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A journey through the Italianprog scene

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Andrea Cortese View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Andrea Cortese Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2010 at 09:17
Originally posted by andrea andrea wrote:

AN ITALIANPROG APOTHEOSIS... COMING SOON!
 
 
MORE INFO:
 
 
 
 
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWBig smileBig smileBig smileBig smile
 
 
...and we have Tony Pagliuca with Aldo Tagliapietra together again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nightfly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2010 at 12:10
^ Wow, if only I could get to that!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 09 2010 at 07:53
MORE PROG FROM ABRUZZO...
 
PERIPATETICA, emerging prog band from Teramo 
 
 
More info:
 
 
INSIDER, hard-psychedelic jam band from Pescara
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - September 09 2010 at 07:54
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 09 2010 at 11:34
MORE NEWS ABOUT LE ORME...
 
LE ORME'S NEW LINE UP
 
In the video below you can watch an interview with the Jimmy Spitaleri and Michi Dei Rossi and listen to the song “Amico di ieri” performed by the new line up. Well, if you don’t understand Italian Jimmy talks about this new experience and announces the forthcoming METAMORFOSI’s new album “Purgatorio” and a new album with LE ORME featuring brand new original pieces. Michi talks about the struggles he had to keep alive the band and to find new musician replacing historic leader Aldo Tagliapietra who left the band...
 
 
 
ONCE WERE LE ORME...
 
Le Orme’s former keyboardist Tony Pagliuca in 2010 released a new album, “Apres Midi - Ormeggiando” featuring new arrangements for piano solo from Le Orme’s seventies repertoire...
 
 
In a showcase he met with Aldo Tagliapietra (see video below) who appreciated his work...
 
 
... and now they are up to play something together as OWLO (Once Were Le Orme) with the help of another former member, guitarist Tolo Marton. The debut of this project has been scheduled in November 2010 for the PROG EXHIBITION...   
 


Edited by andrea - September 09 2010 at 11:34
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 11 2010 at 02:51
DARK HARD PROG FROM ROMAGNA
 
Drummer and keyboardist Thomas Hand Chaste (MySpace), an artist based in Rimini, has started a dark hard prog project with the collaboration of some members of IMPERO DELLE OMBRE (MySpaceYouTube), a band from Lecce (see post #2 on this blog). In 2009 they released an eponymous album for the independent label Black Widow Records (MySpace) that should be of interest for fans of bands like JACULA and ANTONIUS REX (MySpace).
 
 
 
More info:
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 13 2010 at 11:40
FROM THE SEVENTIES...
 
PERDIO were formed in Bergamo in 1972 (see Perdio - Italianprog.com). After the split up in 1976, the band reunited in 1998 and released a CD, A Robert, dedicated to Robert Wyatt They are still active today and the present line up features original member Fulvio Monieri (MySpace) along with Gianfranco Pinto (website link – former member of MADRUGADA and PANGEA), Titta Colleoni, Guido Bombardieri, Marco Painetti and Marco Rota.
 
 
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Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 14:58
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2010 at 08:57
A VERY ECLECTIC ARTIST...
 
GIULIA TRIPOTI is an interesting and eclectic artist who comes from The Eternal City. She’s a singer songwriter that could be of interest for prog lovers because of her love for experiments and musical contamination. She’s also involved as a vocalist and songwriter in other projects like the progressive-literary BETA ELEMENTS (MySpace), the ethno folk TERRAMARIS (MySpace) and the post-rock alternative BLUMENBERG 67 (MySpace).
 
GIULIA TRIPOTI SOLO
 
 
 
BETA ELEMENTS
 
 
 
TERRAMARIS
 
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 15:17
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2010 at 14:02
POST ROCK FROM UMBRIA
 
L’UOMO DI VETRO are a post rock band from Foligno. In 2010 they released an album for the independent label I Dischi del Minollo (MySpace), “38° Parallelo”.
 
 
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:56
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2010 at 01:58
EMERGING BAND FROM LIGURIA...
 
IL PONTE DI ZAN come from Savona and blend poetry with music, inspired by artists like Charles Baudelaire,  Fabrizio De Andrè, Franco Battiato, Jeff Buckley, Demetrio Stratos, PFM...
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 15:03
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2010 at 07:55
ALONG THE SILK ROAD...
 
LA VIA DELLA SETA are a prog folk project from Bologna (see post #2 on this blog) formed in 2008 on the initiative of guitarist and composer Andrea Gianessi (Official Website - MySpace - Facebook). Their name means Silk Road and their Oriental influences are evident...
 
They are working on the debut album and have just released a new demo EP that you can listen in streaming clicking  HERE
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:58
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 18 2010 at 00:24
DINOSAURS STILL WALKING ON EARTH...
 
PFM will be the “Top of the Bill” act on next PROG EXHIBITION in Rome. The band is still perfectly fit, especially on stage... In 2010 they re-worked some pieces that they had arranged in the past for the late Fabrizio De André and released A.D. 2010 - La buona novella, an album probably disappointing for some prog lovers...
 
 
Anyway the creativity of the band did not completely dry in the seventies and in 2006 PFM released what is their best work in the last thirty-five years, “Stati di immaginazione” (States of imagination). The line up on this album features historic members Franz Di Cioccio (drums, percussion), Patrick Djivas (bass, fretless bass, plastic flute) and Franco Mussida (guitars). They where helped in studio by an old friend and collaborator like Lucio Fabbri (violin, keyboards) and by Gianluca Tagliavini (keyboards, hammond organ, moog) while founder member Flavio Premoli contributed to the composition of two track but had to quit the band because of health problems.
 
 
 “Stati di immaginazione” is a completely instrumental work and features, as you can read in the booklet, “eight musical stories, eight films... to enter the free state of the imagination”. All the tracks were inspired by short films that you can find in a DVD included in the packaging... Well, PFM have always been in trouble with lyrics since Mauro Pagani left the band in 1976 and perhaps it’s not by chance that they tried to express with images what they couldn’t express with words. Indeed, videos and music on “Stati di immaginazione” are complementary and during the tour following the release of the album the band chose to play in the dark with the images flowing in the background...
 
 
The opener “La terra dell’acqua” (The land of the water) was inspired by a documentary about Venice... The city is still suspended between past and present, beautiful buildings have been reflecting themselves on peaceful waters night and day for centuries, but water can be dangerous and a sudden acceleration of rhythm lead by pulsing bass lines announces stormy weather and “acqua alta” while images show the effects of growing waves sweeping the city... After the storm calm comes back and in an nocturnal atmosphere featuring delicate piano passages you can dream one more time. Then rhythm takes off again and the sound of the electric guitar pushes your thoughts towards an uncertain future... How could Venice survive to the menacing waters that threaten to invade its streets and submerge the city transforming it into a modern Atlantis?
 
 
Next track “Il mondo in testa” (The world into the head) begins with a short intro taken from “Promenade The Puzzle” (the English version of “Geranio”), a piece from the album “Photos Of Ghosts” featuring crazy lyrics by Peter Sinfield. Music provides a perfect commentary for a vintage funny black and white film where a practitioner extracts (“physically”!) the crazy thoughts from the brain of a man... What a strange way to cure madness!
 
“La conquista” (The conquest) starts with an electric guitar riff and an almost tribal drum roll, then frenzy bass lines introduce a busy atmosphere... Black and white images show a tribe at work in a forest building a bridge of ropes over a river full of alligators and all the struggles they had to reach their goal.   
 
“Il sogno di Leonardo” (The dream of Leonardo) begins with a delicate acoustic guitar intro. The mood is dreamy and there’s a strong classical atmosphere, especially in the middle section. The beautiful video describes the dreams of a young Leonardo da Vinci... His desire to fly like a bird lead him to the construction of ingenious machines and mechanical wings. Never drop your dreams, nobody ends into the nothingness...
 
 
“Cyber Alpha” features a tense atmosphere and a long nervous electric guitar solo. Now we’re back in a present full of dangers, where nothing is like it seems to be. Cold war secret projects, guinea pigs escaping from laboratories, a growing wave of terrorism and criminality... This track could be the perfect background for a Maurice G. Dantec’s novel...
 
 
“Agua Azul” starts on a bass solo introduction. The atmosphere is dark and music describes the mysteries of a Mexican forest hiding Maya temples... Then on a evocative melody played by violin images turn to a series of waterfalls where an “adventurer” is practicing canoeing while rhythm takes off with a sudden outbreak of adrenaline.
 
“Nederland 1903” is the shortest track on the album. Acoustic guitar and violin introduce a peaceful and a bucolic atmosphere. Images show scenes of everyday life taken from a vintage documentary about Netherlands where you can see men and women in their traditional costumes.
 
 
The charming long and complex epic “Visioni di Archimede” (Visions of Archimedes) concludes this excellent work. Music and images were inspired by the character of Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC – 212 BC), a great mathematician, physician, inventor and astronomer that was killed during the siege of Syracuse by a Roman soldier... Burning mirrors seem to light fiery electric guitar riffs while more relaxed meditative parts mark the contrast between thirst of knowledge and violence... A “Gran Finale” for a magnificent album!
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:56
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2010 at 07:36
THE TRIP ARE STILL ALIVE...
 
Recently Joe Vescovi, Arvid Wegg Andersen and Furio Chirico have reformed their old band, THE TRIP.  Their first live concert is scheduled on November 5th, during the Prog Exhibition festival (Facebook).
 
Are you wondering who The Trip are? Well, in the meantime we can watch some old videos...
 
 
 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:59
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2010 at 07:45
PROG CANTAUTORALE FROM EMILIA
 
Stefano Testa is a “cantautore” based in Porretta Terme, near Bologna (see post # 2 in this blog). In 1977 he released a beautiful debut album with strong prog influences. During the recording session he played piano and guitar and was helped in studio by the experienced arranger Franco Chiaravalle and by musicians like Marco Coppi (flute), Alberto Monpellio (moog), Cosimo Fabiano (bass), Ottavio Corbellini (drums) and the guitar trio Portici. “Una vita, una balena bianca e altre cose” (A life, a white whale and other things) features poetical lyrics and excellent instrumental parts with flute and acoustic guitar in the forefront. The result is a well crafted and balanced work, a perfect example of “prog cantautorale”, a mix of “canzone d’autore” and Italian progressive rock. Unfortunately in 1977 it was not commercially successful and Stefano Testa left the music business for a long time. This album was luckily re-discovered later and re-released in 1994 by the independent record label Mellow Records (Facebook) that took it out from oblivion.
 
 
The opener “Una vita” (A life) is a long and complex suite inspired by the life of the Italian poet and novelist Cesare Pavese (1908 – 1950) and by his works. Cesare Pavese committed suicide on August 27th 1950 in a hotel room in Torino, the Albergo Roma. His thoughts and reflections before dying are the starting point for this piece... “Albergo Roma in Torino / The summer is almost gone / In a deaf room, tomorrow they will find nothing but words / Of a whole life there’s nothing else left / But you remember now...”. Then souvenirs from the childhood that Cesare Pavese spent in a village in the hills near Cuneo emerge while music flows setting a bucolic atmosphere. Lyrics depict a boy walking in the countryside and discovering every day something new... “Life was something else / Made of plants, of sky / Of wind and of nothing...”. The atmosphere suddenly changes and music almost stops for a while on organ chords while lyrics depict the strangeness of a foreigner sky and the impact of the urban landscape on the young Cesare Paves who went to live in Torino, a big industrial city... Then the mood changes and music becomes nervous... “The city taught me infinite fears / A crowd, a street made me tremble... ”. The city and its busy rhythm, a numb city dressed in black, anesthetized by Mussolini’s slogans and empty promises, where Pavese’s political passion is growing... “I looked for the comrades working in the factories without a smile / I loved them because I felt the life was on their side... They used to shout that it wasn’t because of destiny if the world was suffering... It was men’s fault”.
 
 
Nonetheless during the civil war Cesare Pavese didn’t join the anti-fascists partisans, he didn’t fight and sought refuge in the hills. Later remorse haunted him for his lack of courage... Music slackens and becomes dramatic to describe a man alive but alone. Romances with the wrong women, remorse, depression lead him to commit suicide... “You wake up one morning and the summer is gone / The colour of the world has changed / The mountain doesn’t touch the sky anymore... There’s nothing more bitter than the dawn of a day where nothing is going to happen / There’s nothing more bitter than uselessness...”.   
 
 
“Risveglio” is a melancholic and sad track describing an awful morning. Time passes by fast and steady and sometimes the regret for the wasted hours can be overwhelming... “How awful is the morning / when you find your dreams hanging on the ceiling / Like sinners that have confessed their capital vice / And you find the laid snake of boredom / Sleepy beside you in the bed...”.
 
 
“La ballata di Achab (Moby Dick)” is a beautiful ballad featuring allegoric lyrics about a desperate quest for knowledge. It was inspired by Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick”... “I felt to be like a merchant dealing with fish / For sure not a hero playing with death... But when they shouted: – There’s a white whale! / I stood still, looking over the prow... I had to know what was that monster / I had to know, I wished to tame it... That whale was the sea / That whale was me as well / That whale did not exist / That whale was God...”. The atmosphere of this track reminds me of Francesco De Gregori’s “Bufalo Bill”...
 
 
“Notturno” is a bitter-sweet track featuring delicate acoustic guitars patterns and a swirling flute. Music and lyrics depict echoes of notes fading in the shadows, paper ships sailing towards imaginary seas, words breaking through from unread books, a painter missing a colour to finish his first tableau... Well, night is the right time for dreams and illusions that time carries away!
 
 
“Difficile chiamarti amore” (It’s hard to call you love) is another beautiful acoustic track, more a song about love than a love song indeed, full of sharp reflections about love, time, family and work... “In a time that makes us wishing everything / Finally your God has become the partner who helps you in your business... How it’s hard to call you love, my dear angel...”.
 
 
“Il Dio sulla ferrovia” (The God on the railway) is a track in two parts that was inspired by a Jorge Luis Borges’ tale. On the first part nocturnal acoustic atmospheres prevail... “Tonight I was walking along the railway... Staring at the void, listening to nothing but silence... Tonight I was walking along the railway / And a high-pitched hiss from a secret God / Lead my steps to a tiny point of marvellous light / Of eternal matter...”. The light unchains a stream of visions and on the second part of the track rhythm takes off while twirling flute and guitar notes embroider colourful threads all around apocalyptical lyrics... “I saw the dawn and the night... I saw endless deserts... I saw the red sun of the end on the clear walls of Hiroshima / I saw a black rose... I saw ruins, books, mountains and people, lands and silences / I saw an old blind man singing... / I saw my father dying on a Saturday... And my death coming on a farther Monday...”. An excellent track that every now and again could remind of “Ho visto anche degli zingari felici”, by Claudio Lolli, another famous Italian “cantautore”.
 
 
The last track  “Ninna nanna” (Lullaby) is a lullaby for a dead child... “Ninna nanna, ninna nanna / Silence is talking about you... Ninna, nanna, ninna, nanna / This night is only for you / And my heart on your heart will stay / Until light will come...”. Beautiful female vocals and flute give a sense of infinite pity to this sad song...
 
Stefano Testa would have deserved more credit and success... Anyway, never say never! After a long hiatus he’s working on a new album and I’m looking forward to listen to it... In the meanwhile you can read an interview with the artist clicking HERE
 
And, as an appetizer, you can watch some videos of new song recorded with the help of Remo Righetti...
 

 
More info:
 


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 17:00
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 24 2010 at 01:47
HARD PROG FROM LOMBARDIA
 
MIDRYASI come from the province of Varese were they were formed in 2002. After a first demo in 2005, in 2009 they released a full length album, Corridors, featuring hard rock and psychedelic sounds.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 25 2010 at 02:41
ELFISH LANDSCAPES...
 
ENRICO FALBO comes from Benevento. He is a multi-instrumentalist who recently released a debut self-produced solo album inspired by “elfish landscapes”, “Canti Silvani”, that should be of some interest for folk prog lovers.
 
 
More info:
 
Enrico Falbo is also a member of the post rock band IL CIELO DI BAGDAD, based in Aversa.
 
  
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Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 15:08
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MORE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS FROM PUGLIA
 
LENULA come from Villa Castelli, in the province of Brindisi. They blend “canzone d’autore” and psychedelia... You can listen to their debut self-produced EP clicking HERE
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 28 2010 at 14:50
BACK FROM HELL!
 
BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO (Facebook) come from Lecco. They started their activity in 1972 and, until their split up at the end of 1975, they were a terrific band on stage. Their shows were full of energy and musical talent but they had the chance to record only one album, the excellent eponymous one. A second work was recorded, “Il tempo della semina”, but, because of the bankrupt of their label Trident, it wasn’t released until 1992, thanks to Mellow Records. In 2007 on the initiative of original members Giuseppe “Pilly” Cossa (piano, accordion) and Mauro Gnecchi (drums, percussion) a new project called Biglietto per l’Inferno.folk was formed for some live performances featuring the old repertoire of the band and in 2009 was released a new album on the independent label BTF featuring new arrangements of the historic pieces, “Tra l’assurdo e la ragione” (Between absurd and reason).
 
  
The present line up features also Enrico Fagnoni (bass), Ranieri “Ragno” Fumagalli (flutes, ocarinas, hornpipes), Carlo Redi (mandolin, violin) Renata Tomasella (flutes, ocarinas) and Franco Giaffreda (electric and acoustic guitar). Original vocalist Claudio Canali retired from mundane life and today he’s a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict, so lead vocals are now provided by a female singer, Mariolina Sala. Anyway the old singer gave his blessing to the new project and “Fra’” Claudio appears as a special guest on two tracks of the album. Another original member of the band, Giuseppe “Baffo” Banfi, features as producer and helped the band in studio.
 
 
The new project is absolutely good. The new arrangements feature folk influences but respect the spirit of the old compositions. Mazurkas and tarantellas, jigs and reels are in some way blended with hard rock and the result is a well crafted and balanced mix of fresh sounds and vintage suggestions. As in the past, the concerts are still the strength of the band and their performances attract many people, so old and young enthusiastic fans are pushing the band to go on and on since the new project is not a boring unplugged version of the old band but a lively act still able to stir emotions. The title track of the new album, an old piece that was never recorded before, is a funny kind of nursery rhyme full of energy and joyful madness that in some way depict the good vibration of the new line up, especially on stage... “Between absurd and reason there’s just a soap-bubble / Your shadow and desire are going to clash...”
 
 
By the way, former bassist of Biglietto per l’Inferno Fauto Branchini is not taking part to the new project but he has not given up music and is working on a rock opera under the name Fausto Branchini – Biglietto per l’Inferno (Facebook).
 
 
If, by any chance you don’t know the old stuff of the band... Biglietto Per L’Inferno’s eponymous debut album is an amazing cocktail of spontaneous musical energies and poetry… You can hear here some echoes of Deep Purple, Jethro Tull and PFM but there’s no plagiarism and the musicians seem to have shaped their own style trying to capture the energy of their live acts… The song-writing of the singer and flutist Claudio Canali is excellent and the lyrics draw some bitter reflections about the hypocrisy of the world… There are many changes of rhythm and mood but all the tracks are in someway bound together as in a long suite, as in a long way down on a “stairway to hell”…
 
The opener “Ansia” (Anxiety) begins with a delicate sound of organ and guitar, then the rhythm becomes more varied and nervous; Claudio Canali’s vocals come in at the end of the track introducing the “subject” of the album… The lyrics describe the feeling of uneasiness and apprehension that comes up from a “sad and infamous life spent in murdering and stealing” and the desperate quest for a saviour, for someone who can ease the pain and give hope… Charlatans, merchants, prophets or priests, it doesn’t matter… A good prologue to the next track!
 
 
The lyrics of “Confessione” (Confession) describe a dialogue between a killer and a friar… The music is full of energy and rage, with “shades of Deep Purple” melting in “tarantella” and passages with flutes “à la Jethro Tull”… The singing of Claudio Canali is definitely convincing and his voice seems almost trying to find a reason for the wind of violence that was blowing so strong in the Italy of the early seventies… “Listen to me, friar /  I don't know if I committed a sin / I killed a b*****d who wanted cover his dirty past by means of his money / Trying in this way to cheat his fate… Listen to me, friar / And tell me if you call it a sin or a noble act / I stole some money from a rich gentleman / Just to give something to eat to a dying man”… But in this album there’s no much room for hope and the verses with the answer of the friar are just a dark prelude to the tragic epilogue of the fifth track: “I can't save you from the eternal fire / You have just a ticket to Hell”! This song is the trademark of the band…
  
A good organ work introduces “Una strana regina” (A strange Queen)… The music is a blending of church-like music, Jethro Tull influences, hard rock and Italian folklore… Claudio Canali’s vocals seem to be drenched in pessimism while the dialogue between the killer and the friar continues… “A strange queen rules on the Earth / She lives in castles formed by every street / She changes her dress every evening / Her name is hypocrisy… Let’s hope that our God from the hereafter can see and forgive us for our impiety”…
 

 
“Il nevare” (The Snowing) is another great track, with some almost “bluesy” passages and a soaring electric guitar in the forefront… Claudio Canali defined this track as a “laic prayer” and the lyrics seem to invite to meditation and introspection suggesting that, even in a life where hypocrisy and evil rule, you can find joy just contemplating the nature and the snow falling down… “Heavy snowflakes fell down that day / They wet my eyes / Lost in the light / Lost in the effort of knowing, of seeing / How much pure joy from a simple snowing… Far away a bell-tower reminded a prayer / Over the roofs ancient shadows were celebrating the evening”… In my opinion this is one of the best moments of the album…
 
 
The long and complex “L’amico suicida” (The suicidal friend) is highly dramatic… The lyrics are autobiographical, inspired by the suicide of a Canali’s comrade-in-arms during the military service… “Around your body there's a halo of death…”: Canali’s vocals are dark and full of commotion, the music flows powerful and melancholic along more than 13 intense minutes… "There was a long rumble of sound, and it seemed to him that he was falling down a vast and interminable stairway. And somewhere at the bottom he fell into darkness. That much he knew. He had fallen into darkness. And at the instant he knew, he ceased to know.” Well, just a little quote from Jack London’s novel Martin Eden that in my opinion fit perfectly with the conclusion of this “epic”….
  
Before the end of the album, there’s still room for a nice short instrumental reprise of “Confessione”. On the whole, I think that this is definitely an essential work in an Italian prog collection…
 
Biglietto per l’Inferno’s second album was recorded in 1974 but, because of the financial troubles of their label (Trident), left unrefined and unreleased until 1992 when Mellow Records published the old masters. Finally it was re-released and re-released in 2004 by “La Vetraia-BTF” with the supervision of the band. The original sound quality and production was very far from perfect and it was quite difficult to fix it up after almost 30 years, but they tried hard… In the re-mastered edition the sound quality has been really improved and the final result is not bad. The order of the tracks has been changed and the opener is a short hint of  “Mente solamente” (just 20 seconds), then comes the long and complex title track, in my opinion the best one of this work… The music reminds of the debut album of the band, with marching drums and suggestive keyboards, while the recitative filtered vocals draw a kind of “revolutionary dream”… “We will not wait for a sunrise made to our measure / To break down the bars of your prison…”
 
 
The following “L’arte sublime di un giusto regnare” is not bad, though not at the same level of the opener… The music has some medieval influences (and a slightly “Jethro Tull’s flavour”) with the flute in the forefront, while the lyrics try to describe the life of a king that doesn’t pay attention to the poor people outside his palace… “That’s what I call to rule / Happiness in dominating, that’s it…”
 
The producer of the album, the singer songwriter Eugenio Finardi, pushed the band to write songs dealing with social problems and the political system… “Solo ma vivo” (Alone but alive) and “Vivi, lotta, pensa” (Live, fight, think) go in that direction but are not outstanding…
 
I prefer by far the introspective vein of the songwriting of Claudio Canali like in the following “Canzone del padre”, a long track full of energy, autobiographical and bitter, where the lyrics describe the difficult relationship between the singer and his father (in the remastered edition this song has been “edited” and slightly shortened).
 
 
The final track, the experimental “Mente solamente” is worst of the album. On the whole “Il tempo della semina” is less compact and inspired if compared with the excellent debut album of the band, but it’s still a good one, saved from oblivion… Anyway, not an essential one!
 
 
There is also a live album by Il Biglietto per l’Inferno, released in 2004. The strength of Biglietto per l’Inferno was in their live performance and it’s a pity that the only live record of this band lacks so much in sound quality… Even the remastering couldn’t fix the poor quality of the source… The concert was performed and recorded in Lecco (Italy) on 9th May 1974 with poor technical means and, as you can read in the booklet, “this is not an experience dedicated to sound purists, but a great time-machine for all who like to dive back into those days and for all who are young enough”… Nevertheless, the performance of the band was excellent and all the tracks were bound together with new arrangements as in a long suite…
 
 
The opener is an early version of “Il tempo della semina” (slightly different from the album one), then all the tracks of their eponymous debut album fluently stream for more than 40 minutes full of energy and passion… If you like Jethro Tull and Deep Purple I’m sure that you’ll find extremely interesting this band, but I fear that this album is the wrong starting point if you’re not familiar with them… I can’t help to regret a better sound quality and I can suggest this live album only to fans and collectors… 
  


Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 15:15
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fabiogremo View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fabiogremo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2010 at 09:24
Hello, here's a couple of recent videos by "Il Tempio delle Clessidre":





Check out the debut album!
http://www.myspace.com/iltempiodelleclessidre
http://www.myspace.com/iltempiodelleclessidre
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 29 2010 at 09:52
BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO.FOLK + IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE IN CONCERT !
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote andrea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 30 2010 at 11:08
EXPERIMENTAL MELODIES FROM VENETO
 
LORENZO MONNI is an artist based in San Donà di Piave. He has just released his third album, Grey Swans of Extremistan, on the independent label Lizard Records. You can listen in streaming to the complete album. Just click HERE   
 
 
More info:
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