All Prog From Italy Appreciation Thread

It didn't take long for this album to win me over.First of all thanks to Finnforest for another winner from Italy.This is very modern sounding with lots of acoustic guitar,deep male vocals along with some great female vocals(both in english).There is some heaviness,in fact this record does contrast moods and sound very well.The thing that impresses me most is that it touches my emotions at times.Not sure why but it is very moving. "The Neverending Meal" opens with some great sounding guitar,very intricate.Reserved male vocals join in then a fuller sound crashes in at a minute.The contrasts continue.Gotta love those organ runs as well. "High Meanings" is an interesting track,i like when it settles a minute in and 2 minutes in.Nice. Bass and drums are prominant late in the song. "A Bridge Beyond The Hill" opens with acoustic guitar,i like the atmosphere here.Female vocals before 1 1/2 minutes.The contrast continues.Killer sound before 3 minutes when the organ comes in.Hell ya! Male vocals follow. "Mindflow" has these strummed guitar passages that come and go.Female vocals come in followed by a calm to the end. "Magic Riddles Suite" consists of 5 parts and is around 20 minutes in length. Acoustic guitar to opem then reserved male vocals come in.I always think of MOONGARDEN when he sings here.It kicks in before 3 1/2 minutes and builds to a powerful sound in part 2.Nice. Part 3 is such a good section with those excellent male vocals and the way the mood changes. Part 4 is simply gorgeous.This is pure emotion for me with the acoustic guitar early and then the song gets much more powerful before settling down with piano.Gulp. Part 5 is the final part of this suite.It opens with gentle guitar but gives way to a heavier sound quickly.A good beat with organ and vocals follows.It calms down with piano before 4 minutes. "Before The Walklight" features piano melodies throughout. "Walklight" is a good bright,uplifting song with vocals. "Mindfloater" features melancholic acoustic guitar throughout. "The Bridge Beyond the Hill" is mellow with gentle guitar and reserved vocals to start.It does get fuller and we get some cool atmosphere before 2 minutes to the end. "In A Lightbox" is kind of spacey with drums to open.Male vocals 1 1/2 minutes in.Piano 3 minutes in are just perfect here.Female vocals 4 minutes in create emotion for me.Very cool track. This is one of those albums that i look forward to putting on while i just kick back and enjoy the ride.

I have tried to like this album for soooooo long without any success, though I have never been a fan of the heavier Italian Prog school (RDM, Osanna, Museo Rosenbach,Il Balletto di Bronzo etc..) , preferring the gentler , folkier stuff. I know that I will lose a lot of my fellow colleagues respect and I know that this album borders outright veneration by many PA members but I just never found it to be melodic enough, this will be my crucifixion and I will bear my cross. Being a light drinker, I attempted red wine, tequila, port and various other undisclosable stimulants as fuel to anesthetize my senses but this seminal ISP album never rung my bell. So, this time, I decided to give it another whirl, lights dimmed, candles ablaze and distractions eliminated. Certainly, the initial keyboard driven onslaught on “L’Ultimo Uomo” is impressive, Hammond organ, Farfisa e-piano and mellotrons gushing with rage, though the raspy vocals excite me not. “Il Re di Ieri” is a dreamier passage with Pit Corradi showing off his dexterous skill on his keyboard arsenal and drummer Giancarlo Golzi powering nicely, while the guitar seems muted at times and raunchy at others. “Al di La…” is average, nothing spectacular. The 6 minute + “Superuomo” is considered to be one of the crowning moments but is strangely unable to move me beyond the obvious technical qualities of the players. Good instrumental playing there is no doubt but I just can’t feel the spirit, which seemed to have worked well on Le Orme’s Collage or Goblin’s Roller, two powerful ISP classics. “Il Tempio” does emote well as the grandiose mellotron propelled theme is majestic and deep; really love this track but its only 2 minutes and 52 seconds in length. “Degli Uomini” begins auspiciously with booming authority, the robust guitar meshing with the fiery massed keyboards and a slithering tempo that aims to please but turns rapidly into a rather mundane display that is no where near the splendor of an ELP or the romanticism of a Triumvirat, ruined by paltry vocals from Stefano “Lupo” Galifi, who does howl like a wolf (lupo). “Della Natura” is the longest track here and remains unable to shake the “Speed King” syndrome that I simply cannot get into. There is an entire pointless organ solo (yeah, you can really play) that is pure technique and no subtlety. The mid section with the dreamy e-piano and drum shuffle is genius though, ruined by some hard-rock “daboo deeboo dadada-dah” vocalizings that again impress me not. “Dell’Eterno Ritorno” is the finale and I guess I am hopelessly transfixed by my failure to adore this album. I truly am sorry but I fail to see the fantasy of this museum. I await the obvious tomatoes of ridicule. 3.5 thrusts from Zara, mostly for the reputation and the nice artwork.

Sulle Corde di Aries is one of those works where you can feel some sort of important decision have been made prior to its realisations. Whether conscious or unconscious, this the third album (not counting the English version of Fetus) is decidedly a more focused, comfortable and interesting album compared to its predecessors. Where you could sense a certain amount of uncertainty concerning direction, stylistic stamina and level of artistry emanating from Fetus and Pollution, Sulle Corde di Aries is more or less a done deal from start to finish.

Dropping sometimes too obvious ear-catchers such as sharply contrasting, truly electronic-sounding synthesisers, the occasional singer-songwriter guitar-and-vocal performance and the cubic, unsynchronised composition actually opts for something of a fresh start. This is Battiato expressing himself in a more organic, flowing and stable way where synthesisers and nimble percussion dominate. It’s rich, but still subtle and minimalist in the meaning of underlying structural and dynamic changes. They’re few and far between, with songs living their own life around a steady, simple rhythm where instruments can join, leave, change their melodies and interact in a successful and very effective way, making the overall sound an ambient micro-cosmos full of different sorts life and thus forcing the listener to heighten his awareness and enjoyment of the music. However, if you don’t reach (or have trouble reaching) that state of concentration and positive feedback, it’s just as likely the music will be perceived as…plain boring. Just a warning.

All these characteristics can be found in Sequenze e Frequenze, the epic of the album, and as such also half of it. Stunningly beautiful, with a haunting introduction of oboe, clarinet and a dark spectrum of synth sounds, gradually shifting towards the towering and majestic towers of synth that I find so characteristic of Battiatio. A recital vocal section on top of that, continuing over an oscillating melody that’ll introduce the deliciously simple main beat of this amazing piece of music. And off it goes, with a steady foundation in the more low-key synth sounds and effects, with loads of delicate, spindly keyboard and percussion melodies dancing over it (like falling rain!) as the track progresses. Careful guitar textures anchors it with its earthy and familiar, yet intricate sounds the first minutes, only to drift into the background as the song grows more and more hypnotic. A short period of slightly off-beat, chunky drumming/percussion marks the shift into the intense and very much vibrant calimba section, where the synths manages to distance themselves at the same time as they increase in intensity. And then it continues down the same path, with many subtle changes along the way. A composition I immediately fell in love with, with its strong imagery, therapeutic qualities and exquisitely suggestive, subtle richness. One of those songs that lifts you up, being neither bright nor dark in character, but somehow above all of that. That goes for the entire album, to be honest.

Left are three shorter songs, all three around 5-6 minutes. Aries has a wonderful, slightly understated and distant introduction, with echoing guitar tones glimmering in the general emptiness (building in strength to be replaced by chord work). Again just a simple underlying beat to keep everything together and floating, choral vocals deep down in the mix. There’s a great and whirling sax solo to be heard hear as well. Lighter than what came before, but nicely tripped-out nevertheless. Areknames from Pollution is never really far away when you hear Battiato’s vocals and some of the melodies on Aria di Revulozione, but with a lot more sense for detail and the addition of tribal drumming, woodwind and saxophone. Strangely frozen in atmosphere and progression, it forms a nice interlude before Da Oriente ad Occindente. The interwoven, dancing vocals of the last track are delightful to hear, and yet again you’re treated by the naked beauty of acoustic string instruments, effective, earthy rhythm and the autumnal, saturated sounds of woodwind. For being six and a half minutes long, it manages to creep under your skin just as much as Sequenze e Frequenze. A fitting end to a great album.

While I feel I have managed to get the most out of Sulle Corde di Aries’ potential, I just can’t call it an absolute masterpiece. For me to do that, it would require that the album gave me the same chills and emotional rush every time I hear it. And it just doesn’t. Battiatio’s music walks on a thin line between highly emotional and downright cold, a price he pays for making condensed and intellectual music. But the always present enigma also makes me want to come back time after time and, perhaps, with time, I’ll be able to add that fifth star.

4 stars.

//LinusW