COLLAGE

Honestly, Collage is somewhat of a letdown after first hearing Uomo di Pezza, Felona e Sorona, and Contrappuni. The album sounds very unpolished, almost like a live performance (except for a few songs). I don't think that the "live in the studio" feel of the album works as well as the polished music one is used to hearing from the other three albums mentioned. The following are the other downfalls of album.

Production quality is poor. The keyboards, which are supposed to be the star of the show, really aren't all that spectacular. For instance, Era inverno is strong until the organ solo, which is extremely quiet and uninteresting. I don't know why Toni didn't turn up the volume a bit more. Another downfall is that almost all of the songs fade out at the end; I can't think of one other song from the previously mentioned albums that fades out at the end. This really doesn't work for these songs. Yet another negative is that it sounds like Aldo's voice (an excellent voice, one of the best) is going through some kind of filter in every song that he sings on. I don't know if this was intentional; it could have just been part of the poor production quality. Aldo has a great voice, and it sounds the best when it is crystal clear. With all that said, I will get into some of the songs and what is good about the album.

This is not a terrible album by any means, and there is still much to be enjoyed here. The title track is probably the best one; it is an instrumental, but very different from Le Orme's other instrumetals, such as Contrappunti or Alienazione. The track is very classical sounding, and has probably the best keyboard work in the whole album. The drums are great as well, and for that matter, the drums are probably one of the highlights of the whole album. As I said before, Era Inverno is a great song with a weak solo section. Cemento armato is a cool song with an extended organ solo that stays interesting throughout. Next is Sguardo verso il cielo, which is my second favorite track on the album. Great arrangement, complex prog parts, and a refreshing transition to acoustic guitars towards the end of the song that creates a nice atmosphere. In my opinion, the rest of the album is weak. Evasione totale is another instrumental that is quiet, with a lot of soloing, some atmospheric dissonant soundscapes, but ultimately not worth repeated listenings. Immagini is also very weak, with no percussion, which is sorely missed since Michi does such a great job. Morte di un fiore is a good ender for the album, but not as strong as the first batch of songs. The end of this song does close the album nicely with soring synthesized horns and high-pitched background singing.

In closing, perhaps I could have enjoyed this album more if I had not heard the great Le Orme "trilogy" before-hand. Still, if you like Le Orme as much as I do (and I like them a lot) you probably won't regret buying this album. Definitely not essential, but a good buy for Le Orme fans and Itialian prog fans alike.