SENZA ORARIO, SENZA BANDIERA

"Senza orario, senza bandiera" is a concept album that New Trolls released with the collaboration of Fabrizio De Andrè, Riccardo Mannerini and Giampiero Reverberi: the singer songwriter De Andrè and the poet Mannerini wrote the lyrics while Reverberi (later producer of Le Orme's "Collage", "Uomo di pezza", "Felona e Sorona" and "Contrappunti") arranged the music. Nevertheless this is not a progressive album and the music is more close to Procol Harum or early Bee Gees than to "Concerto Grosso" or "Ut". You can find here some remarkable harmony vocals (a kind of New Troll's trademark) and some interesting guitar parts but not particularly complex compositions.

The thread that bounds together the different songs is the idea of a poet that goes along the streets of the world surveying places and people looking for feelings and emotions. The poet describes the places and the characters he's seen in the tracks of the album. The opener "Ho veduto" introduces the "subject" of this peculiar concept with vocals floating upon a simple acoustic rhythm guitar pattern. "I've seen sun rise from Thule's ices / I've seen the golden tints of the mosques / The big waves of Gascony, the white sharks / The hovels, the houses of the rich people and I've cried."

Then follows a gallery of characters. A man whishing to buy a street full of lights, colours and playing children in New York's city centre ("Vorrei comprare una strada", with amazing harmony vocals). A man praying the Lord longing for a bicycle ("Signore, io sono Irish" Lord, my name is Irish). A woman loosing youth and beauty waiting in vain for love ("Susy Forrester"). A gambler loosing his money ("Al bar dell'angolo"). A fisherman's son with holes in his shoes sitting in a corner while in the sky above starships are exploring the universe ("Duemila"). Two marines talking about the war in the Philippines ("Ti ricordi Joe?" - Do you remember Joe?). A priest wishing to have just a little part of the money wasted in a long war to help poor people ("Padre O'Brien"). A romantic man too shy to say I love you ("Tom Flaherty").

The final track "Andrò ancora" is a reprise of "Ho veduto". "I'll keep on going along the streets of the world with sincere eyes / I'll look everywhere for the pain and the happiness of men / I'll count the bitter tears of suffering people, the smiles of the people waiting with begging arms / I'll keep on going without timetable, without flag / I'll lean towards ill people and fountains, towards children's faces / I'll walk among rubbish and money without stopping / I'll keep on going and when I'm back I'll be older and better."

In the whole "Senza orario, senza bandiera" is a good album that contains some seeds of the future masterpieces of the band, though it's perhaps too short (just less than 30 minutes). Anyway, in my opinion it's not an essential one for a progressive rock collection.