Delirium had been an excellent band of the early seventies Italianprog scene. After many years of silence and thanks to Pino Di Santo’s initiative, in 2003 the band came to life again with a line up featuring, along with Di Santo on drums, the veterans Ettore Vigo (keyboards) and Martin Grice (flute, sax) along with two new members, Fabio Chighini (bass) and Roberto Solinas (guitars). A live album, entitled Vibrazioni notturne, was recorded in 2006 by this new incarnation of the band and it captures a performance in Trento. Anyway, this work is not a process of self-celebration or self-imitation; it seems more like a new starting point...
“Opening” is just a short introduction to the instrumental “Villaggio” from Delirum’s second album... Delirium are surprisingly fresh here and they seem to be perfectly fit, alive and kicking. The sound is definitely up to date and the band re-elaborate their old pieces giving them a new life... There’s ample room for electric guitar (an instrument that they didn't use at all on their first two albums of the early seventies, Dolce acqua and Lo scemo e il villaggio) and the interaction with the other instruments perfectly works while the music keeps on swinging and blending rock, jazz and a touch of folk...
The frenzied “Movimento I: Egoismo” and the bittersweet “Preludio: Paura” come from their debut album and the members of the band show that they’re able to perform excellent vocal parts even without the contribute of Ivano Fossati, their first singer (who is now a very successful singer-songwriter). Next comes “Culto disarmonico”, an instrumental jazz-rock piece that begins with a drum solo where the band members once again show off their excellent musicianship...
“E’ l’ora” is a pleasant surprise. The song was written by Lavezzi-Mogol and its original version was released only as a single. In my opinion it was just a weak pop one but here the band managed to transform it into a kind of Delirium’s “Impressioni di settembre” delivering what is a really improved version. Well, Mogol’s lyrics are not so inspired like those he wrote for PFM but the result is not bad at all... Next comes “Dolce acqua: speranza”, a classic from old Delirum's repertoire with another excellent new arrangement.
The following “Gioia, dolore, risentimento” is another surprise... The structure of the piece has been almost completely rebuilt exalting its “mystical mood” and it is very different from the original version on their second album: the band cut off the “tarantella parts” and the result is definitely good. In my opinion, this new version is far better than the original one... Then there’s a tribute to Jethro Tull that, in my opinion, is just a useless interlude before three more great songs: “Notte a Bagdad”, a new song inspired by the troubles in Iraq, “Johnny Sayre: perdono”, inspired by an Edgar Lee Masters’ poem and taken from the band’s debut album, and Delirum’s anthem “Jesahel”, their most famous song, originally released as a single.
The last track is a tribute to Joe Cocker and the Beatles, but in my opinion it’s just a useless filler... On this album you can’t find any track from their third album “Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo” and at length this live album almost leaves you wanting to shout: “I want more! Encore!”. My overall impression is that “Vibrazioni notturne” is just an excellent appetizer for the next studio album of the band... Welcome back Delirium!
You can listen to the complete album HERE
The following “Gioia, dolore, risentimento” is another surprise... The structure of the piece has been almost completely rebuilt exalting its “mystical mood” and it is very different from the original version on their second album: the band cut off the “tarantella parts” and the result is definitely good. In my opinion, this new version is far better than the original one... Then there’s a tribute to Jethro Tull that, in my opinion, is just a useless interlude before three more great songs: “Notte a Bagdad”, a new song inspired by the troubles in Iraq, “Johnny Sayre: perdono”, inspired by an Edgar Lee Masters’ poem and taken from the band’s debut album, and Delirum’s anthem “Jesahel”, their most famous song, originally released as a single.
The last track is a tribute to Joe Cocker and the Beatles, but in my opinion it’s just a useless filler... On this album you can’t find any track from their third album “Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo” and at length this live album almost leaves you wanting to shout: “I want more! Encore!”. My overall impression is that “Vibrazioni notturne” is just an excellent appetizer for the next studio album of the band... Welcome back Delirium!
You can listen to the complete album HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment