FELONA E SORONA

It hasn't been two month and I'm already celebrating another jubilee in my very short reviewer career. The occasion calls for an unavailing of another one of my all time favorite albums. This one is a bit different but in order to figure out the details you'll just have to keep on reading my 400th review!

After being pleasantly surprised by the 1972 release Uomo Di Pezzaz it was only natural for me to follow it up by the 1973 successor titled Felona E Sorona. Unfortunately it took a lot longer to get my hands on this album but ever since March 2010 I've been playing it like crazy. According to the play count on my MP3 player I've played the opening track Sospesi Nell Íncredibile 49 times so far and it definitely deserves the attention that I've given it. Spanning for almost 9 minutes, the opening track takes up almost a third of this album's space and it's a gorgeous ride from beginning to the end. Just like the predecessor, Felona E Sorona opens with a lengthy instrumental section followed by a vocal introduction. Although this time it's almost like if the opening of Uomo Di Pezzaz was fused together with the album's concluding instrumental Alienazione but with even more power to it.

The album marks the first time when I really appreciated a concept album without actually comprehending a single uttered word. After trying to translate the lyrics from Italian I soon gave up this attempt realizing that the album's strength was primarily in the composition work and not the themes. This album is much darker and experimental in its tone than anything else that I've experience by Le Orme. I don't know if this has to do with the period that the band was undergoing or if this mainly has to do with the album's theme but it really creates an entirely different aura surrounding the release. To me it basically sounds like a soft and beautiful Rock Progressivo Italiano release but with a lot more mystery to it.

After the lengthy first track that felt like pure bliss, the album gets even better with the dramatic L'Equilbrio followed by the sad ballad Sorona. Still it's the album's final act that completely steals the show for me, most notably with the excellent keyboard effects on Attesa Inerte and the melodic guitar solo on Ritratto Di Un Mattino which might even make Slash feel jealous! The concluding sections gives us another great instrumental outro, which at times sounds like Steve Hackett's Please Don´t Touch, completing the album's short cycle on a high note that makes us want to hear Felona E Sorona time and time again!

This is a gorgeous piece of Symphonic Prog that you'll want to have in your collection in order to give it quick half hour spins which will ultimately result in hours upon hours of indulgence. This is a quality that I definitely don't take for granted and award it the highest possible recommendations on my part. Simply a must-have album for all fans of progressive rock music!

***** star songs: Sospesi Nell Íncredibile (8:43) L'Equilbrio (3:47) Sorona (2:28) Attesa Inerte (3:25) Ritratto Di Un Mattino (3:29)

**** star songs: Felona (1:58) La Solitudine Di Chi Protegge Il Mondo (1:57) All Ínfuori Del Tempo (4:08) Ritorno Al Nulla (3:34)