A NEW BEGINNING

Intrigued by the rather effusive review by esteemed colleague Lazland (www.lazland.org), I immediately purchased this hitherto unknown artist from one of my fave cities in the world Rome, home to such fabulous artist/composers as Stefano Panunzi, Alessandro di Benedetti (Inner Prospekt, Mad Crayon ), Vincenzo Ricca (The Rome Prog(j)ect) and drum maestro Davide Guidoni (Daal, Nodo Gordiano among many others). Unfortunately, a combination of whirlwind work issues as well as tons of requests for reviews prevented me to be timely with my promise to do his debut album justice. Truth is that the Prog Rogue guy is more of a turtle and less of a hare (bespectacled or not). Well, since Steve Lazenby did such a masterful job on the background, I won't bore you with my resoundingly similar echo.

Massimo is a highly creative keyboardist from the Eternal City who incorporates all the classic old school elements that make prog so attractive (not to all, as the pop fluff is big everywhere including Italy), namely divine orchestrations, passionate lyrics and vocals, and impeccably cinematic pace as well as instrumental prowess. Nevertheless, we are in 2023 and there is an obvious tendency to include more "modern" enhancements, creating a body of work that is diverse yet still adventurous, personal ("Oh Father" is majestic, as I think fondly of mine daily) and impressive to a wide variety of music lovers. The interlocking pieces are never longer that 4.5 minutes but create a mosaic of flowing sonic themes that fit perfectly, coming across like one long suite, with enough variety to keep the attention span honed. The "comfortable" incarceration of Covid forced millions of artists to toe the line and introspect unwillingly, at times perhaps even painfully for some, and spending what seemed like an eternity into the imaginary hall of mirrors that made up their (and our) daily lives. This is what emerges from the multiple auditions I had with this first release. My grandfather once described to me (11-year-old at the time) that Italy was never a country (except for football) but actually the planet's greatest theatre. A state of multiple cities that each have their own level of drama, comedy, humour, tragedy, hope and passion. Everything is up for argument or debate, from family to politics, cinema, music, design, food, art, sex, war, peace, and fashion, often all at once. It is called life, at the fullest. Massimo here tackles these hallowed themes head on, from parenting, aging, the onset of winter, one's partnership choices, conflict, heartache etc.. Each title has a classical opera example, you can amuse yourself by adding in parentheses, the Four Seasons, Tosca, Aida, la Traviata, Madame Butterfly, etc?

From the opening and cleverly labeled "Intro", one is immediately plunged into the show that is about to begin. "Oh Father" is simply majestic, as I think fondly of mine daily, where a mighty drum beat muscles ahead of a slick guitar lick as the piano emits rivulets of deferential devotion. The singing is emotional, the orchestrations in the background really lighting up the stage, elevating this song into clearly an anthem of the finest order. The next fresco in the mosaic is the chilly "In November", featuring a male/female duet that "really, really, really" shudders in gentle serenity, a coalescence of rolling organ, whirling guitar phrasings and the appealing harmonies that ebb and flow until the final gale of wintry wind ending the piece. Coming across as a perfectly aged Brunello di Montalcino, "Growing Old" is precisely a musical version of that splendid red wine that has unique little earthy tinges in its colour, a wise electronic keyboard introduces a piano lush with understanding and patience, a lead guitar displaying a life's worth of exhilaration, an ode to perseverance and wisdom, an overarching lead vocal from guest Ray Weston takes this lament into the aether beyond. They call it heaven. This track certainly is. Sounding like a cabaret piece, here sung by guest Elena D'Angelo "Is It That Girl Right?" is a most welcome down to earth song about the vagaries of interpersonal relationships, a game that has been playing out since Romulus and Remus suckled on the rescuing and compassionate, she-wolf. "Out of his World " is a more cinematographic rant on politics, with a long female wail before embarking a long sample from the classic Chapin movie the Great Dictator, where soldiers of the world are exhorted to unite in the name of democracy, that sounded spot on in the 1930s but still resonate strongly today in our 'all sides love the fake news thingy' where most if not all politicians are self-absorbed charlatans of one stripe or another. The next "Interlude" serves exactly as that! A well-deserved pause into logic, bass and sax in the narrow spotlight. Sounding like a future Bond movie title, "Things to Live and Die For" is not at all a thriller, more like a very American elegiac sounding cry on the sad state of their Union, a land once of hopeful milk and honey, where confusion and fanciful bad taste opinion seem to presently rule. The music is cleverly quite progressive in that it has contrasts and shadows. To perhaps prove the point, the raucous "Family & Business" is a tempestuous affair, where heavy organ rolls and thunderous guitar riffs combine to express vividly the rage at the incredibly primitive stupidity we are forced to consume, in all facets of our modern lives. From the ensuing quiet after the chaos, a 2-part title track reflection is a welcome crowning achievement. After such a long, life altering bunker life style that still did not make people read more that a sentence (err.. what's a book?), what else can there be hope for but some kind of glorious salvation, a new beginning, a better direction, where inspiration and truth can replace bland common-ism and opinions. These themes are expressed vocally, lyrically, and instrumentally with utter conviction. But is there anyone listening? Does anyone care? Well, the lead guitarist does, if one is to listen to his solo! "I Hope You Will Always Be Here with Me" recalls the famous last words of Steve Jobs who for the record as well as history books (oops, I meant tweets) stated: "True happiness does not come from material things, but from the love given to us by our loved ones. So, I hope you understand that having friends or someone to talk to is the true happiness!". The lead vocal from guest Kate Nord is simply killer stuff, as if the power of her love could slay all the CGI-fed false images that serve only to further desensitize the human race. So, what does Massimo do now? Back to the beginning and start anew. Another "Intro Reprise", followed by acoustic versions of "In November" and "Things to Live and To Die For" with the clearly set goal of redefining this new beginning and taking the same good message but with a different delivery. Certainly, a better option that delivering the same tired message over and over.

Massimo is already working on a sequel entitled "The Next Dream", investigating the world of visions and those we meet in the night. I look forward to it and so does Laz I am sure. Actually, we both always do look forward.

4.5 original launches