MARY NEWSLETTER

Don't get deceived with the first delightful and groovy song "Atomic Deja Vu". :)

MARY NEWSLETTER would shoot a dreamy d'j' vu via this whole album world. Just after such a pop, catchy one, the real psychedelic world by an Italian superior combo has been waiting for us. "Ah ... Sssch!" is a heavy, dark rock world with a bit Krauty experimentalism here and there. Impressive are dark guitar footsteps and slimy chorus ... along with ethnic flavoured beats / melody line. In the following one "Andrea Emo ..." we can get drenched in electronic deep dread kicks and enthusiastically plaintive solo voices. Exactly into a dream flooded with a mixture of a dramatic "rock" and a magical mystery tour.

"Dovuti Effetti Di Una Sola Causa" is kinda electro-hypnotic space rock tinged with crazy ethnic beats and magical spellings or something. Electric percussion gives us comfort and superior grooves. Whilst the last phrase sounds like a hard edged rock blaster, a very colourful one. "Neon" is one of the most interesting, most Italian-charactered one, with brilliant sound squeezes and wacky, warped dark ambience. On the contrary, the following titled track "Del Perduto Coraggio" consists of Kraut-ish experimental guitar chase-game and metronomic rhythms electronica ... flooded with their experimentalism, an addictive one that grabs our heart obviously.

"Amica Venus" might be created with heavy rock riffs blended with delightful chorus and psychedelic but dramatic sound mysteries. The heavy guitar solo sounds sooo enthusiastic enough to drive us crazy into Italian psychedelic atmosphere. "Wittgestein 31" is another stable space rock like Hawkwind with sensitive word sounds and electronic slices ... and we get awake in a sound of a strawberry alarm clock. Through the reprise of "Deja Vu", we get serious again in front of the real world via such a dark, deep, heavy quake "Prospettiva Nevski".

In this album "Del Perduto Coraggio" (and the splendid sleeve!) we can understand another appearance of RPI in MARY NEWSLETTER. Yes cannot call them as a typical RPI combo but simultaneously cannot avoid them in RPI scene at all. Listen.

This Italian band has been hit and miss for me over the years and this their second album is good but for my tastes it doesn't measure up to their debut or their third studio record.

"Vis Country ?" starts things off and it's laid back to start as the vocals join in. The vocals do get passionate. They stop as flute comes in. It settles more after 4 minutes and we get some violin too. It starts to pick up including some organ before 6 minutes then the vocals return. Not a big fan of that one. The short tracks all have long song titles, so the next one is song 2 and it features acoustic guitar melodies throughout. "Lontano" has some nice bass as the heaviness comes and goes. Reserved vocals join in. Violin late. The fourth song is short with violin and piano. "Cattolica" opens with strummed guitar as the synths join in. Vocals after a minute. Drums and synths to the fore when the vocals stop. Electric guitar joins in. Good section that goes on until after 5 1/2 minutes when the vocals return and it settles. It then turns jazzy.

The sixth track is a short piece with sparse sounds and flute. "La Danza" kicks in right away and vocals arrive after 1 1/2 minutes. It's okay. "Ricordo" opens with vocals and a sound that seem distant. This changes and it picks up. Song nine is a short tune with piano and violin. "M.D.C." is the almost 14 minute closer. Atmosphere to start as a beat joins in. It picks up after 4 minutes and more 7 minutes in. Vocals before 8 minutes as it settles with piano. It picks up after the vocals stop as we get some samples then the vocals return.

My buddy tszirmay loves this one so check it out because it's all a matter of personal tastes.

Hard to believe it's been over 8 years since the last written review for this album. This is where it all began for Italy's own MARY NEWSLETTER. I really like this band and especially their first and third studio albums. I would rate this second best of the bunch. It's a little Bluesy, a little Psychedelic and mostly Progressive Rock.

"Introduzione" is somewhat spacey early. Strummed acoustic guitar as it builds with flute and drums joining in. It kicks in at 3 1/2 minutes with some excellent bass. "Le Mie Mani" sounds great early on with the bass as flute, drums and a full sound follow. The guitar before 1 minute starts to solo. Nice. Piano is prominant when the guitar stops. Vocals before 3 minutes. Piano and bass are prominant again when the vocals stop. The vocals continue to come and go. "La Danza" opens with flute then it kicks in with bass, drums and guitar standing out. Bluesy guitar before 1 1/2 minutes. Vocals 2 minutes in. "Mary" opens with guitar, bass and piano as drums join in as well. Love the sound of the guitar. Almost spoken vocals follow then it calms down. Love how this sounds 3 minutes in just before the vocals arrive. English vocals for a change on this one. This song continues to twist and turn throughout. Great track.

"Thanks Daddy !!" kicks in with a full sound almost right away. It settles some when the vocals arrive. Chunky bass here. It picks back up around 2 minutes with some excellent guitar. Great sound here to the end. "Thoughts" is the closer and at 13 minutes the longest song on here. It's mellow to start with flute and gentle guitar. Atmosphere too. The organ floats in bringing to mind FLOYD. It kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes. Vocals before 3 minutes. Guitar solo 4 minutes in with chunky bass and more. A calm before 7 minutes as sounds come and go. Very psychedelic here. It starts to build after 9 minutes as the drums pound. A calm 10 minutes in then it kicks back in. Vocals follow.

I'm a big fan of this band and they certainly started their careers off on the right foot with this excellent debut.

Unless they make a comeback this looks to be MARY NEWSLETTER's final album, released in 2004. Compared to the previous record i'd say that this one is more modern sounding and they've expanded the electronics that were used on that album. Interesting that their singer from the previous recording left the band so the drummer took over those duties. He felt that it was too much though to sing and play the drums so they hired a new singer, but the drummer had already recorded all the vocals for this record. The band then decided to let the new singer sing on what were intended to be instrumentals called "Peccato" and "In Fondo".

"Integro" is my favourite track. Electronics and a beat with these very processed vocals that come and go throughout. Acoustic guitar joins in. I like when it kicks in before 2 minutes. Great sound ! Nice bass too as normal vocals follow. "Il Colpo E La Croce" is a dreamy track with strummed guitar, keys, bass and vocals standing out. I like it. It settles right down 5 minutes in with piano and spacey sounds. It starts to rebuild as drums and vocals return. Nice. "Peccato" opens with heavy drums as aggressive guitar joins in. Vocals follow. Spoken words follow. "Illusione / Delusione" is a short one minute track with drums, organ and guitar leading the way. "La Pace" opens with sounds that seem to echo as vocals join in. This one has a jazzy vibe too. "Morte Di Un Moderatu" features drums, percussion, bass and guitar that comes and goes. It's building 3 minutes in. An interesting song that seems to have a Spanish feel to it at times.

"Step Forward" has this heavy beat and guitar. Vocals before a minute as the tempo picks up, although it continues to shift. Great sound after 4 1/2 minutes. "Coming Into L.A." is a cover of an Arlo Guthrie song. Apparently it was the first ever song the band played together some 10 years previous. It was also a tune they played live a lot. This is very different from the original with all the electronics. "Nothing But The Net" opens with vocals, keys and percussion that are contrasted with the guitar dominated sections. A fuller sound 2 minutes in. "In Fondo" opens with a beat as strummed guitar and keybords join in. Vocals after a minute. Some spoken words as well. I like the guitar before 3 minutes.

For my taste this one isn't as enjoyable as the previous album. I really like the first couple of tracks then it's hit and miss the rest of the way. The vocals are step down in quality as well. Good album though. 3.5 stars.

MARY NEWSLETTER is a band i've looked into more than once over the years but I could never find much in the way of reviews so I always passed. Then tszirmay came along praising this Italian Psychedelic band which coincided with the "Mellow records" sale, so I got this one and the followup fairly cheap. I'm so glad I finally pulled the trigger. I was able to find an old interview with this band which was enlightning because all the info and lyrics are in Italian in the liner notes. Mario the drummer says "We tried to compose a dark, psychedelic, minimilist album. We chose sounds able to drive the listener into a mental trip". This is a concept album about the incapacity of human understanding when it comes to infinity, nothingness, death, eternity etc. The title "Del Perduto Coraggio" stands for "Losing hope". The idea is that this (losing hope) is the final consideration of the human mind that struggles with these concepts (death, eternity etc.) and gives up.

"Atomic Deja Vu" is silly and seems so out of place on this album, especially as the opening track. The band even called this "a stupid song about death". It's only 2 minutes long and is quite catchy. "Ah...sssch!" is atmospheric with sparse piano. This becomes haunting as other sounds come and go. Drums before 3 minutes out of nowhere. Vocals and a powerful soundscape follow. I like the guitar before 5 minutes. Vocal melodies then synth-like sounds follow. "Andrea Emo Nel Suo Studio" opens with these experimental sounds that are repeated over and over as synths play in the background. I like it. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in come and go in a relaxed manner. It's experimental again. It kicks in around 4 minutes. A calm before 6 minutes as it turns spacey with vocals. Piano before 7 minutes to end it.

"Dovuti Effetti Du Una Sola Causa" is my favourite and it features fast paced spoken words with a haunting background. Sounds like footsteps coming and going. The song turns into sounding like a cross between FLOYD and TANGERINE DREAM. Vocals 4 1/2 minutes in and it becomes louder after 6 minutes. "Neon" kicks in with a good rhythm before 2 minutes. Nice guitar too. "Del Perduto Coraggio" opens with pulsating sounds as other sounds come and go. It's eerie and dark. A beat comes in. Spoken words after 2 1/2 minutes or is it yelling. Haha. The raw guitar before 4 minutes is cool.The pulsating sounds of the intro return to end it. "Amica Venus" kicks in around a minute. Great sound ! Guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in. Nice. Atmosphere to end it as it blends into "Wittgestein". The atmospheric synths continue. A beat comes in then vocals. "Deja Vu Reprise" is next. Why !!? Haha. "Prospettiva Nevski" features FLOYD-like bass as vocals come in. It turns powerful after 1 1/2 minutes as vocals continue. It ends as it began.

I think there's enough here to give it 4 stars.

This unique release remains one of my favorite Italian School of Prog releases of all-time, an extremely thoughtful album, lushly loaded with shimmering ideas, simmering atmospheres and exquisite creativity. It does need total attention as the value takes time to surface . The immediate first impression is one of playful invention, with decidedly unpretentious delivery, featuring the quality guitar playing of Davide Pisi, whose style is a mixture of Mark Knopfler (that gritty bluesy tone), Jan Akkerman (the jazzier solo period) and at times, early David Gilmour. But the remaining musicians are wonderful as well Marco Gusberti on piano and keys, Massimo Necchi on rotund bass, Mario Bramè on bold drums and a full-voiced Massimiliano Galbani, a vocalist who can emote, wail and soar in the language of his ancestors. "Vis Country" is a fine example of their inimitable recipe, an evocative romp that swerves, swoons and swamps with utter conviction. The guitar technique is pure genius, a blend of crass, coarse, grainy and rough, within a jazz-blues-prog blanket, great melodies and moods, up- tempo coalescing with mid-tempo , tossing in a few viola, cello, mandolin and flute passages to the mix, the mid section infuses mysterious psychedelia into a glorious paroxysm of emotion. A subtle piano-led solo and the restrained electric lead solo crowns this opener with cheering zeal and augurs well for the following tunes. "Intermezzo per chitarra, flauto e bouzouki" is a brief piece with German spoken words, flute, acoustic guitar and bouzouki, a beautiful pastoral interlude, full of sultry beauty, a simple melody to expire for, sheer exaltation. "Lontano" is a bruising, guitar-droned 6 minute masterpiece that resonates with conviction, bass guitar bopping along uncaring, the vocals sadly exuding some "distant" pain, dreamy psychedelic overtones color the arrangement. The ultra-distorted guitar break really growls with unabated fury, proving what an original 6 stringer Pisi really is, loading up on a fluid jazzy solo just to add faint distinction to the grind. A string quartet ends the tune and allies itself with an acoustic guitar on the next splendid ditty "intermezzo per quartetto d'archi e chitarra acustica". The contrasts are well thought out and thus, exhilarating. "Cattolica" is a 9 minute extravaganza with slithering slide guitar runs adding to the sublime main melody, very wistful and permissive until the underlying tone kicks in with pulsating frenzy, a restrained synth passage ushers in a pensive introspection and then, explosion! Pisi's axe playing becomes utterly lewd, almost dirty, complete bravado and bold assertiveness, an incredible display that is so rare in modern electric guitar playing. A return to the slide guitar trip and the vocalist recall of the main theme give the piece room to blossom, in fact imploding into a jazz bar-room atmosphere with scat-singing, bebop drums, cymbals crashing in seemingly disarray, real cool stuff! The next Interlude is "Orientale" where sitar, flute and percussives combine to provide an Eastern aroma, another sign of their expansionist creativity. "La Danza" is a mischievous little piece that "dances" convincingly, with Pisi's punkish axe leading the way, while Galbani's vocals truly shine with both brute power and insidious resolve , held down by some insanely nimble bass work. The similarly brief "Ricordi" is firmly in the dreamier category, with the spotlight directly on the vocals and some slithering bluesy guitar runs (a riveting solo that just rages onward), again combining jazz, blues, classical and that touch of originality that defines their style. "Le coup de fion" is a sumptuous interlude featuring piano and strings within a gorgeous melody. To prove how great this album is and how deep their craft can express powerful emotions, they finish off the proceedings with a 19 minute epic, the simply masterful "Martiri di Curiosita" (Martyrs of Curiosity). A long, sinuous, pensive intro assigns gentle electronics together with delicate percussion, the space/psychedelic overtones palpable, slowly exploding into a reptilian propulsion where all ingredients come together led as always by a bass-led turbo charge, some extended guitar improvisation, smashing, slashing, drilling and drooling with barely restrained abandon until the clearly defined melody breaks through the sonic clouds, opening up the piece like a blooming tulip! The piano and the vocal then reiterate the theme with conviction and one cannot help but smile as the whole becomes crystal clear, this is simply astral music. It's all here: soundscapes, special effects, great instrumentation, superb melodies, great singing and superlative playing. An absolute must for any ISP fan as well as for those who constantly seek new rock guitar sounds and styles. 5 virgin headlines.

There are very few groups in Progland quite like these simply amazing Italians, choosing to ply the oft traveled waters of symphonic prog with a whimsical take on the style, bringing in all kinds of intriguing touches. Their previous album "Distratto Dal Sole" was a real jewel, fueled by Davide Pisi's rather original guitar style, some unique singing in the traditional language of the land and some very attractive arrangements that kept away from synthesized bombast, preferring a jazzier experimentation slant. "Del Perdutto Corraggio" is even more leftfield, exploring peculiar soundscapes with unabashed curiosity , propelled by Pisi's magic axe and masterful interventions from the remaining crew, Marco Gusberti relying mostly on ornate yet slightly dissonant piano and hissing synths in an almost ultra-modern electronic style, as opposed to traditional sweeping virtuoso approach. The material sparkles with a hypnotic feel, singers Massimiliano Galbani and Mario Bramé (who is an excellent drummer as well) offering up some sense of lyrical balance to arrangements that veer dangerously close to sheer madness. At times minimalist (especially when the piano plays a major role) and at others effervescent, their brand of ISP is wholly original, extremely affirmative and slightly provocative as proven by the "Yugoslav" radio samples that collide with bubbling synths, mechanical drum beats, closer to experimental electronica than anything symphonic, as amply demonstrated on the manic "Dovuti Effetti di Una Sola Causa". The next track "Neon" returns to the supple delivery of their brand of psychedelia, with Pisi's twangy 6 string foray, twirling politely with Massimo Necchi's booming bass guitar, this is Mary Newsletter at their most cohesive and unique. The title track reverts to the realm of creative bizarreness, weird electro burps shuffling relentlessly, zips and zaps all over the place with an exalted vocal rant that is downright creepy, until Pisi kicks in a wickedly schizoid guitar blast, full of muted rage and insanity. This will not play on the radio, I assure you. "Amica Venus" is a disjointed affair that reveals some disturbing traits, burping bass heralding in a marshalling vocal that seem to float in luscious rancor. A slashing harmonica sardonically winks at the intense wah-wah guitar explosion, a definite descent into delirium. "Wittgestein 31" is another sterling electro breeze with swooning washes of synthesized wind, floating over some simple guitar picking, a brief but magnificent piece of divine music. The concise "Déjà vu reprise" revisits a previous album mainstay, the playful "Déjà vu", a sing along ditty full of fun and brawn. The boys like to have some fun, occasionally sprinkled with some odd ball configurations which continue on the rather Tullian "Prospektiva Nevski", echo vocal and all. While not as immediately appealing as their stunning predecessor, credit must be given to their inbred sense of "progression". 4 issues.

Mary Newsletter's fourth album is a fresh take on the modern spacey prog rock album. The true Italian spirit of adventure and humor can be found in this eclectic mix of rock, psych, pop, and electronica. They list their influences as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service and their guitar sound could be compared to Mark Knofler at times though it is often not as clean sounding as Dire Straits but with more of a spaced-out vibe.

"integro" begins with bleepy samples, weird sounding guitar and distorted wordless vocals. Some frisky acoustic guitar joins in. Then the band comes in heavily with good bass and drums. No one shows off too much but you can tell they are good players. Some normal vocals alternate with the distorted ones. The last minute features some weird squawking noises to the jamming guitar. "il colpo e la croce" is my favorite track starting with eerie noises to acoustic guitar. A beautiful and haunting vocal starts soon after that with absolutely perfect expressive space guitar and bass creating a Djam Karet style atmosphere. There is an odd effect to the vocal that gives a sense of helplessness to the subject. Soft piano sprinkles, bird like noises, and sparingly used percussion all add so much. The Levin sounding bass playing carries the track through some of the quieter moments. "peccato." comes charging out of the previous song with an upbeat drum beat and some rock guitar and heavy bass. More odd vocals give the otherwise static song a little edge. "illusione/delusione" is a jamming instrumental workout. "la pace" features both regular drumming and hand percussion with wah-wah guitar and good vocals. More nice piano here and there. The song structure breaks down in the middle and has some open space with just jazzy cymbals and loose guitar leads. One of the stronger tracks. "morte di un moderato" is quite bizarre with a movie soundtrack feeling, like from a strange 60s film. Exotic instrumentation and a "no rules" playing style of each man for himself. "step forward" is a strange song that begins with an electronica styled programmed beat with psych guitar in the background and wistful vocals. It slowly evolves into a good electric guitar solo over nice slow rhythm before the fast programmed beat returns at the end. "comin' into LA" may go down as the strangest cover I've ever heard. It's an electronica version of Arlo Guthrie's old "Coming into Los Angeles" that could be played at a rave to a roomful of partiers. It's a bit ridiculous to be sure but this album has a sense of humor lost on lots of dry artists. "nothing but the net" is almost a mix of punk, surf, and psych-pop. "in fondo" like the previous track shows the wheels coming off the wagon even further, in a good way, as "normal rock" music blurs into a loose, trippy rock chaos.

This is probably not the band's finest moment, I've been told earlier works are superior. I think 3 stars is being generous as there are some nice moments but inconsistency as well. The band's myspace site claims they have disbanded since this recording. The Mellow issue comes with a lyric booklet and nice artwork on the front and back covers.

Actually 3 1/2 stars!

This Band is somewhat difficult to describe in an overall sense?! I can tell you, however that this album to me is a very pleasant to listen. Not very complex but, melodic. It has progressive touches throughout no question about it, but it also shows elements of Rock, Blues, ethnic and space/Psych (ala PT) in the mix.

Several points, that I personally like about this album...It does not manifest a simple influence and preserves their Italian heritage, but with a 90's feeling (Italian lyrics by the way..) and, actually they have done a great job in this regard. There are four Intermezzos tracks, which give the sense of a cohesive album.

In all a very good release, that deserves some attention! I would not have any troubles in recommend this album to anybody, especially the Italian Prog lover!!!

MARY NEWSLETTER was formed in the spring of 1992. Their music is basically progressive rock and blues, with strong influences from the seventies. Inspired by many different artists such as GENESIS, Jimi HENDRIX, JETHRO TULL, KING CRIMSON, NEKTAR, PINK FLOYD, SOFT MACHINE, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and YES. They say they are playing dadaist-rock! You can also hear influences from Folk, Jazz, Psychedelic and classical music, and that gives MARY NEWSLETTER a unique style, but instead makes them rather hard to get used to.

"Nuove Lettere" is their first self-produced demo-CD. Half of the lyrics are in Italian and half in English. The sound on the CD is very dated with a flat and rough sound, but actually that is only good, because you get the impression of actually listening to a band from the late 60's or early 70's. The music got an improvised feeling overall, with many rhythm and tempo changes.

A very nice thing about this album is the use of violin and flute. There is also some excellent guitar and bass playing too, even though the guitar and bass get to much space on the album and the keyboards is sometimes disappearing in the mixing. When you get used to the singer he fits in very well with the music.

The best track is "Introduzione", "Mary", "Thanks Daddy!" and "Thoughts" (a 13 minutes long masterpiece).

This is not a perfect debut; still I think it's one of the five best albums from 1996. MARY NEWSLETTER is surely a promising band with very good musicians. I hope I get the chance to hear their new release "Distratto dal sole", because this is an interesting band. Recommended.