SECOND FLIGHT

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: an introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

Before the release of their eponymous debut album, all the members of “Il Volo” had collaborated with Lucio Battisti and with lyricist Mogol. Years of hard work as session men and as members of other bands (Alberto Radius and Gabriele Lorenzi were members of Formula 3, Mario Lavezzi of Flora Fauna e Cemento and I Camaleonti, Bob Callero of Osage Tribe and Duello Madre, Gianni Dall’Aglio of I Ribelli, Vince Tempera of Pleasure Machine) resulted in considerable musicianship and experience. All the members of Il Volo were excellent musicians and the only problem on their eponymous debut album was a lack of originality in the song-writing. Anyway their second work in my opinion is far better than the previous one. It’s almost completely instrumental though this wasn’t exactly a choice the band made... According to an interview with Gabriele Lorenzi, it just happened that the guitarist Alberto Radius had a dispute with the lyricist Mogol and the album lyrics were left unfinished 1. Perhaps this was just a lucky chance, because in my opinion Mogol’s lyrics on the eponymous debut album of the band weren’t particularly inspired... Here the vocals just seem to sketch whispered melodies but the result is very suggestive and pleasant and they probably give a touch of “unintentional originality” to the whole album...

 

 

The opener “Gente in amore” (People in love) is a good track that recalls some works of Lucio Battisti (especially “Anima latina”), but low subdued vocals drawing a murmured melody without lyrics give it a strange feeling... On the following track “Medio Oriente 249,000 tutto compreso” (Middle East 249,000 all included) prog, jazz and Mediterranean echoes blend together for an interesting trip towards Middle-Eastern atmospheres... The third track “Essere” (To be) is the only one with lyrics, but they are very far from memorable... “Dignity is a very difficult subject / Tears and pain never change you...”. Anyway the music is excellent and features a good guitar solo...

 

The music flows steadily without weak moments... “Alcune scene” (Some scenes) is dark and suggestive and it could have been a good soundtrack for a Horror or Science Fiction film... “Svegliandomi con te alle sei del mattino” (Waking up with you at 6 a.m.) takes you in a kind of particular “Latin jazz” atmosphere, with a guitar solo in Carlos Santana style giving way to good keyboard work... In the last track “Canti e suoni” (Songs and sounds) whispered vocals are used as an instrument to introduce an ethereal, quiet first part that after two minutes melts into a more aggressive, nervous crescendo... The album is short, but without fillers and in my opinion it could be an excellent addition to an “Italianprog” collection.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Il Volo: Essere o non essere? (1975). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: This is a mostly instrumental album first of all, a bit jazzy and plenty rocking. The sound is great on the Japanese CD and the production quite good too. The music should appeal very much to fans of good rock music with lots of lush instrumentation, bright guitars, full bass, and very expressive drumming. While the playing is indeed top notch the band presents a very unified sound and avoid simply trading long-winded solos... (Read the complete review HERE) 

THE FLIGHT OF THE MOSQUITO

Il Volo was a kind of supergroup based in Milan that was formed in 1974 and in the same year released an eponymous début album. All the members of the band were experienced musicians who had previously militated in other bands and collaborated with other artists: Alberto Radius (guitar, vocals) and Gabriele Lorenzi (keyboards, organ, moog, harpsichord) came from Formula 3, Mario Lavezzi (guitars, mandolin, vocals) from Flora Fauna e Cemento and I Camaleonti, Bob Callero (bass – credited on the album under the nickname “Olov”) from Osage Tribe and Duello Madre, Gianni Dall’Aglio (drums) from I Ribelli and Vince Tempera (piano, keyboards) from Pleasure Machine. Years of hard work as session men and as members of other bands had resulted in considerable musicianship and experience but the problem here, in my opinion, is the lack of originality in the song-writing that appears in debt with some of Lucio Battisti's albums of the same period.

However, even if it doesn't shine for its originality, the music is really good and the opener “Come una zanzara” (Like a mosquito) is very promising. It begins with an instrumental intro that lasts more than two minutes and that features a good bass work and an evocative, mysterious atmosphere, then vocals come in... “Like a mosquito in Africa / Me too, I'm lost among millions, nay milliards, of people... Why am I a man?...”. The rhythm section is powerful, all along the album you can appreciate a good interaction between keyboards and guitars. The music flows steadily, track after track, there are some acoustic and melodic moments, some blues and jazz influences. There are no outstanding tracks but the average quality is really good. Unfortunately the lyrics, in my opinion, are rather uninspired.

Vince Tempera - Alberto Radius - Bob Callero

To be honest, here every now and again lyricist Mogol seems to have picked the words almost at random, for their sound rather than for their meaning and you need a lot of imagination to appreciate and comprehend them... Anyway, “La mia rivoluzione” (My revolution) is about the need to believe in your own goals, “Il calore umano” (The human heat) depicts a man in a cave near a bonfire and evokes the strange human heat that you can feel when living in a community, “Il canto della preistoria” (The song of the prehistory) describes in a surreal way the symbiosis between man and nature, “I primi respiri” (First breaths) evokes a difficult relationship depicting an armour that risks to suffocate the man who wears it, “La canzone del nostro tempo” (The song of our time) deals in some way with environmental issues... “It's hard to plough the motorways / Killed hopes are not fertilizer for new businesses...”. Then “Sonno” (Sleep) depicts a feeling of selfishness that feeds a moral and physical sense of boredom while the conclusive “Sinfonia delle scarpe da tennis” (The symphony of the tennis shoes) depicts a pair of sneakers as a metaphor for freedom.

Mario Lavezzi - Gianni Dall'Aglio - Gabriele Lorenzi

On the whole, this album could have been a good “conceptual work”, the music is well performed and there are some recurrent themes (for instance, at the end of the second and of the third track there are little reprises of “Come una zanzara” played by the guitar), but at length “Battisti’s shadow” is overwhelming and the band seem to suffer from a kind of “crisis of identity”. A good album, but not an essential one.

 

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

Il Volo: Il Volo (1974). Other opinions.

Jim Russell: This is an easy to digest work for anyone. Aside from the Italian language singing, this album is more conventional prog than others in the genre. Nice melodies, laid back vocals, smooth electric guitar solos, some acoustic guitars, and less weird keyboard... Unlike some of the more complex Italian albums, Il Volo may be a good starting point for newbies to the genre. If you're looking for one to try out that isn't too weird or wild, this album will deliver a solid rock experience and give you a little taste of the Italian scene... (read the complete review HERE)