ANOTHER GENESIS

La Seconda Genesi came from Canino, a small town in the province of Viterbo, and was one of the many Italian progressive rock “one-shot bands” of the seventies. The leader of the band was guitarist Paride De Carli, who, along with drummer Sandro Leoni, from 1963 to 1969 had been playing in clubs and on cruise ships. From 1969 to 1971 Paride De Carli spent two years in the Bahamas Islands playing with a local multi-ethnic band and when back in Italy he released an album with a band called Paride e gli Stereo 4, “Naufrago in città”, on the independent label Picci Records. In 1972 he joined again with Sandro Leoni and with Nazzareno Spaccia (bass), Giambattista Bonavera (sax, flute) and Alberto Rocchetti (lead vocals and keyboards) formed La Seconda Genesi. The band released only one album, “Tutto deve finire”, also on Picci Records, before split up. In that period progressive rock was very popular in Italy and “Tutto deve finire” is just one of the many Italian albums in that vein, with the musicians trying to blend many influences, from jazz and avant-garde to hard rock and classical music.

“Tutto deve finire” (Everything must end) is a concept album featuring lyrics by the producer Giuseppe Cassia dealing with religious issues such as the faith in God and the awareness that everything is bound to come to an end except your soul. The instrumental opener “Ascoltarsi nascere” (Listening to our own birth), is an experimental piece where the band, with the sound of the sax in the forefront, try to blend jazz and avant-garde with rock. The following “L’urlo” (The scream) is another instrumental, a jazz-rock track featuring a great saxophone work. It ends with a short organ solo that marks a change in mood and atmosphere.

Next comes “Se ne va con noi” (It goes away with us), with a “sinister” drum and organ intro, a piece closer to the gloomy mood of Il Balletto di Bronzo’s “Ys” than to Weather Report. On this track the voice of Alberto Rocchetti reminds me slightly of Gianni Leone... “Life dies with us / With a lament life goes away / It goes, goes, goes away with us / The wind blows in the sky but the sun can’t rise / Around us the air is going to die too / And people don’t know when to set off / And people don’t know where to go...”. A good track although in my opinion it's not at the same level of “Ys”!

“Vedo un altro mondo” (I see another world) features hard rock guitar, flute “à la Jethro Tull”, a short vocal part that reminds me slightly of New Trolls (though not with the same amazing harmony vocals), a drum and organ passage, then a hard rock guitar part... “I see another world / Man, who are you? / If you'll understand / You’ll come to life again...”.

“Dimmi Padre” (Tell me Father) in my opinion is the best track on this album. It’s the more complex piece on the album and the band try to blend classical influences and hard rock. You can find here echoes of Osanna, Delirium, Le Orme and New Trolls – or, if you prefer, of Jethro Tull, especially because of the flute... “Tell me Father / Why do you not wonder any more about what you’re doing? / You have been starving all along your life / Your faith is great but you will not help your people / It doesn’t matter, my father / Anyhow there’s always God...”. Dramatic vocals soar over a melting pot of different influences...

The following “Breve dialogo” (Short dialogue) is a short instrumental with a good interaction between classical guitar and organ. It leads to “Giovane uomo” (Young man), a track closer to hard rock that recalls Osanna’s first album. Next comes “Un'infanzia mai vissuta” (A never lived childhood), a quiet instrumental piece built upon a classical guitar arpeggio.

The album was re-released by Akarma Records in 2002 along with the previous album of the guitarist Paride De Carli with the “Stereo 4”, “Naufrago in città” (two albums on one CD). “Naufrago in città” is a completely instrumental album with most of the tracks built upon classical guitar patterns with flute and organ drawing calm, dreamy melodies. 

 

Well, on the whole “Tutto deve finire” might not be considered an outstanding album but I think it's really worth listening to. Bye the way, the original vinyl version of this album is extremely rare and precious for “vinyl collectors” because of the particular art cover featuring random jets of colour (actually, there’s a different album cover for each one of the first 200 vinyl copies).

You can listen in streaming to the complete album HERE 

More info:

http://www.myspace.com/lasecondagenesi 

RIVIERA PROG FESTIVAL 

Villanova d'Albenga 

May 25-26, 2013

More info: 

http://www.fimfiera.it/riviera_prog_concerto.htm 

http://www.facebook.com/fimfiera 

 

Find out more prog concerts in Italy:

http://arlequins.forumfree.org/

http://www.progdates.net/

http://www.hamelinprog.com/calendario-eventi/

 

SHADOWS FROM THE PAST

The Former Life is an Italian prog band from Vittorio Veneto that was formed in 2008 on the initiative of Andrea De Nardi and Matteo Ballarin who had previously collaborated in other bands and projects. According to the official website, the band was named after an imaginary life that the musicians dreamed to have experienced in the era of the giants of rock and was meant as a metaphor to express the shadow of our past and its merging with today’s shadows – a thin thread keeping us tied to what seems to be past and gone, and yet inevitably needs to be recalled, being the only key to access a “latter life” (a life change). Their sources of inspiration range from Pink Floyd to classical music and jazz but the final result is not too derivative and the song-writing is rather good. In 2011 they self released an interesting debut album, “Electric Stillness”, with a line up featuring along with Andrea De Nardi (vocals, piano, organ, keyboards) and Matteo Ballarin (vocals, guitars) two guest musicians, Edoardo Papes (drums, percussion) and Giovanni Scarabel (bass). Later the line up was completed by drummer Manuel Smaniotto and bassist Carlo Scalet for the live activity that followed the release of the album. 

The Former Life

 

According to the band, “Electric Stillness” was conceived as a conceptual work about the abandonment of an unwanted former life (or experience) and the growing desire for change and rebirth, symbolized by a beautiful jewel which “sunders” into two halves. In the booklet there's a short poem that in some way sets the atmosphere, a foreword to the music you're going to listen to... “The brightest awakening comes after the longest sleep, as the suspended chord resolves to the perfect triad... Few notes of recollection can be played but sometimes you find the right key to playback... yourself / That’s like regaining the memory of your former life...”.

The opener “Sundering Jewel” begins with an amazing, dreamy prelude for piano solo that recalls slightly Le Orme's album Florian. Then the other instruments come in and the music takes off taking you away from the Venetian lagoon, towards an obscure moon... “We’re doomed to stay apart and to play the dark songs of elsewhere / Should this remind us of a former life, we’ll escape, like we’ve never escaped / Nor we’ll obey their rules...”.

You can walk on the moon on the notes of the following “Hijacked”, an evocative instrumental track that leads to the spacey “Belong To The Stars”, a long piece blending dreamy melodic lines and dark passages, hazy memories and fading nightmares... “I’m a pilgrim in search of no land / Betrayed by oblivion and fear / Fuddled, brainwashed, wrecked and bound to be here...”. The melancholic “MesmerEyes” takes you back to earth, where love is nothing but hate in disguise and where you have to bear the burden of your mistakes. Now you have to seek for a place to start back, forgetting the past and its long shade of guilt.

“London Rain” is a beautiful track divided into three parts. It's about the madness of men who forget too easily the errors of the past and turn they faces away from the blood of the innocent victims of violence. The mood is dark, there's a sense of impending tragedy, a bomb is going to explode. If you can absorb a disgrace as if it were rain you're probably insane... “There is still a huge ravine between you and how you should be, man...”.

“A Milligram Of Joy” begins with an electric guitar solo that shines in the dark like a crazy diamond. There's a strong sense of nostalgia, you're looking for your past but you can't find it, you're wondering where your days have gone but there's no way to have them back... “What have they done with my stolen days? / You know your enemies are altering the game / But will you, will you let the wind erase another trace? / There ain't no angel to save us strangers / Now that I twist and burn inside / Now that I want back my milligram of joy...”.

The conclusive title track “Electric Stillness” closes the circle and brings you back to your dream, to the stage of a long gone shadow play... “Voices then came to whisper me of a latter life / I felt their wide wings caress my illusions / While calling me across the outermost boundary / I saw a sundering jewel, high above us / And we strove hard to reach it / But at the top of those white marble stairs / I was left alone, and shown the root of all my inborn weakness / Electric stillness reigned...”.

Well, on the whole I think that this is a very good album. By the way, “Electric Stillness was re-released in 2012 with a bonus track. Have a try!

You can listen in streaming to the complete album HERE

The Former Life: Electric Stillness (2011). Other opinions:

Raffaella Benvenuto-Berry: Electric Stillness is the result of years of work on the part of two artists who, in spite of their young age, have already had extensive experience on the music scene. The care and dedication behind the album are evident right from its visual presentation, with an elegant, vaguely Impressionist cover that reflects the understated, autumnal quality of the music, and a detailed booklet including lyrics... Even if it may not be the most innovative effort on the market, it is still a classy album – easily as good as many releases by higher-profile outfits – that will delight fans of melodic prog and bands such as Genesis, Pink Floyd and Camel... (read the complete review HERE)

Conor Fynes: Perhaps somewhat like the style legends Porcupine Tree, the vintage prog sounds of synths and soaring guitar leads are fused into what is otherwise a rock style very aware of its contemporaries. Indeed, this idea of fusing the old and new is a concept about as old as progressive rock itself, but The Former Life do it a good service. Often, the band will explore several different styles within a different song, and the transitions are kept smooth, thanks to a focused approach to songwriting... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.theformerlife.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Former-Life