SMOGMAGICA

This is the first album by Le Orme I listened to, and hadn't I listened to other songs by this band on a local radio, I would have dismissed it completely. The good numbers here are few, and even these few ones are not that special. If you find the way to, just try and fetch these titles: Laserium Floyd, Primi Passi, Immensa Distesa. The first track is a good, spacey instrumental, obviously influenced by the Pink Floyd, with a good use of very simple bass lines and simple tunes. "Primi Passi" is quite a good song; that's not progressive rock, but it could be a laid-back version of the early Rush. "Immensa Distesa" is the classical ballad by Le Orme, reminescent of Italian folk, dreamy and melancholic (ok, here the band finds back its usual standards). The rest of the album is a total mess. "Los Angeles" is patchy and you could even laugh at some keyboard passages; "Amico di Ieri" used to be one of my favourite tunes, it's got good lyrics, but nowadays I can realize how boring it is... "Ora o mai più" and "Amanti di città" may be forerunners of demential rock, while "L'uomo del pianino" is a melodic pop effort worth any album by I Cugini di Campagna (Italian readers will surely understand). Finally, Laurel Canyon simply doesn't fit the band attitude: classical/folk freaks forced to play blues, maybe by their omnipresent guitar player (then: his successor, Germano Serafin, would do a much better job). Luckily enough, after this I discovered "Felona e Sorona", and I really got in touch with what would become one of my favourite bands ever.