ELEMENTI

Elementi certainly sees a shift from the classic darker sound of Le Orme (I have no albums between Contrappunti and this so it's possible their sound has changed prior to Elementi) to a far more positive sound. Le Orme puts a toe into the world of Neo-prog with this one. As a concept album (although I have no little idea about the concept) this album is full of reprises and recurring themes.

As you could probably figure out, the first three songs are more of a suite since "Il Vento, Il Cielo E La Notte" is bookended by parts 1 and 2 of "Danza Del Vento." The two dances do a good job at setting a positive mood with their enthusiasm. "Il Vento" starts off with 1.5 minutes of the most beautiful voice in music working with some delicate instruments. An extremely cheesy 80s-esque guitar solo comes in for a while then things switch between the beauty of the beginning of the song, the wind dance, and the 80s cheese.

"Danza Della Terra" brings us our first foray into the ominous Le Orme music of old. A setting created by the bass drums, bass guitar and keys almost makes you forget about the joy displayed earlier.

"Risveglio" is probably my favorite track here (although it's hard to single out a single thread in this fantastically interwoven cloth). It eases up on the bleak atmosphere from the previous track. The keyboards, as usual, play a crucial role here. Aldo's vocals bring a beautiful sadness to the mix which fades into a more hopeful tone with the encouragement of the other instruments during the choruses.

"Canto Di Preghiera" sets a haunting mood with its acappella choral-style "oh oh oh"s which are joined by some keys and drums to add to the effect.

"Lord of Dance" is sung in English (for some reason) and the lyrics make no sense without the background set up by the previous tracks. Anyway, this track starts off rocking with their most exciting use of synths yet and maintains the energy throughout the song.

"Danza Della Pioggia" is a soft piano piece with some strings in the background. It's quite good.

"Dove Tutto E" is all about the sitar. It starts off beautiful without a clear mood then turns into a happier piece you might expect to hear somewhere on Tales From Topographic Oceans or maybe a little like "Don of the Universe" by The Flower Kings. "Dove Tutto E" then flows into "Luca Dorata" which is somewhat of a reprise of the first half of "Dove Tutto E."

"Luce Dorata" is a organ and synth based song which seems to take a very roundabout way to transition from the previous instrumental to the next two tracks.

"Danza Del Fuoco" seems to be the most ELP-inspired piece due mainly to the keyboards. It's the instrumental half of the fire element and "Il Respiro" is the vocal half. Le Orme's idea of fire is toned down a fair deal from what other comparable bands would do. It's still a good duo but I feel like they should have made it a bit more fiery (improper English perhaps but "fierier" sounds weird).

The third part of "Danza Del Vento" is once again a continuation of the wind suite from the beginning but it does serve as a good lead-in to the energetic reprisal of "Risveglio."

Elementi is easily on par with classic Le Orme works. I absolutely love this album and recommend it to anyone who wants a bit of accessible beauty in the form of music. Giving this 4 stars is the only option in my mind because it lacks that special something to be a masterpiece.