| The
Review |
One of my favorite genres within
prog rock is the early 70's Italian prog. But do you ever
listen to those old Italian prog cds and love the music when
it is symphonic, but wish they had laid off the weird experimentation
and noises/dissonance sometimes? When Le Orme and Banco really
wanted to, they could make some amazing, beautiful music.
But they both liked to throw in this obnoxious, dissonant
material that you have to listen through to get to the better
parts. Eventually, one can become used to the experimentation
or even like it, but I always loved the Italian progressive
era for its more symphonic and jazzy moments that were melodic.
Well this band does just that. It is all majestic, symphonic
music in the old Italian style with no dissonance. You want
disgusting amounts of mellotron (both choir and strings)?
You want old school, driving organ? You want expressive singer
in the old Italian style (maybe like the band Odissea or Locanda
Delle Fate)? You want the best moog sound EVER? You got it.
This cd has it all.
There was some serious hype
about this release, and for once, it is well deserved. The
band has 2 previous releases to their credit that were great
but a little uneven. This cd is solid all the way through.
Songs range from 3:42 to about 25 minutes in length. Keyboards
rule the day, and the sound is really vintage. In fact, I
don't think I've ever heard a moog this perfect. Melodies
are superb, and singer Alessandro Corvaglia sings and yells
his heart out, showing he has a great expressive range despite
his rather rough-sounding quality. As usual, flute also plays
a very prominent role, and the band is not afraid to get somewhat
jazzy (in a good way, not dissonant). Also - did I mention
mellotron? Lots.
My only complaint is the fuzz
bass. There is a lot, and some love it - I'm not the biggest
fan. But with all that is going on here, I can overlook that
one fault. Also there is some dissonance for a couple minutes
in Enciclica 1168 (the long one) around 17:00. Those 2 minor
complaints aside - this is a near perfect release. Highly
recommended and absolutely essential if you like Italian prog.
Rating: 4.5 stars
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