NELLA PIETRA E NEL VENTO

Aldo Tagliapietra is the historic vocalist and bassist of Le Orme, a band that he contributed to found in 1966. In 2009 he went solo and, after a double unplugged live album, in 2012 he self released an interesting studio work with the help of some members of The Former Life, a very promising young prog band from Vittorio Veneto. On this album, titled "Nella pietra e nel vento" (In the stone and in the wind), the line up features, along with Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, bass), Aligi Pasqualetto (piano, Minimoog, keyboards), Andrea De Nardi (electric and acoustic guitar), Matteo Ballarin (organ, keyboards) and Manuel Smaniotto (drums, percussion). There are no long, complex suites here but just ten beautiful ballads with a mild progressive rock vein that in some way recall the atmospheres and the melodic passages of some albums by Le Orme such as "Elementi" or "L'infinito" while the art work by Paul Whitehead adds a touch of charm and mystery.

The opener title track is a melancholic piece about time passing by. It was inspired by some words in Latin carved in an ancient sundial, Felicibus brevis miseris hora longa. Time can cover with a magic veil memories and nostalgia even if it is too slow for those who have to wait, too fast for those who are scared, too long for those who feel pain, too short for those who are happy.

The following "Silenzi" (Silences) brings a gust of optimism and the atmosphere is brighter. What will remain of us after our time will come to an end? Nothing can last forever except our souls and a smile which will shine in the silence of immensity.

"Il santo" (The saint) was inspired by the character of the Dalai Lama. It tells about a meeting with a smiling man born from a dream, with no home nor land but with a border-less love in his eyes.

The delicate, sweet "La cosa più bella" (The most beautiful thing) is dedicated to Aldo Tagliapietra's grand-son Francesco Ian while the following "Un grande giardino" (A wide garden) is for all the children of an ancient mother called Life, flowers of light in a wide garden who need all our love to grow up.

"Sette passi" (Seven steps) is full of spirituality and was inspired by the character of Siddharta. It evokes the morning wind and a peaceful, almost magic sense of freedom where flowers shine in the infinite.

"C'è una vita" (There's a life) invites you to open your mind, look beyond appearances and search for the life that flows inside your heart... "There's no light without dark / There's no night without day / There's no sound without quiet / There's no peace without war / Inside every pain there's a hidden love / In every morning there's the evening...".

"Tra il bene e il male" (Between good and evil) features on bass the guest Claudio Galieti who was a member of Le Orme in the sixties. It's another track that draws some reflections about the meaning of life in a world divided between silence and noise. We have to walk on a tightrope hanging on the void, between joy and pain in the never ending game between good and evil.

"Dio lo sa" (God knows it) is full of positive energy, almost an ode to a merciful God who is aware of our weakness. For Him we're just angels living between dream and reality who keep on rolling down from a steep hill like stones, lost in the dark and looking for an ephemeral freedom that we can't find.

The conclusive "Il sutra del cuore" (The sutra of the heart) in some way is linked with the title track and closes the circle. It invites you to open your mind to love without hypocrisy nor fear. You have to forget the evil ways and look for love without any compromise, you have to carve in the stone all the positive things and remember all the love you have received from the others. As for the bad memories, let the wind blow them away and keep on searching for the light of love, beyond the immensity.

All in all a very nice album!