LA LEGGENDA NEW TROLLS & LUIS BACALOV: CONCERTO GROSSO N° 3

Fun? Yes. Musical? Definitely. Cheesey? Well, yeah, it's that too, but there's something captivating about Italian prog legends the New Trolls and its latest incarnation led by Vittorio De Scalzi despite the fact that not much has changed this time around. Once again we get loads of baroque inspired orchestra music blended in with pop and rock. Their latest, Concerto Grosso no. 3, is high energy, bombastic, and showcases, as always, the classic voice and flute work of Mr. De Scalzi. "Oh Venice" made for a powerful baroque/rock ballad while storm in Venice starts of brilliantly mysterious and builds spectacularly with the strings before an explosion of strings and electric guitar trade-offs with strong Vivaldi leanings. "Like Ophelia" returns to ballad form and makes gorgeous use of harp and piano; unfortunately when the guitar and drums kick in it gets a bit sappy. "The Magical City" ends up being a reprise of the opener, "The Mythical City" (both great songs), but this time with a royally epic march, sort of kingly parade music and even more orchestral wanderings in baroque style, augmented by punching rock band and thundering timpani. While there is lots going on in terms of classical baroque rock, there are, of course, the elements that make New Trolls' songs a bit polarizing for me. From my perhaps snobby view, there are a few bad pop numbers on this record, just as is typical of other albums in the New Trolls catalogue; in this case, "Per Nico," "Per Amore," and "Per Chi Combatte Per Noi." On the flip side, however, there are examples of good/tasteful pop, such as "Per Tutti I Bambini Del Mondo," a moving piece, somber but catchy, and "Per Lui" which is pretty straightforward rock with some nice opera vocal surprises. In the end, Concerto Grosso no. 3 offers us about what we expect from New Trolls: high quality and energetic baroque inspired prog rock along with a tendency toward old school style pop rock and ballads. If you're a fan of these Italian boys, this is certainly an album you'll want to run out and buy, and if you ever get an opportunity to see these guys perform live, you'll really be missing out if you don't go.