LOGOS

One man's spiritual journey through music

Born in Genova in the mid 1960s, Giorgio Neri is a talented multi-instrumentalist and composer whose influences range from Orme and Osanna to Zeppelin and Yes, from Gong and Tangerine Dream to Vivaldi and Bach. He was once a member of the band Agarthi Sound Factory but decided that for an album this personal, it needed to be a solo work. While Neri plays almost everything on the album it does not sound like some of those one-man, one-dimensional album, but instead feels like a full band with a wide range of styles and variety. He described the album to me as a "personal spiritual journey" and that "Logos" is in its very essence, a prayer.

"Logos" has a most curious sound indeed, a combination of appreciations for the classic Italian prog scene mixed into a drive up spacey rock avenues. In fact the two influences are both well represented, there are long droning guitarscapes that will bring Ozric or Karet to mind mixed right in with the classic Italian symphonic sound on other songs. Neri proves himself adept at bringing these two different, wild horses into the same shed and the result is a unique experience. What can't be discounted here is the weight that the personal vision brings to this. Rather than having many writers in a band collaborating on songs, you have here a composer working through a most intimate approach, creating a concept album about his own way of understanding the spiritual universe. That means there is nowhere to hide, it's all one man pouring his heart out and Neri has done well. It opens with a sound collage of city sounds broken by the cry of a baby, the beginning of an existence in a hectic world--the second track is modern jamming space guitar noise with full band sound and drums of Roberto Maragliano. This rocking side of the album is explored in several tracks where the electric leads are up front and pushing the keyboard jamming. Djam Karet is what most comes to mind when I hear these songs which range from quiet, more ambient spaces in "Godinus 7a" to some more droning areas to the culmination in "L'ultima Danza" with its soaring electric leads. There are shorter little pieces and soundscapes which serve to link things together and give a concept feel, like the violence and then choirs in "Guerra" and the beautiful closing piece "Curtains" with mournful guitar emotion. My favorite parts of the album lie in the Italian prog portions of the work. "Seconda Navigazione/Addio" are both a real treat that reminds me of Jacula and make me wonder if Neri enjoys Bartoccetti. It is a somewhat spooky sounding spoken word followed by a great short piano piece. The highlight of the classic sound here is "Tuona il Cannone" which has a grand mystique and folkish feel, with beautiful piano, flute, mandolin, acoustic, and vocal. The only thing I didn't like of the album was a rather shrill high pitched effect in one or two tracks, I'm not sure if it was a synth or guitar effect but it drove me a little nuts. This however is a very minor complaint and certainly nothing that detracts from the experience of "Logos." Another special mention goes to "Le Braccia e le Ali" which is a dramatic instrumental, classical guitar and piano with fervent electric leads and great drumming. It's a wonderful album which comes in another gorgeous Black Widow tri-fold digipak, the cool space-scape painting covering all three panels when folded out flat. This album is recommended to space-rock fans with a crush on Italian progressive. 3 1/2 stars rounding up.

The review as follows, was originally in my Prog Rock website, http://www.progshine.com . Black Widow kindly sent me a copy of this great work and Giorgio gives me a exclusive interview too.

Review: 01. Intro A concept album there must have a good introduction, in this case's what we've got, atmospheric, and prophetic, nothing more fair to talk about the Creation. Logos, in Christian theology means Jesus Christ, or The Word, as it is written in the Gospel of John, which is mentioned in the CD insert: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." More information on Wikipedia (http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Logos) The baby in the background may mean The birth.

02. Id & Trad The second track is energetic, it is difficult to note that Giorgio played all instruments (except the drums that was played by Roberto Maragliano), since everything has a fantastic unity. While the bass come in the front along with the drums and guitars and synthesizers are in the background of music, the guitar style has a David Gilmour appeal and the synthesizer is more to the psychedelic rock of the end of the 60s like Gong. It is a theme that despite being extended by three and a half minutes is not weariful, in opposite, it makes you shake our heads without stopping. At the end of the song the guitar makes the sound takes a prophetic tone, especially with the vocals.

03. Alleanza The third track on the album follows the same line of the second one, both songs begin agitated, a fact unprecedented in Progressive Rock, but here who controls are the keyboards and synthesizers, creating a 'bed' full of melodies. In the second part of the music who takes care of the melodies and the solos is the guitar, and it is clear that in certain parts Giorgio has a good influence of Gilmour, at least with respect of his tone.

04. Seconda Navigazione Stuck together in this song it's in the same line of ours so beloved Italian progressive rock recorded in the 70's, the narrative of Vittorio Ristagno have a prophetic tone, his voice is deep, for a moment reminded me Antonius Rex and Jacula, and break a little the tone of 'fun' that had brought the previous track.

05. Addio In Addio we've got a theme for the piano that is right followed by flutes and guitars. What drew my attention in Logos so far is that Giorgio do not recorded a 'dark' album, usually this style of sound, especially when dealing with Italian Progressive Rock, it is dark and cloudly, these moments appear on the disc, but not majority and although the album is practically instrumental, the voice is not an absence felt.

06. Le Braccia E Le Ali Begin slowly, giving continuity to the previous track, almost in the third minute of the song the beat goes up in a fast and crazy rhythm. From then alternating moments of calm with the piano, quick moments of drums, bass and guitar, and reflective moments with emphasis on psaltery (harpsichord) and acoustic guitar.

07. War War! How could no longer be the track is accompanied by a 'soundtrack of hell', the initial forty seconds delivers to the listener a true epiphany noise with shots, screams and explosions. Suddenly a small part with coral, and another explosion.

08. Godino 7 (a) Keyboards and synthesizers, percussions that travel from one side to other in the speakers, and at the background, whether through the imperceptible the already known guitar from Giorgio. In this theme the acoustic guitar is fully present, doing the main melody and carrying the prophetic tone of the track.

09. Godino 7 (b) The second part of Godino 7 comes with a synthesizer solo, but I can't just ignore the bass line that Giorgio built, a line hypnotic and fantastic. Another track that (for my joy) is a little more 'rock'. The end brings us an unusual bagpipe.

10. Il Tuono Cannon The tenth track on the record in my opinion is a song that most reminds us The Italian Progressive Rock, especially the great band Premiata Forneria Marconi, and is also the only track with a singer and lyrics. It is good to hear a track that leads straight to the 70's, mainly to the Per Un Amico (1972) record from PFM.

11. Per Tutti Per Nessuno E At the sound of birds and an instrumental more 'modern' Vittorio Ristagno recite a passage from Nietzsche, Thus spoke Zarathustra!

12. L'ultima Danza This reminded me of G.B. Picker's Freedom Of Expression, I bet you always ask yourselves which was the name of the theme of the opening of the Rede Globo tv show Globo Repórter (in Brazil), so now you know (laughs), but only the introduction, then Giorgio introduces a calm theme driven by the twin guitars and melody differently. It's the longest theme on the album (9:17) is full of rhythmic variations and nuances, a genuine factory of sounds and melodies, in my view the emphasis is on final melody, which begins there by the eighth minute of the song, calm and beautiful.

13. Sipario The last track of the album begins with the piano, low and dark, soon guitars and acoustic guitar are added to the piano so that the original melody is a little less dense. Thus ending with a record that for sure is a big surprise for the Progressive Rock of the 00's.

It's amazing how the years go by and you think there is nothing to surprise you in music, but, there it is, the italian Giorgio C. Neri can do it. High level!

Giorgio Cesare Neri is an Italian prog artist from Genoa, a composer and multi instrumentalist that in the past worked mainly on soundtracks for theatre plays. "Logos", released in 2009 for the independent label Black Widow, is his debut album. Giorgio Cesare Neri composed, arranged and recorded this work in his home studio playing electric and acoustic guitars, bass, mandola, dulcimer piano, keybords, sequencer, flute and percussion. Some guests musicians like Roberto Maragliano (drums), Giuseppe Alvaro (vocals), Gian Castello (flute), Roberto Tiranti (vocals) and Vittorio Ristagno (recitative vocals) contributed to enrich the sound. The result is excellent and the album is really worth listen to.

"Logos" is conceived as a spiritual path, from birth to the final curtain of death, passing through life with sudden bursts of energy, cosmic rides, broken hopes, melancholic feelings, split ups, dreams, wars and moments of joy and quiet. Spacey guitars and keyboards can melt in a catholic mass from where soars a prayer in Latin, like in "Id & Trad", identity and tradition. Frenzy rhythms with electric guitar and keyboards in the forefront can give way to quiet and reflexive passages where recitative vocals quote Plato or Nietzsche... The spiritual and musical world of Giorgio Ceasare Neri is full of vitality and surprises, with sudden changes of mood and atmosphere, from mystic ragas to proud marching beats, from psychedelic guitar solos to dramatic and delicate piano passages

My favourite tracks are "Tuona il cannone", a beautiful song about the absurdity of war and false morality featuring lyrics and lead vocals by Giuseppe Alvaro, where Italian melody is blended with Celtic influences, and the long and complex instrumental "L'ultima danza" (The Last Dance"), where you can find some echoes of PFM. Anyway the album doesn't have really weak moments and the music flows fluently for more than 50 minutes without falls of tension.

At a superficial glance, "Logos" ('word' or 'speech' in Ancient Greek) may seem a rather untypical album for an Italian artist, being a rather personal take on a genre (space rock) that is generally seen as more of a prerogative of the English and German musical culture. Though a relative newcomer to the recording scene, Giorgio C. Neri is an experienced multi-instrumentalist, who (as unfortunately happens all too often) has never be able to make a living out of his music. He is, however, both a gifted musician and a humble one, having successfully resisted the temptation of recording the whole album without any outside input. "Logos" sees the constant presence of drummer Roberto Maragliano, as well as a number of other musicians guesting on a couple of tracks. The use of real drums is definitely a bonus point for the album, which possesses a warm and intimate feel that the stilted, mechanical sounds of programmed drums would have seriously impaired . Since Genoa, Neri's home town, was one of the main hubs for Italian music in the Sixties and early Seventies, it is not surprising that a pervasive Italian vibe can be felt beside the stronger space rock imprint. Vocals, though featured quite sparingly, add a welcome touch of melody and emotion to the compositions. In true space rock tradition, the music leans towards a repetitive, hypnotic mode, taking full advantage of Neri's skill as a keyboardist and guitarist. The fascinating ambient soundscapes created by the use of various sound effects (a baby crying, falling water, warfare, religious chants) provide a suitable background for some tasty guitar excursions.

"Logos" consists of tracks of varying lengths - some longer and weightier, others shorter and mainly meant as interludes. The leading role of the synthesizer is effectively balanced by the high melodic content of piano and acoustic guitar passages, adding a romantic, wistful note to lengthy workouts like the 9-minute-plus "L'Ultima Danza". Some of the more classically spacey items show influences by the likes of Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and early Porcupine Tree - the synth-driven "Godinus 7 pt. 2" could fit quite comfortably on "Signify". Others are instead harder to define, like "Le Braccia e le Ali", a varied effort featuring layers of piano, synth and guitar over staccato drum bursts. The album's crowning achievement, however, is the haunting, folksy Tuona il Cannone, a song about death featuring an intense vocal performance by guest singer Giuseppe Alvaro, and a Celtic-flavoured bridge complete with military drumming and bagpipe-like flute. The other two tracks featuring vocals, "Seconda Navigazione" e "Per Tutti e Per Nessuno", are based on extracts from, respectively, Plato's "Phaidon" and Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", solemnly recited by Vittorio Ristagno over slowly mounting synth washes.

Neri should also be commended for keeping the album's running time manageable, which allows the music enough room to develop while reducing the presence of filler. In spite of space rock's more than occasional tendency towards self-indulgent rambling, the album manages to come across as fairly tightly-knit - which makes it definitely more accessible, especially to newcomers to the genre.

Those interested in exploring the many diverse facets of the current Italian progressive rock scene could definitely do worse than check out "Logos". Psychedelic/space rock fans may also be interested in finding out how the more straightforward sounds of the genre can mesh with the influence of the Italian musical tradition. A very solid first effort, and hopefully one that will not remain a one-off.

Giorgio C. Neri is a multi instrumentalist who formed and played in the band, Agarthi Sound Factory. He states his influences are "Led Zeppelin for the power and the sense of english folk,YES for the elegance and long suites, Gong, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, for the sense of infinity space in music, Zappa, Bach, and Italian Le Orme and P.F.M. and i love Devil Doll. But everything can influence me on my music." Here he presents his first solo album, Logos, released in 2009. He plays every instrument here aside from the drums, which are played by Roberto Maragliano, the flute by Gian Castello (Tuona il cannone) and the singing by Giuseppe Alvaro (vocals on Tuona il cannone).

This album feels like going through a weird journey through someone's mind. The listening experience reminded me of the oddness of Devil Doll and Electric Orange; odd, peculiar but entertaining and fascinating. It can also be likened to a train ride through ever-changing scenery. One is faced with a varied ensemble of atmospheres; whereas some tunes are pensive, slow and meditative in style, others are more aggressive, rocking and determined. You might think this is too much of a shift between tracks, but really, it isn't, and it works quite well, as they seem to complement each other and interact well.

I'll mention a few notes I have on some of the pieces on the album. The first track, Intro, sets a very eerie and dark mood, reminding me of the intros to old death metal albums, where they would deliberately use this kind of music to set up a specific mood. And like those albums, the mood is counteracted by the following piece, Id & Trad. This track, a psychedelic/classic rock sounding tune, is a repetitive piece that while nice, gets a little boring on the third minute when nothing develops or changes and indeed, some variation would be nice. Similar spirited pieces on the album are Alleanza and Godinus 7 (part 2).

Tracks 4 to 6 are a dynamic chain of 3 tunes (that go on uninterrupted), covering a wide range of emotions and energy levels; from the slow, beautiful and calm Seconda Navigazione and Addio, to the splendid Le Braccia E Le Ali. This last piece is my favourite on this album, as it shows the range of style Giorgio Neri possesses, his ability to create an interesting and developed composition.

Godinus 7 is a two-part tune, starting off with an indo-raga theme on the first part and then moving on to a space-rock, similar to the opening Id & Trad tune, in its psychedelic elements and repetitiveness. The same criticism I had for Id & Trad applies here as well, though to a smaller extent, as it does feel to have more variety; moreover, the ending segment with the bagpipes turns this piece on its head.

Tuona Il Cannone is a beautiful song, reminding of the greats of the Italian prog rock in spirit.

L'ultima Danza is another favourite of mine on this album, its main theme being in the same rock manner as Id & Trad, Alleanza and Godinus 7 (part 2), it introduces a short slowed- down interlude, resuming the main theme shortly after, lead by a compelling solo guitar and making shifts in the theme and pace. This is the type of variation and development I was referring to with regards to Id & Trad.

One flaw that I hear (or perhaps feel, is more appropriate) is that there is some lack of balance in the mix, as some instruments should be more in the foreground, while the drums are pretty dominant and at times overpowering. Logos is an eclectic and dynamic musical ride, courtesy of Giorgio Neri. It provides engaging rock tunes with repetitive psychedelic elements alongside subtle compositions that explore spacey and peculiar sounding textures. Worth checking out.

A wonderful gem!

This is the debut album from Italian composer and multi-instrumentalist Giorgio C. Neri, whose concept is based in his spiritual travel. "Logos" is its title, and here you will find very interesting and original music that goes from atmospheric prog, symphonic and even some psychedelic passages. It features 13 compositions that make a total time of 52 minutes.

It opens with "Intro", as you can imagine, it is a short track that will lead us to this trip. Here we will listen to a nice environment, a soft mood created by keyboards and a guitar. A child is crying and then all of a sudden the music explodes, so now we are listening to "ID & Trad" whose rock element is evident, clearly accompanied by a psychedelic touch and space rock atmospheres. The structure is practically the same during its 4 minutes, but in the last seconds we can listen to a male voice, like a Father on a church.

"Alleanza" has a extraordinary keyboard work because here we can listen to an organ as background while the hammond is creating cool nuances. There is also a nice acoustic guitar at first, and later drums and electric guitar join and produce a powerful sound. What I like from the music composed here, is that despite it is repetitive, it is never boring, on the other hand, it is mesmerizing and hypnotic; I love how it flows. A much darker atmosphere is created in "Seconda Navigazione", a short track with the spoken word of Vittorio Ristagno, who is telling us a story, over a keyboard background. "Addio" is the shortest one with only one-minute length. Piano and keyboards complementing each other, this is like a transition to another place.

In "Le Braccia e le ali" we can appreciate a nice flute sound that works together with drums and a piano at first, later keys and both acoustic and electric guitar join and produce a very good sound, with a dynamic structure and a cool progressive rock texture. This song is a favorite of mine, I really like its changes in time and mood, and the addition of different elements while the seconds pass. This is a very complete song! "Guerra" is another short one, and here we can listen to those war elements such as weapons, guns, bombs and people screaming desperately. In the last part we can listen again to those church fathers, along with an aggressive explosion at the very end.

"Godinus 7 (a)" has a much calmer mood, with synthesizers creating a spacey tune, while a nice guitar plays here and there. Little by little new notes and elements are being added, producing different nuances and colors in this pastoral and space-atmospheric track. Its second part comes next, "Godinus 7 (b)" and here the space element continues but now with an obvious psychedelic touch included. Once again the structure is repetitive but addictive, I really like how it keeps me interested and excited, the music is simply great. The keyboard work is a highlight in this track and album, and here the drummer Roberto Maragliano also does a good job. The second part of this track is much different, with the inclusion of bagpipes and marching percussions.

"Tuona il cannone" is a beautiful composition with that particular Italian touch produced by vocals, this time made by Gian Castello. Here the rock progressive italiano flavor is obvious, taking elements of symphonic and folk prog. The names of PFM (Italian) and Focus (non Italian) spring to my mind with this song. "Per tutti e per nessuno" is another short transitional track, some birds can be heard in the first seconds, and then a synthesizer enters as background, along with some programming tunes and the spoken words of Ristagno.

"L'Ultima danza" is the longest track of the album, reaching more than nine minutes. A heavier song is here but nice drums, electric guitar riffs and that feast of keyboards as background. After a couple of minutes the track makes a change, the music slows down and brings a delicious sound made by acoustic guitars, percussion and the atmospheric keyboards. After four and a half minutes the music returns to its original form, making it really dynamic and interesting. This is of course one of Neri's finest compositions, one of the best of this excellent album.

The last track is "Sipario", which is an emotional song with nice piano and acoustic guitar, while a disarming electric guitar is making a riff. The sense of goodbye is present here, one can feel this journey will finish soon, so the melancholy is inherent. A very nice way to finish this album!

I am really happy with "Logos", it is a superb work by Giorgio C. Neri, who I hope releases new material in the near future. After several listens I had been fighting with myself because I did not decide the rating, but now I am sure. Five stars.

Enjoy it!

Flying sponge on fire

Logos is the term for a principle of order and knowledge - at least that is what I was taught, back when I was drowning myself in mystical and incomprehensible literature about morality, deities, self and other such fickle terms. No matter what you read into or out of the term Logos, because let's face it there's been a fair amount of different meanings going as far back as Aristotle and the Sophists, -you'll probably still pick up the sonic ode to the wonderful music of the 70s. As mentioned in other reviews, Logos plays tribute to bands like Led Zeppelin, ELP, Le Orme and Gong to name but a few - and whilst I hear smidgens of said acts, it is by far the gooey and psychedelic power prog off of Porcupine Tree's Up the Downstairs that I am reminded of the most, whenever I pop this album on the stereo. Mind you - it is done without sounding like a cheap knock off. My guess is that Giorgio C. Neri hasn't heard Up the Downstairs - but just by chance seems to have edged that particular feel and sound. Like grabbing an extremity beneath the cow - luckily so getting the one that spurts milk...

Oh yes, my favourite Porcupine Tree period with loads of sticky fiery guitar leads - spiralling melodically upwards with a big trailer of pelting drums, swirling synths and the appropriate soundscapes lurking in the back like a psychedelic carpet of sound. Yet Logos sounds completely different - it bobs back and forth between several different styles of music. One minute sounding like a heavy prog salute with huge metallic riffs and big booming drum work - other times highly reminiscent of the type of early RPI folk you'd encounter on a Delirium record from the 70s. The genius thing about it all though, is just how smoothly and velvety these different sections flow into each other, because this album actually consists of 13 different tracks! Now don't worry about that, because the whole feel of the thing rather omits a certain concept album attitude, where every musical segment hints back to former melodies - or maybe just takes all of the preceding tensions within the tunes and releases them into a guitar solo that swoops overhead like a wonderful mixture of Gilmour, Hackett and Wilson all crammed into one delicious songbird. I personally love guitar that sounds like a flying sponge on fire.

Logos is nearly all instrumental - except for a couple of interspersed moments - as well as that folky track called Tuona il Cannone, where the beautiful elegance of the Italian language suddenly wafts over you like a warm breeze. This tune also holds a couple of unorthodox instruments such as dulcimer, mandolin and maybe I have completely gone fishing, but I also hear the distinctive sounds of an Irish flute - whatever that means.... You know the merry-go-round kind of flute blowing ditties that every Westerner has come to equate with Ireland.

Going back to those influences, just to weed out some misconceptions you might be sponsoring right about now. I know, I would personally be a bit wary of an album that openly admits being a tribute to the masters of old. But not to worry. You can be absolutely sure, that you're not just getting a rehashed potpourri of elderly prog dinosaurs. No, apart from the folkish Italian traces that make me think of Delirium and I guess a few scattered Le Orme moments, then Logos is all about the sonic journey. It takes you under its wing and flies you off to a world of gliding swooping textures - all relegated by powerful guitar ghosts and vibrant synthesizer emanations. It sounds together and well thought out - like a tremendous vacation to the azure blue oceans of the Italian beaches.