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The Italian Prog Appreciation den |
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1967/ 1976 ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: May 21 2009 Location: Lake of Love Status: Offline Points: 423 |
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An interesting view about an incredible artist by 1967/ 1976:
LUCIO BATTISTI (COMPILATION)Lucio Battisti•Prog Related
Edited by 1967/ 1976 - January 18 2011 at 12:15 |
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Nightfly ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659 |
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Yep, ordered at BTF Jim. So I may be the first to review hey......
Will give you my verdict asap.
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Andrea Cortese ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 05 2005 Status: Offline Points: 4411 |
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NEW PANDORA'S: great news... I have their debut... nothing spectacular but the band looks promising... so I'm curious... there will be any improvement?
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Oh I hope you like that Etna, Chris, it's a gem for the Jazz-heads!
Cool Torodd, their website has a detailed breakdown of the album themes that might be useful in conjuring some questions about the album. Paul, are your ordering from BTF, the Pandora isn't out in the States for a few weeks....not sure if it would be worth it for us with the time delay in shipping. |
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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toroddfuglesteg ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658 |
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Pandora: Contact established, hope to bring an interview with them soon. Questions from the RPI team and others are welcome to my PM inbox.
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Nightfly ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659 |
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Great news Jim! Knew it was on the way but didn't realise it's out. Ordering that one tomorrow along with the new Nuova Era.
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seventhsojourn ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: December 11 2009 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 4006 |
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^ Pandora, Hostsonaten, Paolo Siani... and we're only midway through January, what a start to the new year!!
Btw, I've just ordered that DFA ''4th'' CD along with this baby:
Etna Etna Jazz Rock/Fusion Review by Finnforest ![]() Etna were a band from Sicily who began with the name Flea In The Honey before shortening to Flea, then finally changing to Etna. They released an album under each moniker and each is a very different animal. The first was influenced by British hard rock and not very original nor beloved by progressive music fans. The second album as the band Flea was a huge jump in quality and moved firmly into RPI territory while still paying homage to hard guitar rock. Its long jamming suite is quite a monster treat for guitar lovers. Their third release as Etna was a complete change in style and prove the musicians capable artistic chameleons able to go in two different yet believable directions. "This time they recorded a powerful instrumental fusion album fronted by guitar and electric piano, resembling Mahavishnu Orchestra or the Spanish group Iceberg." [Scented Garden] In many ways Etna is similar to other 70s stock jazz-rock and one can draw comparisons to Bella Band, Arti Mestieri, or Esagono. But just like many of these other groups, continued listening reveals depth and personality not obvious on the initial plays. All of the basics are top notch: fantastic drumming and bass guitar interplay, with occasionally fiery electric guitar solos in rock and jazz veins. There is great control and tightness but in this case it is not a dry, soulless ride. Moving away from jazz rock autopilot which many prog listeners become bored with, there is great warmth brought to Etna via interesting songs, acoustic piano, electric piano, clarinet, and even mandolin. There seems to be a conscious attempt to keep things interesting, to keep the sound from falling into predictable patterns and repetitions. "Across the Indian Ocean" is a great example with some seriously daring, spirited twists and turns in the groove. "French Picadores" is another great example of turning "jazz rock" on its head---it's a slow, dreamy wisp of clarinet melody over a finger-picked acoustic guitar. A bit of the old Flea guitar sound breaks through on "Sentimental Lewdness" but the growl is tempered here with uplifting piano runs. Beautiful piano and mandolin are meshed together in the closer "Barbarian Serenade," which sums up the album's attempt to present jazz rock in a more emotionally appealing package. Its lovely textures build into a hypnotic listening experience. While not a masterpiece and while there are some sections that lag a bit, Etna by and large have delivered an excellent set. It's really too bad they didn't didn't stay together, this was a good band. Fans of instrumental jazz-rock need to make the effort to find this little-known gem of the genre---it is my feeling many of you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality and the fun level of Etna. The delivered on the 2nd Flea album and they do so again here in a completely different style. |
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Whoa! New Pandora album added folks!! Should be one of 2011 interesting prog titles, let's see who gets the first review!
Closes with a 23 minute track
1. Il Re degli Scemi (5:08 ) 2. L'Altare del Sacrificio ( 2:09 ) 3. L'Incantesimo del Druido ( 8:17 ) 4. Discesa Attraverso lo Stige ( 4:13 ) 5. Ade, Sensazione di Paura( 7:41 ) 6. 03-02-1974 ( 7:31 ) 7. La Formula Finale di Chad-Bat ( 3:56 ) 8. Sempre e Ovunque ( 23:00 ) |
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Andrea Cortese ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 05 2005 Status: Offline Points: 4411 |
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Well, I still haven't got it!! 4th is so highly praised (not only on this site) that it'll be an inevitable purchase. Edited by Andrea Cortese - January 16 2011 at 16:12 |
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akajazzman ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 13 2009 Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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Hey thanks for the tip on Bella Band, I'll check them out.
Torodd! A DFA interview! Very cool. Can't wait.
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toroddfuglesteg ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658 |
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This album is in my intray and I have been listening to it. I also hope to publish an interview with D.F.A any day now.
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Rick, it is a monster album... I agree more people should check it out and then review it. There are lots of great fusion bands from Italy, Bella Band is another you might enjoy.
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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akajazzman ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 13 2009 Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Offline Points: 124 |
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I would ask that anyone who hasn't reviewed D.F.A.s "4th" to please do so. It needs more votes.
I'd also point out that if you're reading this, then you have an appreciation for Italian Prog, which means you already LOVE 4th, or you haven't heard it. Because there's no middle ground for a lover of Italian Prog. Of all the dozens of Prog albums put out in the last ten years, I personally think that 4th is the best Prog album since Genesis' Lamb Lies Down. Its that great.
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Vault Pick
So many of us talk about sound in our reviews....Andrea here goes into the lyrical themes of one of RPI's classics. Bravo!
Darwin! Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso Rock Progressivo Italiano Review by
andrea
![]() The opener 'L'evoluzione' (The evolution) is a long and complex track that sets the right atmosphere. It begins softly, the music is evocative and dreamy while soaring vocals seem to invite you to close your eyes and to try, try hard to think to the genesis of the universe in a different way... No great Gods but just cellules, fibres, heat and energy blended together to give birth to the Creation. Mother Earth is spinning inside a cloud, she wants a baby and she's going to have him, son of Earth and Electricity! 'Grey layers of lava and coral / Wet and colourless skies / Here the World is breathing...'. Then rhythm goes up while primordial life blossoms in an unexpected way... 'The sea vomits shapeless creatures pushed out in clots on putrid shores / The land hosts the muddy herds that pass crawling on their likes / And the time will change the flabby bodies into forms that are able to survive...'. The music flows away like lava from a volcano, there's room for drum solos and organ rides while 'free sounds stir acoustic spirals of virgin air...'. When rhythm calms down it's time for reflection and for a new awareness. Observing an ancient skull you realize that Adam can't exist and that just seven days are not enough to create. Adam is dead by now and with him the genesis as told in the Bible... The new awareness leads to a delicate classical inspired piano and organ passage and to the poetical image of a new light... 'High, a halcyon squeaks making arabesques over the gorses and the sea / Now the sun knows whom to warm...'. 'La conquista della posizione eretta' (The conquest of the upright position) is another long track featuring many changes of rhythm and atmosphere. It begins with a wild ride on a frenzy rhythm... Try to imagine a wild ape-like man running among rocks and rushes following the smells of other beasts, the footsteps of his preys, roaring and screaming. Then suddenly music calms down. The apeman realizes that he can see nothing but his path and in him rises the wish to see more and far beyond the trees. He tries to stand up... 'I try and fall and then I try again / I can stand upright just for a while / The scream resounds all along the vault / It goes up to the volcanoes and then I stand watching / My eyes drink flights and jumps, my forests and my likes... Now I can look straight, far over there where the air touches the sea...'. 'Danza dei grandi rettili' (Dance of the big reptiles) is a wonderful instrumental where classical influences are perfectly blended with jazzier passages. Bass lines underline the slow and heavy paces of dinosaurs walking on earth, surrounded by a wild nature. Well, after Steven Spielberg's film 'Jurassic Park' it shouldn't be so difficult to get a picture of what music is about! 'Cento mani e cento occhi' (A hundred hands and a hundred eyes) is about the need to socialize and join forces to fight for a common goal. It starts in a frenzy way while lyrics depict some hunters running after their preys. A solitary ape-like man observes the hunters wondering whether he should to get closer or to run away. Suddenly rhythm calms down and after a new rise of tension the solitary ape-like man get in touch with the hunters. One of them gives him his pray and he's surprised... 'On your spear you offer me some meat that I didn't obtain with my strength / What kind of action is this!'. For him this behaviour doesn't fit a strong being but the hunter backed by his companions answers: 'Our strength is in a hundred hands / And a hundred eyes watch out for us / You are alone! / If you want you can go now, or stay here and join us...'. Here Francesco Di Giacomo's vocals contrast with Vittorio Nocenzi's then backed by a powerful choir. The contrast underlines the clash between the instinct of freedom and the need of socialization. 'From a herd to a moving tribe, from a village to a city / People breathing at the same rhythm / Men closed inside boxes of stone where you can't hear the wind...'. Well, even if the need of socialization prevails the instinct to run away looking for freedom will remain... '750.000 anni fa... l'amore?' (750,000 years ago... love?) is an amazing piano driven ballad about the discovery of feelings. Love is far more than instinct to breed, it can stir powerful emotions. Lyrics describe a shy ape-like man observing a beautiful woman with her tribe. Emotions and desires rise... 'I hold my breath / If you see me you will run away... If you really were mine / I would dress your breast in water drops / Then under your feet I would spread veils of wind and leaves / Bright body with large flanks / I'd take you in the green fields and I would dance / I would dance with you under the moon...'. But the ape-like man can't move and can't speak, he's aware of his ugly look and fears that the woman could refuse him running away... 'Miserere alla storia' (Miserere to the History) is a complex track featuring a mysterious atmosphere and an Oriental flavour leading you to the roots of history, to Babel and to ancient Egypt... 'Glory to Babel, let the sphinx keep on laughing for millennia / Let's build in the sky up to Syrius / Let horses frothing on the Milky Way...'. Recitative vocals seem to draw a mocking and disquieting prophecy about the destiny of Man... 'How long will live your intellect, if behind you the human race is disappearing?'. Last track 'Ed ora io domando tempo al tempo ed egli mi risponde... non ne ho!' (And now I ask time to the Time and he answers me... I haven't got it!) is about time passing by. Men are like puppets hanging on the eternal and heavy wheel of time that keeps on spinning... You can hear the wheel creaking and squeaking, munching lives and smashing bones, breaking wills and desires, slow and inexorable like an old and gloomy Waltz... 'Oh, gigantic wheel why do you make me think / If later in your spinning you will restrain my mind... It goes, it keeps on going / The wheel never miss a beat and goes on and on...'. Well, a great album... Edited by Finnforest - January 15 2011 at 21:47 |
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Andrea Cortese ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 05 2005 Status: Offline Points: 4411 |
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^^^
Thanks Fabio!!!!!!! ![]() At first I wasn't so sure to post the lyrics' translation ... but then I realized (well... I didn't need to realize it... I already knew it eh eh eh eh ) that the beauty of italian music (prog) lies in the musicality of the spoken-sung-words and in the lyrics themselves. Edited by Andrea Cortese - January 13 2011 at 16:24 |
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fabiogremo ![]() Forum Newbie ![]() ![]() Joined: September 29 2010 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Hello Andrea,
I happened to find this page visiting the forum and I really would like to thank you very much for this effort, this is a beautiful idea and a nice way to read again the lyrics. We had the desire to do the translations, but time is always too short... Anyway you're doing a great work! All the band wishes to give you our warmest regards. Fabio |
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Il gioco del silenzio
Nichelodeon ![]() Review by Music By Mail ![]() And to be honest, so much pounding requires really really much from you, the listener! I'm wondering if *rest* is a banned word in Claudio's world; he's always watching you, ready to attack, slowly, loudly, atonally, with fear in mind! This brings me to the last point: voice is connected to words and Claudio's lyrics are STRONG, disturbing, wanting to have you think about things! There are all translated in English in the gracious booklet coming along with the CD and headed (front and back cover) with great paintings. So now, it's up to you: are you ready for intelligent madness? Edited by Finnforest - January 10 2011 at 19:19 |
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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Holy cow, sounds pretty tasty.... ![]() |
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Finnforest ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 17332 |
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^I was just playing Clowns today and loving it. Todd, do you know if the Japan mini sounds much better than the Mellow issue?
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...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Todd ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() RPI / Heavy Prog Team Joined: December 19 2007 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 3472 |
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Hey, this looks like a great new album on Black Widow!!
![]() Lots of names on this one, besides Nuova Idea, such as Mauro Pagani and Joe Vescovi. Another one to look forward to! Samples are on eMusic. I'll be putting this on the top of my list!
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