SEMPRE E OVUNQUE OLTRE IL SOGNO

In 2011 Pandora released their sophomore work on AMS/BTF, "Sempre ovunque oltre il sogno" (Always everywhere beyond the dream), with the same line up featuring Beppe Colombo (synth, organ, backing vocals), Claudio Colombo (drums, percussion, bass, acoustic guitar, synth), Corrado Grappeggia (vocals, synth, organ, piano) and Christian Dimasi (electric guitar, backing vocals). The overall sound of this second work is mellow and symphonic and every track is described in the booklet with a painting by the American artist Emoni Viruet (who now is Claudio Colombo's wife), almost a ghost member of the band. She is also the author of the art cover while Beppe Colombo painted the inlay picture titled "Sempre e ovunque".

The instrumental opener "Il re degli scemi" (The king of fools) is a solo performance by Claudio Colombo who composed the piece and played keyboards and percussion. According to an interview with the band it was inspired by a short story that his wife wrote after a dream. It tells of a powerful king who could impress his people with magic but who didn't know what's real love. This track reminds me of the soundtracks of some films of a genre called Sword-and-sandal, Italian low budget imitations of Hollywood historical epics that were in fashion in the early sixties...

The short instrumental "L'altare del sacrificio" (The altar of sacrifice) and the following "L'incantesimo del Druido" (The spell of the Druid) tell the story of a fantasy character, a Druid called Chad-Bat, who with his rites and his magic helps a king and his army to defeat their enemies... "There's no one like me / No one is greater than me...". Well, when listening to this track try to imagine the busy wizard at work...

"Discesa attraverso lo Stige" (Descent through the Styx) and "Ade, sensazione di paura" (Hades, feeling of fear) are two long, complex instrumental tracks linked together that describe the story of a woman who crosses the waters of the river Styx and enters the secret world of Hades. Follow her and you will see fire and ice dancing together, lost souls and demons dancing with Death in the wide hall of immensity... Eventually, if you are lucky, you'll find the way back!

"03.02.1974" (February 2, 1974) is about another kind of magic. The lyrics evoke the feelings and emotions provoked by a Genesis' concert in the seventies... "It wasn't just music that evening / It wasn't just a show in that moment... It was a magic touch flying away... They weren't just songs... Then The Knife broke in / Shouts, shivers, tears / It was the end for us... Even today I think of you / I can still feel the emotion and I cry...".

On "La formula finale di Chad-Bat" (The final formula of Chad-Bat) the busy Druid comes back to offer you his help. All in all there's no one like him to conjure a magical dream...

"Sempre e ovunque" (Always and everywhere) is a long suite in eight parts that concludes the album. It begins with a nice instrumental overture, full of symphonic suggestions to stir your fantasy... "Here I am, my young prince / I'm just back from the past... I'm back to give you all what I gathered in all this time / I'm back to give you the keys of my coffer / My young prince, here you are / That's the key of your empire...". The coffer is full of dreams and emotions, the same dreams and emotions that a father would like to pass on to his son. Opening the coffer you shiver, understanding the real value of that treasure you could be overwhelmed by emotion... "I have lived to give you my world / Here I am, my young prince / Look at your empire / Look where the past comes from, where the future begins... Take up in your hands all my emotions / And keep them with you, always and everywhere...". Now the son is the keeper of his father's dreams... Progressive rock will live on! Well, a great finale for a very good album...

After the album was released Christian Dimasi left the band and now Pandora are a trio again but don't worry, they won't stop...