NOW THE TIME HAS COME

"Now The Time Has Come" is the second album by The Trip's new course started in 2015 on the initiative of original drummer Pino Sinnone who took over the name and brand (initially as The New Trip) to keep alive the old repertoire of the band. While the previous work from 2021, Caronte 50 Years Later, was mainly focused on the re-interpretation of tracks from the early years of the band, this new album is based only on original pieces and fresh ideas. The consolidated line up features Pino Sinnone (drums), Andrea "Ranfa" Ranfagni (lead and backing vocals), Carmine Capasso (guitars, sitar, theremin, percussion, drums), Tony Alemanno (bass) and Andrea "Dave" D'Avino (Hammond, piano) plus the guests Nico Di Palo (vocals), Max Botto (Hammond, Moog, Mellotron, piano) and Giuseppe Sarno (Hammond). This work is not a concept album but in some way follows the atmospheres of The Trip's second album from 1971, "Caronte". The beautiful art cover by Lidia Grillo tries to give an idea of the musical content...

The album opens with the excellent instrumental "Joe's Spirit", composed by Max Botto and dedicated, as you can guess from the title, to The Trip's original keyboardist and founder member Joe Vescovi. It's a brilliant piece with many classical quotes and changes of rhythm. The atmosphere is dark, the organ is in the forefront backed by the rhythm section and everything works to help you cross the Styx on Charon's boat...

"Fragile Mimì" is sung in Italian and is dedicated to the memory of late Italian pop singer Mia Martini, an old friend of the band who had a love affair with Joe Vescovi in the seventies. It's a delicate, intense ballad who evoke the sublime melodies that the singer was able to create with her voice. Described as sad and fragile, Mia is now just another star in the sky, a light in the darkness who has chosen to hide to find shelter from the judgements of malevolent people...

"Enigma" is another beautiful instrumental piece. It begins by threatening bass lines and dark organ sounds, then the drums and fiery electric guitar riffs break in contributing to build up an atmosphere of mystery and distress, perfectly suited to evoke a strange walk in the underworld where you can meet the souls of the dead...

"Il mio capitano" (My captain) is dedicated to the memory of Pino Sinnone's older brother, Rino. It's another touching ballad interpreted by the particular voice of the special guest Nico Di Palo, historic member of New Trolls. The music and lyrics evoke an indelible memory emerging from the past and depict the image of two little children in the cold, lost in the snow. One of them shows his courage helping and comforting his younger brother...

Unfortunately, in the following ballad "Two Friends" the vocals turn to English. The music and the hermetic lyrics tell of a surreal friendship where music is the real protagonist... Then comes the intense "Four Lives", a piece dedicated to the late members of the band, Joe Vescovi, Wegg Andersen and Billy Gray. Pino Sinnone is the only surviving member of the original line-up but he feels that his former bandmates are still with him while he plays to keep their memory alive...

The autobiographical "Momento Prog", despite the Italian title, is sung in English and sums up the spirit of this work. It's a piece that starts by telling about the birth of a child's passion for rock music and drums, then recalls with puns based on the titles of the songs from the early years the experience and passion of playing together in a band like The Trip and ends by telling about the joy of picking up the drumsticks again and starting to play again after a long period of musical inactivity...

The album closes with an alternative version of "Il mio capitano", sung this time by Andrea Ranfagni and considered a "bonus track".

On the whole, a very good work.

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