Back
To Earth is the second album by Old Rock City Orchestra, a band
from Orvieto that began life in 2009. It was released on the
independent label M.P. & Records in 2015, three years after the
promising debut entitled Once Upon A Time,
and confirms all the good qualities of the previous work. The line up
is still the same and features Cinzia Catalucci (vocals, keyboards),
Raffaele Spanetta (guitars), Giacomo Cocchiara (bass) and Michele
“Mike” Capriolo (drums). The overall sound draws on what now is
called classic rock, all the tracks are played with enthusiasm
and vitality, they're sprinkled with a touch of psychedelia and
heartfelt melody and could recall bands such as Jefferson Airplane,
Affinity or Circus 2000 without sounding out of date...
The
opener "When You Pick Up An Apple From The Tree" is a nice
track where the beautiful voice of Cinzia Catalucci is used just as
instrument and takes you high on a light flight across a starry sky.
Every now and again it reminds me of The Pentangle and is enriched by
the electric violin of the guest Laurence Cocchiara that adds a
baroque touch to final result. It's linked to the following "Feelin'
Alive" where the atmosphere becomes darker and where the music
and words depict a girl who lost her soul in a rainy night and now is
overwhelmed by sorrow and desperation. She needs help, she needs
someone to teach her that there's always time for the last goodbye to
life and that suicide can't be a good way out from her troubles...
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| Old Rock City Orchestra 2015 |
The
following "Rain On A Sunny Day" and "Mr. Shadow"
are two tracks full of obscure energy where the music and lyrics
evoke deadly shadows looming large on the horizon. They lead to the
bitter-sweet "Melissa", a delicate, acoustic song that was
inspired by the 2012 Brindisi School Bombing, a bomb attack occurred in Italy on May 19, 2012, when
three gas cylinder bombs hidden in a large rubbish bin exploded in
front of the Morvillo Falcone high school in Brindisi, killing
Melissa Bassi, a 16-year-old girl, and injuring five other students.
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| Old Rock City Orchestra on stage |
Then
"Lady Viper" lights the fire of a nightmarish vision
evoking an evil, deceiving creature prowling for money and honey. It
leads to the suggestive "My Love", that describes in music
and words an irresistible need, the urge to join someone or to get
something so precious you can't live without it...
"Tonight,
Tomorrow And Forever" is about the relativity of time and
feelings and here the music and lyrics invite you to catch the day,
freeing your mind and leaving behind fears and sorrow. Next comes the
dreamy, reflective "Why Life" that in some way blends hope
and regret, dreams and awareness of the limits that real life can
draw around you. The long title track, "Back To Earth" ends
the album with a melancholic mood and an ethereal stroll down memory
lane that maybe the beautiful art work by Lucy Ziniac can describe
better that all my words...
On
the whole, a good album in black and white played on the tightrope of
nostalgia but with a close look at the present.
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