LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA (2CD + DVD)

For me 70s Le Orme is one of the prog bands that come close to the magic of the most legendary and pivotal UK prog formations Yes Genesis, ELP, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, The Prog Big Five. In his amazing book Rocking The Classics the US author Edward Macan writes about femine (warm and mellow) and masculine (more agressive and bombastic) elements in prog, Le Orme delivers that with tender Italian vocals, acoustic guitar, sitar and Mellotron as the femine part, and fiery electric guitar and the sumptuous sound of Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer as the masculine part, evoking lots of tension and dynamics in the music.

In 2005 Le Orme was invited to perform on the annual Nearfest Festival in the USA in order to present their new line up (including original members Aldo Tagliapietra and Michi Di Rossi) and latest album L'Infinito (2004). It turned out to be a legendary gig with Le Orme at their artistic peak and a mouthwatering setlist, wow!

Le Orme starts with songs from L'Infinito and then switched to playing the 'classic 70s tracks'. My highlights.

The instrumental Il Tuono E La Luce features majestic choir-Mellotron samples and then propulsive drum beats, fiery guitar and intense runs on a 'keytar', and the musical brainchild Aldo on a wonderful double-neck.

La Voce Del Silenzio with howling guitar and beautiful work on piano and Hammond.

The very compelling and impressive titletrack with great classical orechestrations, Mellotron choirs and fat synthesizer flights, and finally Aldo on the distinctive sitar in La Ruota Del Cielo.

Una Dolcezza Nuova contains a sumptuous church organ intro, then lush Hammond, along varied piano play and warm vocals.

In Gioco Di Bimba Aldo plays on the 12-string guitar of his double-neck.

A breathtaking version of the mainly instrumental La Porta Chiusa with exciting bombastic keyboards: the vintage Hammond and Moog, and a church organ sound.

Cemento Armato is loaded with excellent soli on violin, the 'keytar' and Hammond.

And finally that epic classic composition that the crowd was waiting for the entire evening: the complete version (9 parts) of the mindlbowing magnum opus Felona E Sorona, carrying you away to Prog Heaven with lots of varied and flowing shifting moods, wonderful dual keyboard work, and a splendid 'grand finale'. I remember a mesmerized crowd, blown away by the absolute highlight in Classic Italian Prog, goose bumps! By the way, that was in 2005, in 2013 Le Orme performed in The Netherlands, near my hometown The Hague, in the prog rock venue De Boerderij, a prog dream came true!

The DVD features the same track list, I am impressed by the beautiful lightshow, the use of several camera positions (including some multi- screen images) and a good sound quality.

THIS CONCERT IS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN ITALIAN PROG HISTORY!

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