CARMINE CAPASSO

As I continue to further explore progressive music from Italy, a perennial ongoing hotbed of progressive rock, I am blessed to receive request for reviews from all around the Italian "boot" and I admiringly oblige. Carmine is a young musician from Campania, a singer/songwriter who currently lives in Milan, having worked as a session guitarist as well as playing recently with big name bands like the Trip and the Samurai of Prog. On this, his debut release, we find a sturdy list of collaborators such as Ovidio Catanzano and Antonio Liccardi (drums), Francesco Di Pietro (piano, synth), as well as appearances by Sasha Torrisi (former Timoria), Marco Bernard & Kimmo Porsti (the rhythm section of the Samurai of Prog), guitarist Marcus Eaton (David Crosby), Luca Sparagna (Le Orme), bassist Adrian Shaw (Hawkwind), Elisa Montaldo (Il Tempio delle Clessidre), keysman Marco Grieco, Danilo Sesti, Barbara Rubin, Andrea Taddeo, Emilio Verrillo, flutist Jenny Puertas (Agusa), Roberto De Rosa on bass, Salvatore Santella on sax, keyboardist Alessandro Di Benedetti (Inner Prospekt), Andrea Ranfa (The Trip), Tony Alemanno (The Trip), Costantino Taglialatela, Ivan Santovito (IsProject), Oscar Fuentes (Days Between Stations) and Alessandro Saltarelli.

As is so often the case with the Italian School of Prog (RPI), there is always a communion of various influences that combine classical, jazz, blues, symphonic and Italian folk song (canzone Italiane). The focus here is on song writing and melody, instead of the outright technical prog exercises , so everything is more compact and bite-sized. It is quite obviously a very personal musical journal and as such, is drenched in some natural purity of intent. In the liner notes, the following says it all: "The work is intended as a kind of concept centered on a dream, Carmine's dream, which is to make his way in a fairly large and complex world. Carmine's desire leads him to fly into a gravity- free reality only to find himself in a place where a sense of lightness is the frame. The scene changes when the protagonist is war (Immobile) where those who pay the price are those people who have nothing to do with it and struggle to make it to tomorrow (Neve Nera)".

A little dreamy overture to get the juices running, an instrumental "Sogno pt1" (Dream Pt1) that features a sparkling piano and bluesy guitar announcement, defining the majestic melancholic melody, A fantastic opening salvo! The title track introduces Carmine's expressive voice, pushed along by Adrian Shaw's pulsating bass, an accessible song that offers no pretentions other than to keep things simple and powerful. The cameo synth solo is a slippery beast played by Marco Grieco, amid the slithering guitar slashes. "In un Posto Che Non C'e" (In a Place That Isn't There) is a slower ballad, presenting a rippling piano, slick backing vocals, loads of strings and mellotron, an unforeseen and warm sax foray and a brief but fiery axe solo. "Immobile" is the perfect segue, a tad more orchestral and with some twists and turns in the finale. My favourite track here and the proggiest , "Neve Nera" (Black Snow) is the third instalment, a more poignant piece that underlines a sense of effort and desperation, in light of our recent lives, I presume. Bombastic, emotional, and magnificent, a melody and a delivery to die for (literally), with brief little pools of smooth moody playing. More of this, per favore! Emilio Verrillo's bouzouki gives off this strong Mediterranean mood that just oozes sunshine and passion, as Carmine trades warm vocals with Andrea Taddeo on 'Una Valigia di Perche" (a suitcase full of why), a simple and pleasant tune. The same limpid ease continues on the rambling "Milano Gia' lo Sa" (Milano Already Knows) , crowned by a prefect guitar solo .

The finale is the is the continuation of the instrumental intro, a "Sogno Part 2" with Oscar Fuentes' silky keyboard work on synth and mellotron (Ivan Santovito on piano) and Jenny Puertas' flute work on creating a stirring melodic ending, as Marco and Kimmo take this into an elevated paroxysm of pleasure.

An artist ready to create future recordings that would expand his creative wings even more. Perhaps incorporating longer, more fleshed out tracks so as to show off his considerable skills on electric guitar.

4 southern reveries

— First review of this album —

Rogue had the great pleasure of reviewing Carmine Capasso's debut album "Assenza di Gravita" in 2022 and enjoyed immensely, with the hope of future albums where the tracks would be fleshed out more, in order to shed light on his impressive technical skills. What better way to follow this advice than a live album? Carmine is a young and talented guitarist, singer/songwriter who lives in Milan, having worked as a session guitarist as well as playing recently with big name bands like the Trip, Inner Prospekt, Kimmo Porsti and the Samurai of Prog. A name to remember and follow, as his ability is noteworthy. Reprising most of his first album tracks as well as adding a few Prog jewels like Firth of Fifth, PFM's "Impressioni di Settembre" and the Trip's "Caronte I", his tight crew is composed of Guiseppe Sarno on keys, bassist Piero Chiefa, drummer Jacopo Casadia and guest bassist Tony Alemanno on a few tracks. The concert showcases various styles, from prog, folk song, rock and classics, with the overt strategy of providing an entertaining night of music. A series of four tracks from his debut kick off the festivities, with the dreamy "Sogno part 1" establishing the atmospheric mood with simmering glimmer. The electric guitar is up front and center, as the piece settles into a melodic groove, a delicate Sarno piano creating that romantic touch that made Italy famous, the rhythm section in the background showing admirable restraint. Segueing immediately into the rousing title track, a rocking power track, suavely vocalized with tons of mellotron adding an orchestral feel to the chorus. The guitars thrash expressively, with a synthesizer solo first to cut off the fat, an urgently repetitive voice and an axe flurry as coup de grace.

A return to melancholy is welcome, keeping the audience on edge, a piano and voice the main focus until a butterfly synth saunters into the shining light, the pace and power raising exponentially, until the piano sets the sun on the horizon." Neve Nera" is a moody stunner I remember as a favourite on that first album, as it displays an intense passion, desperation and fortitude, expertly sung and played. The screeching fretboard exhortations are blistering and razor-sharp, a definite upgrade from the already brilliant studio version. In a more traditional rock vein, "Sole Spento" is a single from a 2001 album from Timoria (active between 1985 and 2003) that gets a little retooling love from our Sicilian master. "Una Valigia di Perche" maintains the style of Italian canzone, a simple, redolent piece that breathes the sunshining air of free spirit, an uncomplicated piece that adds freshness to the set list.

The voyage finally lands on the shores of revered classic RPI band the Trip, with the intro "Acheronte" and the main course "Caronte 1" raising the prog flag with impunity, as this section delves deep into the churning organ fiasco, with gritty guitars, bruising bass and polyrhythmic gymnastics from the drum kit. The breakneck pace is purely Formula One Ferrari, a careening, daredevil progressive rock in the vein of early Le Orme (think Collage), and frankly, this is just plain spectacular, as no quarter is given. The current version of the Trip is where the next Capasso written track takes center stage, as "Enigma" keeps the steamroller mood intact, another pummelling track, this time offering a sumptuous Alemanno bass line, the lightning fast Casadia banging his kit with impunity. The gurgling guitar complements the arrangement, with a massive solo from Carmine that urges and oozes with conviction, the bubbly organ in tow.

Arguably the PFM standard that put the RPI style on the global map, "Impressioni di Settembre" needs little explanation, only that Sarno's take comes from an entirely different direction, a persistently exquisite piano etude to set the stage. Eventually, the famed refrain becomes familiar, and we enter through the gates of heaven, a piece that is a cornerstone of progressive rock, as it possesses EVERYTHING that can enchant the ear, the spirit and the soul. Carmine's vocal is breathtakingly reverential, and the famous Premoli synth chorus is lovingly recreated by Sarno. Carmine peels off a wicked solo. Bombastic, celestial, eternal. E basta!

To tackle an even higher (okay, the highest!) peak is worthy of the greatest Everest climbers, the Genesis standard "Firth of Fifth" is quite the undertaking. I consider this piece as the number 1 of all time, as I still listen to it regularly today. As with the PFM classic, the band takes a different route, preferring to truncate the scintillating piano introduction by Tony Banks surely out of respect, skipping directly to the pulsating section where Casadia's drums fawn over the extremely talented syncopation required, thus naturally leading to the sublime Hackett solo that remains a hallmark of music, all styles combined. Carmine does an admirable attempt, a bit faster, harder but very much reverential, as the finale engages a rabid synthesizer solo and a more wicked axe slash.

The "Sogno Part2" is a short, corkscrew finale, with a hurricane-strength, all guns blazing arrivederci! Contrary to any hyper polished studio offering, the main purpose of a live in concert setting is to let loose all the inner emotions without any boundaries and just play for the audience. The career path of this young talent should now become obvious to the prog community, and we all look forward to his future endeavours.

4.5 Milanese nights