ABBIAMO TUTTI UN BLUES DA PIANGERE

Perigeo's second album `Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere' from 1973 reminds listeners that not every progressive related band to emerge from Italy decided to work in the Rock Progressivo Italiano style, this group preferring a fascinating take on the jazz fusion genre with plenty of unique ideas of their own. What makes this album so special is that a range of psychedelic elements have been worked into the expected jazzy arrangements to create something truly unique, full of a precious and fragile beauty all perfectly captured by this talented group of musicians. Disorientating, sometimes even a little noisy, the album takes it's time to slowly weave around you.

The hallucinatory atmosphere hits you right from the start, as droning treated slurred vocals, rising shimmering crashing cymbals and spiralling piano tinkling swirls around the listener during `Non c'é Tempo da Perdere'. Liquid molten electric guitar wailing bubbles and pops over glistening electric piano, the bass snaking it's way around the background and drums erupt and retreat around and around before splintering into storm-like chaos again in the dying seconds. `Déjà Vu', with it's reaching quivering violin, cascading piano and crooning sax softly weeping away, achieves a melancholic dreaminess. The band aim to take you to undiscovered spiritual peaks throughout the opening of `Rituale' by use of meditative chimes and tambourine. Strident piano grows in power, a scorching lead electric guitar melody and sax weave seamlessly together and repeat into infinity, with twisting spasmodic Soft Machine-like breakdowns into a cacophony of intimidating noise.

There's a fragile, unhurried warmth to the acoustic guitar that opens the title track `Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere', a beautifully executed and dramatic build throughout, as well as deeply emotional overall. Acoustic guitar (almost sounding like sitar strains), lonely piano, booming crashing gongs and pleading sax over unleashed weighty drumming will remind listeners of bands like Out of Focus. `Country' is a more tightly compact shorter jazzy interlude, definitely more of an upbeat respite, the highlight being plenty of electric piano ripples. `Nadir' begins floating and ambient, very low-key and subtle, but snarling electric guitar and drifting drowsy sax quickly bring a hint of unease. The almost ten minute album closer and psychedelic explosion `Vento, Pioggia e Sole' (`Wind, Rain and Sun') is full of spacey electronics, abrupt honking sax squeals, grinding electric guitar manipulations, discordant piano, thrashing drums and nimble-fingered piano dashes. Without question the most freeform piece on the disc, the music is howling, racing and manic, full of bluster and noise, but there's plenty of tasty grooves as well.

`Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere' is the perfect disc to dig out as the weather starts getting warmer, the soundtrack to a lazy sunny day, maybe lying on a hill under the shade of a big tree! OK, so that might be pouring it on a little thick, but this mix of well played jazz/fusion with traces of psychedelic rock is pretty hard to beat, and fans of other Italian bands such as Arti e Mestieri should investigate this one as well.

Four stars.