Now The Time Has Come is the second album by The Trip’s new
course started in 2015 on the initiative of original drummer Pino
Sinnone who took over the name and brand (initially as The New Trip)
to keep alive the old repertoire of the band. While the previous work
from 2021, Caronte 50 Years Later, was mainly focused on the
re-interpretation of tracks from the early years of the band, this
new album is based only on original pieces and fresh ideas. The
consolidated line up features Pino Sinnone (drums), Andrea “Ranfa”
Ranfagni (lead and backing vocals), Carmine Capasso (guitars, sitar,
theremin, percussion, drums), Tony Alemanno (bass) and Andrea “Dave”
D’Avino (Hammond, piano) plus the guests Nico Di Palo (vocals), Max
Botto (Hammond, Moog, Mellotron, piano) and Giuseppe Sarno (Hammond).
This work is not a concept album but in some way follows the
atmospheres of The Trip’s second album from 1971, Caronte.
The beautiful art cover by Lidia Grillo tries to give an idea of the
musical content...
The album opens with the excellent instrumental “Joe’s Spirit”,
composed by Max Botto and dedicated, as you can guess from the title,
to The Trip’s original keyboardist and founder member Joe Vescovi.
It’s a brilliant piece with many classical quotes and changes of
rhythm. The atmosphere is dark, the organ is in the forefront backed
by the rhythm section and everything works to help you cross the Styx
on Charon’s boat...
“Fragile Mimì” is sung in Italian and is dedicated to the memory
of late Italian pop singer Mia Martini, an old friend of the band who
had a love affair with Joe Vescovi in the seventies. It’s a
delicate, intense ballad who evoke the sublime melodies that the
singer was able to create with her voice. Described as sad and
fragile, Mia is now just another star in the sky, a light in the
darkness who has chosen to hide to find shelter from the judgements
of malevolent people...
“Enigma” is another beautiful instrumental piece. It begins by
threatening bass lines and dark organ sounds, then the drums and
fiery electric guitar riffs break in contributing to build up an
atmosphere of mystery and distress, perfectly suited to evoke a
strange walk in the underworld where you can meet the souls of the
dead...
“Il mio capitano” (My captain) is dedicated to the memory of Pino
Sinnone’s older brother, Rino. It’s another touching ballad
interpreted by the particular voice of the special guest Nico Di
Palo, historic member of New Trolls. The music and lyrics evoke an
indelible memory emerging from the past and depict the image of two
little children in the cold, lost in the snow. One of them shows his
courage helping and comforting his younger brother...
Unfortunately, in the following ballad “Two Friends” the vocals
turn to English. The music and the hermetic lyrics tell of a surreal
friendship where music is the real protagonist... Then comes the
intense “Four Lives”, a piece dedicated to the late members of
the band, Joe Vescovi, Wegg Andersen and Billy Gray. Pino Sinnone is
the only surviving member of the original line-up but he feels that
his former bandmates are still with him while he plays to keep their
memory alive...
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| The Trip, 2023 |
The autobiographical “Momento Prog”, despite the Italian title,
is sung in English and sums up the spirit of this work. It’s a
piece that starts by telling about the birth of a child's passion for
rock music and drums, then recalls with puns based on the titles of
the songs from the early years the experience and passion of playing
together in a band like The Trip and ends by telling about the joy of
picking up the drumsticks again and starting to play again after a
long period of musical inactivity...
The album closes with an alternative version of “Il mio capitano”,
sung this time by Andrea Ranfagni and considered a “bonus track”.
On the whole, a very good work.
You can listen to the complete album HERE
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