DIAMONDS IN THE RAIN

Diamanti is the second album by Mad Crayon and was released in 1999 on the independent Mellow Records label with a renewed line up featuring Alessandro Di Benedetti (keyboards, piano, vocals), Daniele Agostinelli (keyboards, vocals), Federico Tetti (electric guitars, sax), Daniele Vitalone (bass, electric guitar), Luca Cleri (acoustic and electric guitar) plus Stefano Crudele (drums), Simone Durante (Hammond organ), Monica Ward (vocals) and Eleonora Ricci (vocals). In my opinion, it confirms all the good qualities of the debut work and even marks a step forward for the band. This time all the lyrics are in Italian and the vocal parts sound more confident while the music tries to explore new territories with original compositions, a great sense of melody and fresh ideas... 

 

The nervous opener “La ballata dell'uomo nudo” (The ballad of the naked man) describes in music and words the feelings you can experience in a restless night where darkness steals your breaths, unveils your silences, turns up your cards and undresses your soul without mercy, leaving you in front of a light that shows your nakedness. All you have to do is heeding the call of fantasy and follow its course heading up towards the sky...

The reflective, melancholic “Deserti” (Deserts) tells in music and words about an inner desert that the protagonist carries inside him everywhere he goes and evokes distant voices dancing on the horizon, mirages of love and painful memories... 

 

Then it’s the turn of the beautiful instrumental “Glorioso destino” (Glorious destiny), a dynamic piece full of positive energy that leads to the dreamy “Pioggia di fiori” (Rain of flowers) where delicate acoustic guitar arpeggios and soaring melodies invite you to leave behind fake smiles and ephemeral pleasures to embark on a boat and sail through a calm sea, over the clouds, under a soft rain of flowers. An old man smiles at you... Welcome on board!

The excellent instrumental title track, “Diamanti” (Diamonds), blends romantic atmospheres and more aggressive passages and leads to “L'allegra brigata” (The merry brigade), a long, complex piece dedicated to all the friends of the band. It starts softly as the story comes to life from the ashes of reality and takes off on the wings of fantasy while the music and lyrics conjure up a fantastic voyage on a ship sailing across an unknown sea in search for the treasures of youth with a merry crew always open to adventure... 

 

Mad Crayon, 1999

 “Principe delle maree” (Prince of the tides) is a kind of celebration of the power of music and the healing force of singing. You have to set your heart free and follow the rhythm of the tide, then you’ll take off on an imaginary flight across mysterious lands and Oriental landscapes leaving behind the daily problems of a hostile reality... The short, evocative “Alchimia di una leggenda” (Alchemy of a legend) ends the album with a kind of tribute of the art of cinema. Narrative female vocals raise questions about the greatness and the righteousness of a man who conceives kingdoms of death and boasts his victories in front of those who cry, a man under the rain looks for shelter... Director, do not stop, please!

On the whole, a very good album full of melody and dreamy atmospheres.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Mad Crayon: Diamanti (1999). Other opinions:
Erik Neuteboom: On this CD Mad Crayon sounds tight, fluent and convincing, their compositions are tasteful featuring lots of pleasant changing climates, from dreamy to bombastic... The progrock from Mad Crayon doesn't sound original or complex but they deliver very melodic, harmonic and pleasant music... (Read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/madcrayon/ 

INTELLIGENT BOMBS

Bombook is the fourth album by Agorà and was recorded live at Progressivamente Free Festival in Rome on September 20, 2015 with a line up featuring Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (acoustic and electric guitar), Massimo Manzi (drums), Gabriele Possenti (acoustic guitar), Gianni Pieri (cello) and Lucio Cesari (bass) plus Patrizio Fariselli (keyboards - from Area) and Marco Agostinelli (flute). It was released in 2016 on the Cramps - Sony label and contains some brand new tracks along with brilliant new arrangements of pieces taken from their old repertoire. The art cover by Massimiliano D’Affronto depicts a very strange aircraft made of human bodies dropping books on a surreal landscape trying to convey the concept that culture and music can start a real revolution... 

 

The crisp, lively opener “Bombook” sets the atmosphere. It’s a new track whose title refers to the idea of books can be like joyful bombs with the power of shaking human society while the music every now and again reminds me of PFM. Another beautiful brand new piece follows, the acoustic, reflective “Reset”, where you can appreciate a great flute work. Next comes a re-vitalized piece from the seventies, “Costa dell’est” (East coast), mixing Latin rock influences and fresh breezes from the Birdland, pulsing rhythms and Mediterranean flavours... 

 

The live version of “Sensei” is more jazzy than the original studio one but maintains its reflective mood. Then comes the excellent “Punto rosso” (Red Point), a track from Agorà 2 named after a Milanese jazz club of the seventies, that here is enhanced by a great performance of the guest keyboardist Patrizio Fariselli who gives it an original touch and a vein Area’s experimentalism while the following “Ichinen” takes you back to softer territories evoking exotic flavours and mysterious landscapes... 

 

Agorà on stage, 2016

The dreamy “Puro” (Pure) is a good new composition with mild Oriental scents that leads to an excellent version of “L’orto di Ovidio” (Ovidio’s garden), from Agorà’s debut album Live In Montreux. Then it’s the turn of another new track, the slow, melancholic “Oak Ballad” and its almost bluesy mood... 

 

The album ends with a sparkling version of two tracks from Agorà 2. “Piramide di domani” (Pyramid of tomorrow) is veiled by a dark cloud of mystery that gradually melts into in a new light while “Cavalcata solare” (Solar ride) starts with Patrizio Fariselli’s keyboards in the forefront and features a powerful, radiant crescendo that closes the show in glory with a perfect interaction between all the musicians involved. 

 

On the whole, an excellent work that is really worth listening to. 

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Agorà-Prog-Music-825976830866610/ 

WINTER ALWAYS TURNS INTO SPRING

 After a long hiatus, in 2002 Agorà came to life again on the initiative of original members Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (guitar), Mauro Mencaroni (drums) and Lucio Cesari (bass) who teamed up with Alessandra Pacheco (vocals), Giovanni Ceccarelli (piano) and Maurizio Mercuri (guitar). Along the years the new line up went through some changes and it wasn’t until 2014 that Agorà finally released a new album entitled Ichinen on the independent Aereostella-Immaginifica label. It’s a kind of compendium of the band’s activity after the 1976 studio album Agorà 2 where you can find some new arrangements of old pieces, some previously unreleased tracks from the late seventies recorded before the split up and some brand new compositions. According to the liner notes, “the music was inspired by the fundamental Buddhist teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and the Human Revolution of the individual with its emphasis on the value and respect of the sanctity of life and the environment” and the art cover tries to convey this concept... 

 

The charming opener “Serra San Quirico” is a shortened acoustic version of a piece from their 1975 debut album Live In Montreux and was recorded with a line up featuring Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (acoustic guitar), Gabriele Possenti (acoustic guitar), Gianni Pieri (cello) and Lucio Cesari (acoustic bass). It sounds very different from the original version with the interaction between the acoustic guitars in the forefront, soaring lines of cello and sax and a calm, dreamy mood... 

 

“Ichinen” is a new track recorded by the line up featuring Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Mauro Mencaroni (drums), Lucio Cesari (acoustic bass), Alessandra Pacheco (vocals), Giovanni Ceccarelli (piano) and Karl Potter (congas, djambè). Here the wordless voices are used just as another instrument and take you to exotic landscapes where you can relax and think about the meaning of life... The following “Sensei” was recorded by the same line up (without Karl Potter) and is a delicate, reflective piece dedicated to Japanese Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda... 

 

 

“Work In Progress” is a nice duet for acoustic guitar played by Renato Gasparini and Gabriele Possenti, then the line up featuring Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Mauro Mencaroni (drums), Lucio Cesari (acoustic bass), Alessandra Pacheco (vocals), Giovanni Ceccarelli (piano) and Karl Potter (congas, djambè) come back for “Starstrings”, a reflective piece evoking the inner power that is hidden into everyone’s body and the ability to use it... 

 

“Istante per istante” (Moment by moment) is another beautiful acoustic guitar duet with Mediterranean flavours, this time performed by Renato Gasparini and Maurizio Mercuri, then it’s the turn of the Oriental scents of “Tre Maggio” (Third of May), performed in trio by Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Alessandra Pacheco (vocals), and Giovanni Ceccarelli (piano, tabla). 

 

The slow, melancholic “Oceano” (Ocean) tries to take you on an inner journey in the depths of your ego and features Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Mauro Mencaroni (drums), Lucio Cesari (acoustic bass), Alessandra Pacheco (vocals) and Giovanni Ceccarelli (piano, tabla) while the following “Wood Of Guitar” is a good dreamy track played by Gabriele Possenti (guitar, bass) that reminds me of Will Ackerman... 

 

Next two tracks come out from the late seventies sessions of the line up featuring Renato Gasparini (Roland guitar synth), Ovidio Urbani (sax), Roberto Bacchiocchi (piano Rhodes), Robert Clark (electric bass) and Massimo Manzi (drums). “Progressive Suite” is full of positive energy and in the booklet you can read a quote from Nicheren Daishonin that well describes its feeling, “winter always turns into spring”, while the lively “Costa dell'est” (East Coast) could recall Weather Report... 

 

The medley “Piramide di domani - Cavalcata solare” (Pyramid of tomorrow - Solar ride) ends the album by blending two tracks from Agorà’s 1976 second album and delivering them in a new interesting acoustic version performed by the line up featuring Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (acoustic guitar), Gabriele Possenti (acoustic guitar), Gianni Pieri (cello) and Lucio Cesari (acoustic bass). 

 

On the whole, a very good album! 

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

Agorà: Ichinen (2014). Other opinions: 

Conor Fynes: I feel mixed about this one. It seems like Agorà are at a tentative crossroads, and regardless of what years these tracks were recorded in, Ichinen is a reflection of that... (You can read the complete review HERE)

 

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FREEDOM

Aliante come from Pisa, Tuscany, and took form in 2017 on the initiative of two former members of Egoband, Jacopo Giusti and Alfonso Capasso. The same year they released an excellent debut album, entitled Forme libere, on the independent M.P. & Records label with a line up featuring Jacopo Giusti (drums, gong, percussion), Enrico Filippi (keyboards, piano, Mellotron, Moog) and Alfonso Capasso (bass) plus the guest Serena Andreini (narrative vocals). It’s an almost completely instrumental album where the musicians experiment and express their own ideas and musical formulas freely inspired by bands such as Le Orme or Emerson, Lake & Palmer. According to the band, the art cover by Jacopo Giusti, an oil on canvas painting, tries to describe the idea that there’s no need of something pre-conceptually established in any kind of artistic creation...

On the short opener “Forme libere” (Free forms) you can hear the narrative vocals of Serena Andreini introducing the subject matter. Life teaches us how to know shapes, colours, emotions, how to love them and make them our own, it also gives us the opportunity to invent new ones, to mix new shades but we always have to change perspective in order to have new forms to observe, free forms to model and paint... The short introduction fades into the following “Kilowatt Store”, a powerful track full of energy and dizzying keyboard rides...

Next comes “Tre di quattro” (Three of four), a beautiful piece with a spacey tinge that begins by soaring melodic lines and a dreamy atmosphere, then a pulsing rhythm section and more experimental keyboard sounds evoke dark, lunar landscapes and fantastic voyages towards far stars and unknown planets...

“Etnomenia” is sprinkled with exotic flavours and opens with ethnic chants in the background and a drum solo pattern, then the keyboards backed by the rhythm section draw dreamy melodies evoking far savage landscapes and adventure films of explorers and travellers...

 

“Kinesis” starts by a slow pace and a mysterious atmosphere, then the rhythm gradually rises for a nocturnal ride through the empty streets of a modern metropolis (at least it’s what the picture in the booklet associated with this piece might suggest) while the short “Coda: Marea 03” evokes a sense of impending change...

“L’ultima balena” (The last whale) conjures up scenes from whaling and could be a perfect score for a film about a dangerous voyage on a sail ship across forbidden seas and lands on barbarous coasts. Get ready for harpoon shootings and bloody fights against terrible creatures, imaginary or real...

The last track, “San Gregorio” (Saint Gregory) was inspired by the life of Gregory of Utrecht, follower of Saint Boniface and abbot of St. Martin's Monastery. Three years before his death in 776 he was hit by a paralysis that gradually spread over his entire body. At the approach of death he had himself carried into church, where he passed away. This excellent piece is divided into five parts - “Ottava nota”, “Utrecht”, “Il convento di San Martino”, “La paralisi” and “Kinesis (Reprise)” - but the plot, of course, is up to the music and your imagination...

On the whole, an excellent debut work.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Aliante: Forme libere (2017). Other opinions:
Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: Running a welcome vinyl length of around forty-seven minutes which ensures it will be easy to re-spin often, here is an album that basks in its soloing-heavy proudly `proggy' heritage without being a mere uninspired or lazy vintage remake. `Forme Libere' calms and dazzles in equal measure, is intelligent instrumental music with endlessly memorable themes and full of warmth, colour and movement, and it's an album that reveals Aliante to be a group of talented musicians of restrained skill and great taste... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Aliantemusica/

THE SPACESHIP MATRIARCH

Sticky Brain took form in 2014 in Schio, a small town in the province of Vicenza, on the initiative of Andrea Moro and Mattia Cavallaro, inspired by artists and bands such as Herbie Hancock, Weather Report or Snarky Puppy. After some time spent honing their skills and playing live on the local scene, in 2019 the band self-released an interesting debut album, entitled Looking Forward, with a line up featuring Giorgio Manzardo (sax), Stefano Nardon (keyboards, vocals), Andrea Moro (bass), Giovanni Caruso (guitar), Mattia Cavallaro (guitar) and Alessandro Barbieri (drums). For the art cover was chosen a painting by Lanfranco Frigeri, La matriarca dell'astronave (oil on canvas, 1973). Lanfranco Frigeri is an artist best known for the cover of Le Orme’s Felona e Sorona and in my opinion his dreamy subjects and surreal landscapes perfectly fit the musical content of this album...

The hypnotic opener “Fifty-Fifty” starts softly but soon the dreamy atmosphere gives way to a lively funky jazz passage before taking a darker, mysterious path... Many changes in rhythm and mood follow during a crazy ride of more than nine minutes that leads to the short, carefree “Today Is Friday”...

Next comes “Up From The Grave”, the only sung track on the album. It’s a beautiful piece blending jazz with a touch of psychedelia, Latin rock and reminiscences of the Beatles. It tells in music and words the experience of a revenant coming out of his grave, searching for a melody. His skeleton falls apart while he’s dancing under the moon, just like in a comic book. Then he takes off in a new coloured form escaping from hell...

“Stajass” is a long, complex piece that starts softly with romantic passages and a strong sense of melody. The vibrant middle section then gives way to a final part sprinkled with oriental flavours... The following “Viaggio alla roccia di Morosha” is a lively track with a pulsing rhythm that every now and again reminds me slightly of Area’s La mela di Odessa...

“Biveson” ends the album and features a dreamy first part with echoes of smooth jazz and bossa nova and a second part in crescendo where the rhythm takes off for a finale where you can hear some psychedelic touches.

On the whole, a good debut work in the vein of bands such as Mad Fellaz or Endless Season.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/StickyBrain/