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The Italian Prog Appreciation den |
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Nightfly 
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659 |
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 Posted: July 29 2010 at 06:02 |
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A Biglietto Per L'Inferno interview would be great.
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 29 2010 at 09:21 |
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PROG OR NOT PROG? THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM... Review by octopus-4 I'm quite surprised to see that this album doesn't have any review. This album (Not at Money, not at Love neither at Heaven) is less intense than his previous masterpiece "La Buona Novella" and even if based on the concept of Edgar Lee-Masters' Spoon River is more a collection of songs than a concept album. Defining it prog is hard but it contains some of the most famous songs ever written by "Faber".
Based on classical and acoustic guitar, with many influences which go from the acoustic country-rock on "Un matto" and "Un Giudice" to the French Medieval flavour of "Un Blasfemo" has its strength in the highly poetical lyrics, and it shouldn't surprise being the poetry of Lee- Masters the concept. If you really want to appreciate this album manage to get a translation of the lyrics. The opening track "Dormono sulla collina"(They sleep on the hill) is a summary of what you can expect in the album. It briefly mentions some characters not so important to have an entire song based on them apart of "Jones the musician". The music is based on minor chords with an orchestral arrangement that make it sound like a movie soundtrack until it turns into acoustic. "Un Matto" (A Fool) is a slow country-rock song based on acoustic guitar and violin. Probably the easier listening of the whole album.
"Un Giudice" (A Judge) is the most famous song of the album, mainly becaus eof a very hard sentence "A dwarf is a b*****d for sure because his heart is too close to his a****le". The dwarf is the Judge who in life was used to send people to death as revenge against people who considered him a half-man. Musically is another country piece with a non- country tempo, based on acoustic bass and guitar. "Un Blasfemo" (A Blaspheme) goes back to the "La Buona Novella" themes. About religion and intolerance. "They killed me because I said that God fooled the first man" and "Not God, bot somebody who invented him, constraints us to dream in an enchanted garden". The song starts with flute and acoustic bass, then voice and classical guitar, finally cymbals. The flavour is medieval with a bit of French a-la-Brassens. My fav on this album.
"Un Malato di cuore" (A heart-illed) is a sad slow song about an illed boy who dies while kissing his first love. Keyboard, bass and classical guitar for a mixture of French and country. "Un Medico" (A Physician) has a grotesque start with violins on a melody that reminds to XIX century's Italian Opera (I mean Rossini). The chords are everything but trivial with sudden changes in scale and pitch.
"Un Chimico" (A Chemist) is Dylanesque, based on finger-picking acoustic guitar. "Un Ottico" (an Optician) starts Frenchy, then goes into a sort of psychedelia as the subject of the song is a metaphor of drugs and acid allucinations. The lenses sold by the opticians are clearly referred to acid. The lyrics of the psychedelic part are just descriptions of allucinations but with a lot of references. Back to France on the final.
Finally "Il Suonatore Jones" (Jones the Musician) is another sad slow song full of regret for the past (even if he says "it ended with no regret at all). The best lyrics of the album, maybe. The track is based on classical guitar and flute. I can't give it 5 stars because even if it's clearly a masterpiece, this is not progressive rock, but I think that anybody who looks for good music full of contents can be happy to have it in his collection.
4 stars. NICE REVIEW... |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 29 2010 at 14:44 |
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A LOOK TOWARDS THE SKY
This is not exactly an album review, it's a kind of awing celebration of a song... A great song!
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Review by CorSard58 We all were small children in those days. We played football. In A.Ş. Villasor. After years (three) in college interned by Salesians (large religious group for young people). I was playing defense, I was the stopper. Meshes of the team were beautiful yellow and black colors. Ie: the sun and the sun off the peak. Something that is regenerated each day and is annihilated. Well, this team where we would play had a home. It was a sort of porch with walls of mud raw (Mexicans call adobe, instead we "ladiri".) With a jukebox. There were many laps 45 Anglo-Americans in those days that turned into the pot. We rather liked only one: Look at the sky (to look Toward the sky) Le Orme. That song kept and showed a lot of energy. Without electric guitars. With a lot of melody and rhythm. And small words where we all hoped we would recognize adolescents.
"Waiting for the morning start (waiting for morning to re- iniazilize Ourselves). Or: The joy of singing, the desire to dream the way to achieve what you have notLa gioia di cantare , la voglia di suonare il senso di raggiungere quello che non hai ecco un altro giorno come ieri , aspettare il mattino per ricominciare . La forza di sorridere , la forza di lottare la colpa d' esser vivo e non poter cambiare come un ramo secco , abbandonato che cerca inutilmente di fiorire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La maschera di un clown in mezzo a un gran deserto un fuoco che si spegne , uno sguardo verso il cielo uno sguardo verso il cielo , dove il sole è meraviglia dove il nulla si fa mondo , dove brilla la tua luce . here is another day like yesterday, wait until morning to start over. The strength to smile, the strength to fight the fault of 'being alive and not being able to change like a dry twig, abandoned trying in vain to flourish
The mask of a clown in the midst of a great desert a fire that has stopped, looked skyward a look into the sky where the sun wonder where nothing is done the world where your light shines. This text seemed to speak to us and our hidden aspirations. But what we liked most was their music. With the mandatory moog and happiness going Hammond organ (or Farfisa?): Not sharp, sweet and sharp as a blade that makes you enjoy). But most of all was the sense of beauty and energy. - - - - -
WELL, THE TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS IS NOT PERFECT BUT LET'S LISTEN TO THIS BEAUTIFUL TRACK NOW...
AN ALTERNATIVE "VINTAGE VERSION"...
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Pirx the Pilot
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Joined: June 23 2009 Location: MA, US Status: Offline Points: 40 |
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 08:57 |
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Very nice Melos review, Andrea. That's one of my desert island picks, no question.
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 11:18 |
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Thanks...
By the way, who could guess that the singer (and flutist) in the video below is Cervello's lead vocalist Gianluigi Di Franco?
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Pirx the Pilot
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 12:07 |
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 Oh, the 80s were not kind... Wow. I mean, WOW.
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Finnforest
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 12:11 |
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Yeah, don't even peak at what became of the Zarillo dude from Semiramis!
Andrea, as usual, another fine review....may steal that one for my blog. It's such a wonderful album and always seems in the shadow of its big brother Palepoli. All these Osanna fans out there, and I don't think too many of them are aware of Cervello. We'll have to keep banging the drum.
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 12:54 |
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Zarrillo? The song in the video below was composed by Vince Tempera (Il Volo) and Ares Tavolazzi (Area) for a Japanese cartoon... And still is their greatest hit!
Edited by andrea - July 30 2010 at 12:55 |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 31 2010 at 04:46 |
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A NEW BARROCK’S REVIEW...
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Review by toroddfuglesteg
Collaborator Interview Team Behind a truly ghastly cover, there are some truly great music.
I am a fan of all music with big sound and over the top melodies. In short, I am a fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Barrock is pretty much exploring this musical territory on this, their debut album. Add bands like Mostly Autumn, Osanna and Renaissance to and you get this album.............. more or less.
The female vocals here are good. But most of all, this album is dominated by Valter Poles tangents. The rest of the band too is making this into a great album. An album which is a great crossover between the symphonic prog and the RPI scene.
Although this album has some mediative pointless pieces where little is happening, this album has some great pieces of music too. The best ones is Re Artu - Suite and the title track. Yes, the music feels a bit "heard this before", but it is still great. Mostly due to Valter Poles. My gripes is the lack of one or some signature tracks and the pling-plong stuff. But it is still a great album........ hidden well behind this ghastly cover.
4 stars (barely and bordering to three stars)
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More info about the band:
Official website: http://digilander.libero.it/barrock/ Valter Poles’ official website: http://www.valterpoles.it/
Well, the band is not dead yet... There is hope to see them performing live again, sooner or later...
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: July 31 2010 at 06:38 |
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ITALIAN CANTERBURY? Review by Astryos
By the first 2 minutes you already have the feeling that something special is going on. Guitar, voicings, keyboards, vibraphone, saxophone and all with a unique and "unusual" sound. "Merta" is an introduction which melts into "Cocomelastico" and by the end of it, you can tell that you are dealing with high quality music here.
And then, "Seppia" comes and you are blown away! It's not only the compositions, the production, the ideas, the soundscapes. It is also that the instruments' sound is so personal and fresh.
The pieces unfold with no rush and develop effortlessly. "Napier" is an avant guard-ish song with beautiful voice melodies and celestial keyboard/wind passages while "La Floricoltura" has funny voicings and entangled wind instruments.
Both "La Bolla" and "Off" are peaceful compositions with laid back voicings, electric and classical guitar, keyboards and lot of flutes.
A piece of art full of musicianship, freshness and beauty.
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Thanks Astryos! |
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Nightfly
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659 |
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Posted: July 31 2010 at 12:16 |
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^ That sounds like a really nice album Andrea, thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 04:31 |
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FOCUS ON BMS’ LAST SUPPER...
A recent review...
Review by Pirx the Pilot
It wasn't too long ago that I began my foray into the world of Italian progressive rock, and one of my first listens was Banco's Darwin. It was only a matter of time before making the eventual leap to Come In Un'Ultima Cena, a quite recognizable but still changed beast relative to the releases that precede it. This 1976 allegory is laid before us with greater emphasis on Francesco Di Giacomo's tremendous voice and the wild organ, synth and piano excursions of the Nocenzi brothers to great, if different, effect.
Looking back over my plentiful track by track notes, I have decided to forgo the specifics in favor of a brief, overall look. The one thing that stands out in reviewing my observations is that many of my individual song comments are not entirely dissimilar. The same traits are evident in each track - Francesco's distinctive singing, the amazing keyboards, rich compositions, and above all the phenomenal interplay between all of the musicians (no better example than Il Ragno). Even when they court their mellower side, the intensity never wanes.
Favorites include the typical (of 1972-73 Banco) opener A Cena, followed by Il Ragno - pure adrenaline from start to finish, and the wildly diverse Voilà Mida, which manages to twist its way through a number of styles all so intricately bound together. The singular change of scenery can be found in the beautiful La Notte è Piena, which stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the album in that it features purely acoustic instruments.
So, where does this leave Come In Un'Ultima Cena? An ambitious album with over the top performances, but overall not entirely memorable, the whole diluted somewhat by a certain sameness. A little less adventurous than previous Banco albums and others of the genre, but still an incredibly focused and energetic release.
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Well, the complexity of this work is more in the concept and in the lyrics than in the music. The album was released with liner notes explaining the content and I think that is difficult to appreciate this work only listening to the music, without comprehending what the music tries to express, what the songs are about...
Despite an art cover that apparently is full of references to the gospels, the subject matter of this work is not religion at all. A simple supper with friends is the starting point of a spiritual path that leads to the discovery of a new perspective to life, to another spiritual dimension. During the supper the protagonist let drop his usual human mask and asks for help expressing all his confusion, his lack of true relationships, his needs... Tension rises and someone says “it seems to be as in a last supper”. The beautiful inlay drawing was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting “L’ultima cena” (exactly the same painting that inspired Dan Brown in his novel “The Da Vinci Code”) and it’s full of symbolism. The members of the band appear disguised as disciples, on the left there’s a peacock with a crown of thorns in the beak and on the table you can notice a gun...
The opener “... a cena per esempio” (... at supper for example) set the atmosphere. It begins softly and unquiet melodic lines depict the spiritual troubles and the pain of the protagonist and his need for help. “I set out the last fire to give relief to my eyes... But the scream of the earth keeps on whipping my heart / I’m nailed here to listen to it... Now I’m here among you, my dearest friends... It’s to you that I’m asking for help...”. The music in the middle section, where the protagonist unravels his thoughts, is tense and dramatic while the end is more relaxed and melodic. Once the protagonist has delivered his weight silence falls down and for a while the hope for a new day seems to hang in the air... “My tiredness is stretched on my shoulders... My throat is trembling waiting for the dawn / Outside a new day comes to life / And we are dying...”.
“Il ragno” (The spider) depicts a hard reaction, full of rage and cynicism... “I’ve come here walking on the highest walls / To have a party and celebrate with you / But I was wrong / You’re talking about life and death / I don’t like it...”. The first friend stigmatizes the attitude of the protagonist, moaning about himself like an old broke thief while you need to be shrewd and pitiless to be successful in life... “I’m the spider who looms along the darkest holes / I lay a snare for the ones who are astonished by my skilled tricks...”. The rhythm is frenzy, then suddenly a break where the protagonist answers to his cynical friend that he can’t stand it and that he couldn’t walk following his wicked tracks towards a labyrinth with no way out. But the break is short and rhythm takes off again with the reply of the spider... “I run fast up and down / Everyone thinks I’m a wise man... In my precious shrouds I delicately cradle my preys... Take this thread! / I never bestow anything to anyone / Follow this thread and you won’t lose yourself...”.
“E’ così buono Giovanni ma...” (Giovanni is so good but...) is about false and conditioned love. The music is sweet and delicate featuring piano and acoustic guitar. The second friend makes sweet and allusive promises to the protagonist but wants something in exchange (sex?). “I’ll give you the honey for your lips... I’ll gather your fears / And I will be the amphora where you will drop your tears but...”.
“Slogan” (Slogan) is about crowd control. The rhythm goes up and the atmosphere becomes tense and heavy like lead... “Slogan, slogan, slogan, shout up your slogan / Slogan, slogan, defend you slogan...”. The third friend is an opportunist and a merciless political leader who doesn’t cares even about deaths because martyrs can be useful. He is a crowd rider ready to sell out his own father to reach his goal. He can’t understand the feelings of the protagonist and his reply is disdainful... “Like an albatross that’s gone insane / You are looking for a space where you can fly on your own / While I have tore off my wings to breath the earth along with other people / I can’t accept your troubles / Your mean thoughts are only yours!”.
“Si dice che i delfini parlino” (They say that dolphins can speak) is a wonderful introspective track. The dolphins with their instinct of survival seem to show the way to the light to the protagonist telling that you don’t have to fear the waves of life and that you must never give up. The atmosphere here is dreamy, the bass lines pulse beating like a heart... “After the storm I’ve been wondering for a long time among the corals / On my skin I was feeling the weight of the sea / And I feared I could never jump towards the sun again / But the desire of immensity was shaking my veins / And I came up from the abyss again...”.
“Voilà Mida (Il guaritore)” (Here comes Mida, the healer) is about charlatans, preachers and false magicians. After a short introduction the rhythm becomes frenzy, colourful and bright. Lyrics describe a man boasting that he can heal every pain in exchange of money. Mida the healer comes on a chariot dragged by peacocks on the market square and sells things like pieces of personality, bomb proof ideals or hair spray to fix the ideas... “For your soul to heal / You have found the right man, my friend...”.
“Quando la buona gente dice” (When good people say) is beautiful short and lively track featuring acoustic strummed acoustic guitar and percussion in the forefront. It’s about the role of the appearances... “Do not open too much yourself / Take care of the appearances, they are the sign of respect / Do not show yourself to the others when you are injured / Or they will hit you to death... Tie your thoughts to the thread of the night / You will be alone and nobody will see / When you’ll be alone in the night untie you breaths / And nobody will hear...”.
“La notte è piena” (The night is full) is a delicate acoustic piece featuring strong classical influences. It describes a night full of desires and frustrations... “The night is full of desperate screams / You will recognize all of them, one after another / If you carefully listen to the silence / You can hear them tearing to pieces each other...”.
“Fino alla mia porta” (Up to my door) begins with an hypnotic crescendo of keyboards. It marks the conclusion of an introspective spiritual path leading to the enlighten. The protagonist had to go through himself to discover a new awareness, climbing over the refusals of his friends to recover himself and experience a new dimension for his life... “On the steps of your refusal / I’m coming up to my door / This time the nocturnal harp / Is playing the song of the fears in vain...”. Eventually tension melts in a solemn ethereal melody. A beautiful finale for an excellent album!
By the way, the overall sound of this work was enriched by the collaboration with the Italian “minstrel” Angelo Branduardi that appeared on the album as a special guest playing violin...
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seventhsojourn
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 05:08 |
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Paul, as far as I'm aware, Synphonic, Kinesis, Doug Larson, Amazon etc don't have this. There are a couple of Japanese sellers on eBay that have it for about £25. A bit pricey, but worth it I think.
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Pirx the Pilot
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Joined: June 23 2009 Location: MA, US Status: Offline Points: 40 |
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 09:58 |
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I probably should have stated that my knowledge of the Italian language is severely limited. Thankfully, my girlfriend is able to translate the written word for me, if the singing is somewhat difficult to comprehend. Alas, my version of the album (Virgin) has a booklet with absolutely no liner notes - actually, no text whatsoever except the song titles and times. Perhaps I should make the disclaimer, too, that I am very focused on the music, almost never the lyrics or theme (unless musical), no matter the tongue. To me the voice is another instrument, and it's no more pronounced and beautiful than it is in RPI! Shall I stick to instrumental album reviews? Nah...  Interesting because just this moment I'm listening to Di Terra, which I only picked up yesterday. |
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Finnforest
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 10:04 |
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Same here Pirx. It is the beauty of the music which speaks to me, rarely do lyrics matter for my enjoyment. Whether English or non-English, content is always far secondary to the music for my enjoyment. And Italian vocals are so cool because they are expressive in sound, even if one does not comprehend the language.
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Pirx the Pilot
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 10:12 |
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This just sparked a very interesting conversation I'm having with my girlfriend right now about lyrics and music. For her, it's the music that draws her in - if the lyrics are in anyway meaningful, all the better (she was using Marillion as an example). Then there are the folks who relate to what many bands have to say despite the music (I'm thinking country music, here - ugh)... Di Terra is over - I'll have to give that a few more spins. Checking out Canto di Primavera now. Yeah, I went on a bit of a shopping spree last week and nabbed a dozen Italian releases (including Areknames, which I haven't listened to yet). |
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Finnforest
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 10:23 |
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Did you get the new Areknames? I think you'll love it. Especially given your avatar choice....Areknames has that dark sheen not unlike Arachnoid, though they are different in other ways.
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Pirx the Pilot
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 10:30 |
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I did! Based on your review and Todd's recommendation earlier in the thread... I also grabbed some Deus Ex & DFA, Wicked Minds, Universal Totem Orchestra & Orme's Contrappunti. |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 10:54 |
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Don't worry, everyone is free to enjoy music as he prefers. But words are not just sounds and their meaning sometimes is more important than the sound of the notes notes played by the other instruments... On this link you can find lyrics and liner notes in Italian: http://www.lyra.net/fabio/new/songs.php?tipo=normal&aut=4&alb=36
bye!
Edited by andrea - August 01 2010 at 11:05 |
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Pirx the Pilot
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Posted: August 01 2010 at 11:14 |
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Thanks, Andrea. You should know that I didn't walk into the review blindly - I at least did a little homework and recognized the basis for the allegory. Hard to hide from with that cover art!
 My first impressions of Di Terra are strong, but mixed for Canto di Primavera. But we all know first impressions are meaningless. And I expect to have a review of Panna Fredda up soon, if I can scrounge together some time today... |
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Pirx the Pilot wrote: