Four
Destinies is the third
studio album by Alex Carpani and it confirms all the good qualities
of its predecessors, Waterline (2007) and The Sanctuary
(2010). It was recorded with a line up featuring Alex Carpani (piano,
Hammond, Mellotron, Moog, vocals), David Jackson (sax, flute), Ettore
Salati (electric and acoustic guitar, bouzouki, balalaika),
Giambattista Giorgi (bass), Alessandro Di Caprio (drums) and Joe Sal
(vocals) and produced by Cristiano Roversi who engineered, mixed and
mastered all the pieces. The album was finally released in 2014 on
the independent Festival Music label with a nice packaging and an art
cover reproducing a statue by Michelangelo Pistoletto, The
Etruscan, from the Forth Worth
Museum collection. According to the liner notes, this is a
concept album based on four eventual destinies that a man can find on
the path of his life: four destinies that irradiate, moving from
the same point, in four different directions of life. To be
honest, the concept is not very clear: the lyrics alternate parts in
English and in Italian and do not try to tell a story but rather
conjure up images adding more colours to the four musical tableaux on
the album, the rest is up to your imagination! Four destinies, four
long tracks with many changes in rhythm and mood, very rich in ideas
and musical colours well performed by an excellent team of
musicians...
The
beautiful opener, "The Silk Road", takes you on a long
journey through valleys and deserts, following the ancient tracks of
merchants and adventurers such as Marco Polo. It's a road that marks
the destiny of many different people in a melting-pot of races,
colours, smells and sounds... A road that crosses the borders between
science and faith, where you can hear secret stories whispered by
silent shadows under the moonlight...
"Time
Spiral" takes you on the mountains where you can sit on the
banks of a brook and bathe in the icy waters of the springs of Time.
There you can get lost in the mystery of life, you can feel the
weight of your days passing by like dust and sand carried away by the
current... But a threatening storm is approaching and the rage of the
wind will soon blow away everything around you in the crazy spiral of
a deadly fate...
"Sky
And Sea" begins softly and features some dark passages that
recall Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. The music and lyrics take
you on a boat sailing across raging waters under a thundering storm
in a dark night... You've got to gather all your energies and fight
hard for your life against the fury of the elements. At last the
storm calms down, you see a lighthouse and you can breathe the smells
of a seaport, you can reach a safe harbour. Now the danger is gone
but sometimes tears take a long time to dry...
"The
Infinite Room" takes you on a sleepwalk through an enchanted
world, as in a H.P. Lovecraft story... Your body is out of control
while you're strolling through the streets of a fantastic, unreal
city. At dawn the dream melts and you wake up confused by feelings,
thoughts and visions that are driving you insane. You can hear a
strange music that's shaking your soul... "The sound of weird
lyric melody was what aroused me. Chords, vibrations, and harmonic
ecstasies echoed passionately on every hand; while on my ravished
sight burst the stupendous spectacle of ultimate beauty..."
(H.P. Lovecraft, from Beyond the Wall of Sleep).
 |
| Alex Carpani Band 2014 |
On
the whole, I think that this is a very good album: if you like bands
such as Genesis or Van der Graaf Generator and Italian progressive
rock, have a try! I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
You can listen to the complete album HERE
Alex
Carpani: Four Destinies (2014). Other opinions:
Jerry
Lucky: The music of Alex Carpani is best described as classic
Italian Symphonic Progressive Rock and he has all the musical
elements in place humming like a precision clock. You hear old or
classic familiar sounds set against a host of newer textures,
blending together to create a wonderfully enticing modern album.
Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended... (read the complete
review HERE)
No comments:
Post a Comment