in the booklet and that's also mirrored in the beautiful art work created by Ed Unitsky. The music was conceived as a soundtrack to describe the adventures, emotions and torments of the protagonist...
The opener, "Child of the Stars", sets the atmosphere and introduces the protagonist, Velasquez, a kind of super-hero created by a superior race whose mission is to conquer the whole universe. His birth required a huge amount of energy that was obtained by destroying a planet... The music starts softly, then the rhythm gradually rises, calms down for a while and rises again, powerful and threatening...
Then comes the frenzied "Absolute Time". Here every now and again I'm reminded of bands such EL&P and Goblin... The merciless protagonist can travel through space and time and when he finds a planet inhabited by a superior race he can go back to an era when that civilization was not so evolute and can't resist to his powers...
"The Battle of Velasquez" is a dark, powerful track that could recall some passages from Darwin! by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. It's a perfect score for the destructive actions of the protagonist who defeats powerful armies and ravages fortified cities. It leads to the following "Dead Suns" where you can hear the great poem of the extinguished suns and the last pulses of the worlds swept away by Velasquez...
The melancholic "The Fog of Time" describes the feeling of loneliness and deep sadness of the protagonist. Velasquez can't find anyone who can match him. They call him just the child of the stars, they fear him, they hate him... Next comes "Empty Soul" that tries to capture in music the strange feeling that the protagonist experiences by approaching a new planet: it's just like a deep emptiness in his soul. So, he begins to observe this new planet, to explore it from above...
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| Gran Torino 2014 |
The delicate, romantic "Arìda" is a piano solo track that describes the meeting between Velasquez and a beautiful woman called Arìda who lives on the mysterious planet. The heartless protagonist finally falls in love and the following "The Short Dream" describes in some way this complicate, unsettling romance...
"End of a Planet" breaks the dream, the rhythm rises suggesting an impending danger, something is going to happen. Suddenly Velasques has to go back in his spaceship, there's something wrong... As he gets on board the planet blows up and his love is lost forever... Here the music reminds me slightly of other two planets in a distant solar system, hidden behind the jewellery of a thousand stars and forests of coral...
The title track, "Fate of a Thousand Worlds", ends the album describing the dark thoughts of the protagonist, condemned to live alone in his immense spaceship, master of time, master of the universe... Master of nothing!
On the whole, this is an excellent instrumental album and the music is really worth listening to. Have a try, even if you don't like the storyline!
Gran Torino: Fate Of A Thousand Worlds (2013). Other opinions:
Mark Johnson: The musicianship is inspired and unique sounding enough to set this band apart from the many instrumental prog bands that roam the universe. Imagine all of the things that you might encounter on a journey through the universe. Without lyrics you are left to your imagination... and sometimes that can provide its own horrors as well as inspirations... (read the complete review HERE)
Pedro Bekkers: Gran Torino have made a lot of progression compared to their debut. With the replacement of the guitarist they moved the bar up by a few notches and forced themselves to create more challenging compositions shifting toward a heavier prog rock or prog metal style. With an album like Fate Of A Thousand Worlds Gran Torino may be very proud of themselves! They can face the future with confidence...(read the cmplete review HERE)
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FLYING TOWARDS THE LIGHT
Mosaico come from Grosseto and their roots date back to 2000 when the first nucleus of the band was formed on the initiative of singer and lyricist Enrico Nesi and percussionist Simone Batignani with the aim of blending the tradition of Italian canzone d'autore from the seventies with other genres and influences. After some demos and line up changes, in 2009 the musical direction of the band turned to Italian progressive rock with a renewed repertoire. In 2014 they finally recorded and self-released an interesting debut album entitled Vola with a line up featuring Enrico Nesi (vocals), Cristian Dima (bass), Nicola Cambri (synth, Hammond, Mellotron, Rhodes, accordion), Alessandro Capanni (drums), Simone Batignani (congas, bongos, udu, jamblocks, cymbals, shaker) and Fabrizio Biscontri (electric and acoustic guitars). It's an excellent album of "prog cantautorale" with a great emphasis on lyrics, almost a collection of poems dressed up in progressive rock with influences ranging from Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson to Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Premiata Forneria Marconi. This is not a concept album but in some way all the tracks have a common thread that is depicted in the art cover by Mario Bambagini, "Grande apertura" (Big opening), that symbolizes the need to find a way through a dark corridor to see the light.
The opener "Vola" (Fly), features a surreal, mystic atmosphere. It's a reflective piece where life is compared to a light leaf sailing on a river that flows from the mountains to the sea. The leaf can fall or soar like a butterfly but it can float and fly only when pushed by water and wind. The river carries everyone on its waters towards the sea, where all the waters get mixed, where life ends and there's no more pain...
The dark "Il bivio" (The crossroad) is a kind of psychedelic waltz that draws visionary, apocalyptic sceneries and invites you to wake up and make up your mind: the world is changing, the time of playing is over and your road has come to a crossroad... Law and justice are at odds, will you continue to accept passively what you are told or will you stand up and fight against your fate, shooting at the sky?
"Il critico, il profano e l'artista" (The critic, the profane and the artist) recalls Fabrizio De Andrè and is a melancholic reflection about the role that art plays in a man's life. There's no rule to capture its spirit, no way to invent a method to brew emotions, you have to heed the call of your heart and forget everything else. We might be equals in front of the law, but art make us different, special beings...
"Il nuovo potere" (The new power) is an amazing track that starts by church like organ waves and marching beats. It conjures up the images of a war that is in the meantime metaphorical and real. The power of media is overwhelming but your mind begins to wake up and you're experiencing new emotions, what you are told is not what you feel and tonight your war has begun...
"Questa santa umanità" (This holy humanity) is a caustic ballad with a nice Mediterranean flavour that starts by accordion and strummed acoustic guitar. It's a song against false honesty and the mirages conjured up by a holy humanity made of hypocrites and charlatans, against people who resemble to a herd of empty idealists wasting their breath...
"Materia e vita" (Matter and life) is an excellent track full of energy and irony that thunders words against materialism and consumerism with a particular poetical strength. Open your heart and you will attend a bold search for space that can even stop the hands of a clock and make time stand still...
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| Old picture from MySpace |
"Lenti passi" (Slow steps) features the female backing vocals of the guest Lorenza Baudo and deals with the madness of war. Imagine the sound of leaves under marching boots, the slow steps of an army on its way to the front, then shimmering lights on the horizon and the thunder of a hundred cannons... Look at what a man can do! Old preachers, merchants of souls and politicians, listen to the families broken by hunger and pain... What we really need in this world is nothing but love!
The swinging "Sopravvivere" (To survive) is lighter and features another guest, Aldo Milani, on sax. It ends the album inviting you to open the gates of your heart leaving the shelters you metaphorically built to protect yourself from the outside world...
On the whole, this is an interesting album from a very promising band. You can listen to the complete album on bandcamp... So, have a try and judge by yourselves! Click HERE
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