All Prog From Italy Appreciation Thread

 

...what about me in the previous weeks...? well have been in Milan for a week and I'm preparing the last part of law exams for the 16th sept.

 

Meantime I try to relax the mind with some veeeeeery melodic italian prog ()...

 

 

Cheers

Alberto

 

did someone herar these disc:

 

 

                 Bon giorno, fellow Italian progheads, here's my Sunday contribution to this thread:

 

 

 

PENNELLI DI VERMEER, I — La primavera dei sordi
Review by erik neuteboom (erik neuteboom)
Special Collaborator New Progrock Bands Specialist

— First review of this album —

In the second half of the Seventies I bought my first Classic Italian Progrock albums: Banco their eponymous fifth album (aka V) and the Italian version of The World Became The World by PFM, this was the start for my Italian progrock fascination. I was blown away by the mindblowing blend of great vocals, virtuosic work on guitar and keyboards and adventurous, dynamic and varied compositorial skills. In the late Eighties and early Nineties I was very pleased with the Japanese and Italian record labels that released cascades of Classic Italian progrock gems on CD, from albums by Museo Rosenbach and Corte Dei Miracoli to Panna Freda and Semiramis. It turned out that the USA progrock labels Laser’s Edge and Syn-Phonic were my gateway to Prog Heaven. In that era I started to write for Dutch progrock paper SI Magazine and soon I discovered that the Italian progrock scene was still alive and proggin’ when we received lots of promo CD's from bands like Il Castello Di Atlante, Abiogenesi, Nuova Era and Calliope, again I was In Prog Heaven! Early 2004 I started to write for Prog Archives, one of the first things I did was writing about all those old and new Italian progrock bands and adding Classic Italian Progrock like Rustichelli & Bordini and Cherry Five. Unfortunately the following years it was a bit poor and I started to focus on the very prolific progrock scene in Latin- America (from Nexus to William Gray). But since last year I have hope with new Italian progrock bands like Moongarden, Hostsonaten, Ainur, Il Baccio Della Medusa and .... I Pennelli Di Vermeer, what a stunning debut CD!

I Pennelli Di Vermeer (the name is derived from our famous painter Johannes Vermeer) is rooted in 2002, in 2007 they released the mine-CD Tramedannata and one year later the debut CD entitled La Primavera Dei sordi. During my first listening session I was blown away, what a varied and unique prog this is with an important role for the vocals, from an opera-like female voice to theatrical vocal harmonies or even a small children choir. The variety in the 10 compositions is great: a tango-like rhythm in the first track Tre cadaveri nel cassetto, “Madness meets The Shadows” in the cheerful Manifesto 70 x 100, wonderful interplay between violin and Grand piano in Cinque minuti...una notte, a Hawkwind-like atmosphere with a hypnotizing beat and synthesizer beeps and bleeps in S.K.L.ero, vintage keyboards (Farfisa – and Hammond organ and flute-Mellotron) and a wide range of singers in Luce and a synthesizer sound in the vein of The Stranglers (late Eighties-era) and a spectacular synthesizer solo in Incuboinuncubo. My highlights are the two most ‘traditional progrock efforts’: an intro with warm vocals and twanging acoustic guitar, then a slow rhythm featuring wonderful work on violin with soaring organ and excellent male and female vocals in Nel giardino di belzebu’ and sumptuous church organ and howling guitar in the alternating Carogna.

If you are up to an adventurous progrock journey (this music will not be everybody’s cup of tea), check out this genuine progrock effort by a very unique new Italian band, what a thrill that 30 years after the Classic Italian Prog-era, a new Italian band succeeds to present such an unique, daring and adventurous prog, a big hand for I Penneli Di Vemeer!

Thanks to my Dutch PA friend Angelo for his recommendation.

 

AINUR — Children of Hurin
Review by erik neuteboom (erik neuteboom)
Special Collaborator New Progrock Bands Specialist

This is a CD/DVD box set that contains a wonderful 32 page booklet in which you can read how about this Tolkien inspired dark concept story (taken from the book Silmarillion). The music is performed by musicians who use a wide range of instruments, from harp, violin, French horn, clarinet and flute to keyboards and many male and female singers like a bass bariton. The amount of classical instruments is a strong indication what we can expect from Ainur during the 13 songs on Children Of Hurin.

CD: The first composition Morgoth’s Prophecy is an impressive start, we can enjoy lots of dynamics between the classical instruments and the electric guitar and sensational Minimoog synthesizer flights, layered with classically trained vocals. The other 11 songs also deliver a blend of classic and progrock music with the emphasis a bit more on classical. But just when it tends too sound a bit too classical, the music turns into fluent, often sumptuous progrock like sparkling piano, porpulsive guitar and lush organ in Mim And The Outlaws, sweeping guitar riffs and fat Minimoog runs in The Sack Of Nargothrond and beautiful interplay between electric guitar and the Minimoog with a progmetal sounding rhythm-section in Glaurung’s Death, Ainur succeeds to keep my attention during the entire album! The sound on Children Of Hurin is in the vein of their debut CD entitled From Ancient Times (2007), I tend to prefer their second effort and I am very curious to the development of this promising new Italian progrock band.

DVD: The main footage is the Original Ainur Live Video featuring two songs from the Children Of Hurin CD, we can witness that Ainur is very capable to perform their story on stage, also in the track War Of Wrath (on the From Ancient Times album) that contains heavy guitarwork, pleasant keyboardwork by two members along violins and a bariton, great tension between two musical styles. Finally two live songs from earlier concerts in this section. The other extra’s are Interview, Recording Sessions, Ainur History Documentary, Ainu Live Documentary and Extra Video.

A big hand for the unknown new Italian progrock band Ainur, they deserve a bit more attention on this site! My rating: a very solid 3,5 stars, next album 4 stars?

                                                                    Ciao

AREA — Crac !
Review by jimmy_row (ryan)
Collaborator Italian Symphonic Prog Team

“Crac!” is Area’s third album, released in 1974 and one of the strongest in their revolutionary canon of political artfulness. The previous album had received some mixed opinions after the explosive debut; Crac! is a departure in style from both of those two records—in a way, more compact and sleek if that is possible to think of with Area. In that aspect, this is the most “accessible” version of the band, and not surprisingly, they had gained their largest following with insightful lyrics set to a whirlwind of musical directions. Through 1974 and ’75, Area were dedicated to a consistent live schedule (one that would produce the strong live album Are(A)zione ), which helped them become one of the most influential groups in the land, touching musicians, listeners (especially younger ones), and activists alike.

By now, the two musical “leaders” of the band were at the top of their game: Demetrio Stratos’ powerful voice fully ingrained as another instrument as well as the messenger. He didn’t even have to use actual words to be at the forefront (“Megalopoli”). Meanwhile, Patrizo Fariselli dialed in the tricky jazz and experimental parts: complex, but as I said, compact and often frantic. The twists and turns from Patrizio’s relentless bag of tricks is nothing short of amazing. The newest member, Tovalazzi (bass) who joined after the debut, does a stunning job using electric, acoustic, and double bass. His background seems better suited for those frequent capricious excursions than the man he replaced, Patrik Dijvas (also an excellent musician, and a member of PFM at this point). The lyrics make use of metaphor and analogy to avoid sounding overtly political and aim largely at the day’s youth. “Gioia e rivoluzione” is the most up-front; musically optimistic, but lyrically an earnest call to arms. A “battle” of love and passion…they compare their instruments to lethal weapons (ah, that old “change the world” ideal in music; reality seems to have squelched that out these days).

Much like Arbeit Macht Frei , Crac! jumps out of the gate with the two strongest tracks to my ears. “L’elefante bianco” is very intense and a favorite of mine, the addictive Arabian flavored instrumental sections scorch like the Egyptian sun and the interplay and vocals are out of this world. Quite far from some of the more jazz oriented pieces that often appear, such as the following track “La Mela di Odessa”, which is similar to the title track from the debut, with another excellent soulful bass-line during the second half after a frenzied romp through free jazz territory. The first two tracks show what Area do best, while the rest of the album expands and explores, often taking very different routes, and serving testament to the eclecticism of their palette. They take Mediterranean folk bits and play them with guitar and synthesizer; they settle down and play upbeat rock, do a little RIO, space out a bit in places, and of course stretch out when they need to. This is perhaps what people often miss in labeling Area simply as “jazz-rock”; their style is really a fusion (that’s a better term) of anything they felt like doing, sometimes taking them very far from rock and jazz. I’ve noticed a love/hate result from this; people often say that they don’t normally like fusion, but that they do like Area…or vise versa. To me, this is because Area are beyond categorization, and they belong to a handful of bands that break every rule or possibility of such.

PA Rating: 4.49999/5

The Jimmy Row Factor: 9/10, A

Ryan, Erik, NotaProg.....good work guys.....clappies to all

Few albums have surprised me as deeply as “Riscivere il Passato”, this 2002 offering from Notturno Concertante, a gifted two man partnership between guitarist/keyboardist Lucio Lazzaruolo and guitarist Raffaele Villanova. I own another one of their albums, really never was bowled over but I never give up on any band or CD and remain constantly in search of a good turn. I was really not expecting to get involved with this duo again. To my astonishment, I was fueled by the comments as well as the spirited opening track “Giga” which I picked off the PA audio play-list (whose great idea was that? Born Brilliant I say!). This is certainly not your sweeping symphonic 22 minute statement with whooping ‘trons and synths, all stitched up tightly in a lushly orchestrated package but rather a collection of short generally crisp and upbeat musical etudes mostly featuring keys and guitars that seek to evoke various avenues of inspiration. ”Giga” is undoubtedly a fine opening, giving a plaintive violin the opportunity to introduce a playful flute adventure that veers, winds and dances in all directions in a fast-paced folk direction with a slight Oldfield touch and totally enjoyable. “Io Ti Amo” is a vocal masterpiece with a massive melody adorned with thick orchestrations that seeks to highlight the passion of the “I love you” message, complete with a surprising but slick “vafanculo” at the end. I guess that was a somewhat bitter affair! “Six of the Best” is a haunting homage to Genesis that copies or borrows nothing from the famed group, choosing a more contemporary delivery, complete with great drumming, swirling keys, chugging guitars and loads of dramatic vocal effects. “Electric Rain” is another stellar instrumental endeavor with cello, violins and acoustic guitars combining to create a deep melancholia with ingenious splashing percussive effects, the mood brief and concise, deeply evocative. “So Many Things” is another sparkling jewel, ornate piano entwined with lush pastoral acoustic guitar picking, brooding cellos in the backyard and a shimmering melody that aches for your attention, not too far from a more polished Anthony Phillips. Another highlight is “Flood of Tears” providing another window of musical wonder and amazement with solid drums ushering in walls of shattering electric rhythm guitar, choir voices in the distance, epic and grandiose as if for some cinematographic venture. While certainly not even remotely in the classical ISP mould or even the more recent wave of delirious prog from “the Boot”, this pleasant disc deserves being in any collection because of its unpretentious beauty, the pristine sound and the layers of creative intensity that can only befuddle and seduce the unsuspecting fan. Befuddle and seduce, hmmm that sounds pretty much like the definition of Italian to me! 4.5 berlinettas