A LATE HARVEST

Biglietto per l'Inferno’s second album, Il tempo della semina, was recorded in 1974 but, on account of the financial troubles of the Trident label on which it should have been released, it was left unrefined and unavailable for the music market until 1992, when the Mellow Records label took the old master tapes out of the drawer. Finally it was remastered and re-released in 2004 on La Vetraia-BTF label with the supervision of the band. The original sound quality and production was very far from perfect and it was rather difficult to fix it up after almost thirty years, but they tried hard...

 

On the remastered edition the sound quality is really improved and the final result is not so bad. The long, complex title track, “Il tempo della semina” (The time of sowing), I think is the best piece on this work. The music reminds me of the band’s debut album, with its marching drums and evocative keyboards, while the filtered recitative vocals conjure up a kind of “revolutionary dream”. “Why would we still have to put up with you / We won’t wait for a tailor-made sunrise / To break down the bars of your prison...”.

“Mente solamente” (Mind, nothing but mind) is a kind of experimental nursery-rhyme based upon a calambour and, in my opinion, is by far the worst track on this work... The following “Vivi, lotta, pensa” (Live, fight, think) is definitively better. The producer of the album, singer songwriter Eugenio Finardi, pushed the band to write committed lyrics dealing with social problems and the political system and this piece goes in that direction. The music and lyrics invite to reflection by comparing the poor and the rich, all human beings but one different from the other...

  

Next comes “L’arte sublime di un giusto regnare” (The sublime art of a righteous reign) with its medieval influences (and a light “Jethro Tull’s flavour”) and the flute in the forefront. The lyrics depict the life of a king who doesn’t pay attention to the poor people who live outside his palace. “That’s what I call to rule / Happiness in dominating, that’s it...”.

“Solo ma vivo” (Alone but alive) is another committed track, that invites you to choose to fight instead of fighting because to have to choose. It describes a jaded friend who walks on many roads but who have no real goals... It’s not an outstanding piece and I prefer by far the introspective vein of the songwriting of Claudio Canali in the closer “Canzone del padre” (Song of the father), a long track full of energy, autobiographical and bitter, where the music and lyrics describe the difficult relationship between the singer and his father...

On the whole, Il tempo della semina is less inspired if compared with the excellent debut album of the band, but it’s still a good work that was luckily saved from oblivion.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Biglietto per l’Inferno: Il tempo della semina (1992). Other opinions:
Paul Fowler: Il Tempo della Semina is the second album from seventies Italian prog rockers Biglietto per l'Inferno. It's failure to be completed and released at the time was to shortly lead to the band splitting up and it didn't see the light of day until 1992 unfortunately. Not surprisingly it's a bit rough round the edges... While not being in the same league as their excellent debut still has enough of interest to make it a worthwhile purchase for RPI lovers though not essential listening by any means... (read the complete review HERE)

JAZZ FROM THE XIII CENTURY

Ars Antiqua World Jazz Ensemble is a project that took form in Ferrara in 2021 on the initiative of director and composer Roberto Manuzzi, teacher at the Ferrara Conservatory, with the help of some colleagues and students. In 2022 the ensemble self-released an interesting debut album, entitled L’amore è una fiamma (Love is a flame), with a wide line up featuring Roberto Manuzzi (sax), Rachele Amore (vocals, percussion), Stefano Melloni (clarinet, flutes), Erica Ruggiero (acoustic and electric piano, harpsichord, backing vocals), Raffaele Guandalini (double bass, electric bass), Stefano Guarisco (drums), Davide La Rosa (electric and acoustic guitar), Pietro Boarini (electric guitar), Davide Zabbari (viola da gamba), Fausto Negrelli (vibraphone, percussion), Antonio Stragapede (mandolin) plus the guests Ares Tavolazzi (double bass - historic member of Area) and Paola Tagliani (piano). The aim of the musicians involved in this project was mixing classical and folkloric influences with jazz and electric instruments. In some way, they tried to do with Medieval music what The Pentangle did with British folk and the result is an excellent album that contains original compositions by Roberto Manuzzi on poems by artists of the thirteenth century as well as some modern arrangements of Medieval scores and songs from the Sephardic Jewish tradition...

The first three tracks, “L’aire claro”, “Quand’om ha un bon amico” and “Chi non avesse mai veduto foco” are original compositions based upon the verses of Jacopo da Lentini, an Italian poet of the XIII century. Jacopo da Lentini was a notary at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and is credited with the invention of the Sonnet. His poetry was originally written in literary Sicilian, though it only survives in Tuscan. The music blends in a very effective way medieval atmospheres, Mediterranean colours and jazz contaminations while the wonderful vocals of Rachele Amore breath a new life into timeless words about love and friendship...

The long, complex “Ondas do mar de Vigo” is a beautiful elaboration of a XIII century piece by Martin Codax, a Galician medieval joglar (a non-noble composer and performer). It starts by a delicate guitar arpeggio and soaring vocals, then it slowly turns into something different, with bass, piano and sax drawing dreamy, exotic landscapes...

Then come “Sonetti barbarici, parte 1”, “Sonetti barbarici, parte 2”, and “Sonetti barbarici, parte 3”, other three original compositions on verses of Jacopo da Lentini, this time based only on piano and vocals. The first prises the beauty and the virtues of the beloved woman, more precious than any gem on earth, the second expresses the pain provoked by envious, treacherous or haughty lovers that are compared to snakes and dragons while the third depicts the feelings of a shy lover in front of the desired woman...
 

The dreamy “Alta, alta es la luna” and the Oriental flavoured “Sien drahmas al dia” are two elaborations of traditional Sephardic songs. Sephardic Jews are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the Iberian Peninsula and their vernacular languages are mainly variants of either Spanish or Portuguese...

The following “Santa Maria strela do dia” might recall some works by Angelo Branduardi and is the elaboration of a piece credited to Alfonso X the Wise, king of Castile, Leon and Galicia who commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign, from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. Among them, The Cantigas de Santa Maria (for the most part about miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary) form one of the largest collections of vernacular monophonic songs to survive from the Middle Ages...

The lively “La tarantella” is a charming piece that ends the album with its particular celebration of nature and God through almost pagan, obscure rites and dances under the moon. The middle section with the double bass in the forefront might recall The Pentangle...

On the whole, an interesting work. Folk prog lovers should have a try...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078192930051 

FLYING ACROSS A DARK VOID

Daedalus is the seventh studio album by Daal and was released in 2022 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash Records label. The line up features, along with founder members Alfio Costa (Mellotron, Moog, piano, organ, synthesizers) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion), also Ettore Salati (guitars) and Bobo Aiolfi (bass) here promoted to effective members while they were credited just as guests on the 2018 album Decalogue Of Darkness. The art work by Davide Guidoni in some way reflects the musical content with its dark, oneiric figures loosely inspired by ancient Greek mythology...

 

The long opener “Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part I” begins with a slow pace. The cinematic intro conjures up a creepy atmosphere and might recall Goblin, then hypnotic notes take you across mysterious places where the world under your feet suddenly seems no more real than the world of a dream, apt to dissolve without warning and send you tumbling into a great, dark void... (the short quote is from Lightning, a novel by Dean Koontz).

“Icarus Dreams” begins by a surge of energy. As the rhythm rises you can set off on an interstellar journey on the wings of fantasy. In the open space, as the dizziness of the departure dissolves, darkness becomes an excellent screen on which the mind can play out its architectural whims. For this track the band provided a video to give you an idea of what the music is about...

 

“Painting Wings” starts softly, the atmosphere is relaxed and dreamy but after three minutes the music takes a different direction and dreams seem almost turning into nightmares as the rhythm becomes more obsessive and threatening. When the calm comes back you could feel scared by your own lethal visions...

Then it’s the turn of the long, complex “Labyrinth 66 Part I & II”. Here the music depicts a sinister place, where some evil and malignant force lurks behind sombre corners, a kind of dark presence coming in steady, inexorable waves. You’re prisoner of your dreams and waking up will be hard...

 

The ethereal “In My Time Of Shadow” starts by the sound of the wind and a delicate piano pattern. It’s a calm piece with beautiful melodic lines and a nocturnal mood. For this track the band shot an interesting video where two statues come to life in a deserted atelier. They’re like sleepwalkers dancing to a surreal choreography, assailed by their own inner demons... Eventually they turn to stone again, after all, a moving statue becomes grotesque, it only has majesty in immobility... (quote from Le Roi Squelette by Serge Brussolo).

“Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part II” ends the album and closes the circle by taking back the atmosphere and the melodies of the opener. The dream reaches its climax in a crescendo of tension and desire, then slowly fades away...

On the whole, a magnificent album that, in my opinion, might be a perfect score for an adventure in the crazy, ancient world of Brussolo’s characters Shagan and Junia...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Daal: Daedalus (2022). Other opinions:

Nick Hudson: All labyrinths have an inherent duality, embodying simultaneously great artistry, design, and order; and confusion, chaos and dissonance. Daal’s music has also always had the same duality, being both beauty and beast chasing itself through complex patterns that beguile and bewilder in equal measure. Without ever really sounding like either, there is surely a good deal of influence from Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and for added colour, perhaps a little Tangerine Dream. I could probably draw a list of A to Z of artists I’m reminded of – or, at least Art Zoyd to Zappa. But Daal really do sound like no other band, and for that I’m glad as I doubt I’d keep coming back to them otherwise... (read the complete review HERE)

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC 

HYPNOTIC SOUNDS

Hypnophonia is the second studio album by Marchesi Scamorza and was released in 2015 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash label with a confirmed line up featuring Lorenzo Romani (guitar, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals), Alessandro Padovani (drums), Paolo Brini (bass), Enrico Bernardini (vocals) and Enrico Cazzola (keyboards, piano, synth, organ). Inspired by Italian seventies prog, it was recorded using analogue recording techniques and tapes to recreate a vintage sound which carries on the tradition of bands like Le Orme or Premiata Forneria Marconi adding a touch of originality and freshness. In my opinion, this work represents a step forward for the band. The beautiful art work by Lorenzo Romani and Julia Mahrer tries to give an idea of its content...

The opener, “1348”, today might sound almost like a gloomy prophecy. In fact, the title refers to the year of the Black Death, a terrible bubonic plague pandemic that stormed through Italy and created religious, social and economic upheavals. It starts by a drum roll and a threatening marching beat, then the music and lyrics depict apocalyptic visions. The Black Death dances and ruthlessly hits without distinction between the poor and the rich while the wind gathers words and carries them on the gallows. Only a far sound of bells tears apart the gloomy silence, the Black Death has a thousand ways to creep in, frightened courtiers cling to a prayer like wild beasts but nobody can escape...

The long, complex, “Il cammino delle luci erranti” (The path of the wandering lights) goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere as the hermetic lyrics conjure up strange images. A thousand stories vanish into time and stone faces carved in the clouds melt, swept away by the wind. Dark, heavy, pagan shadows lurk in the night while under a pale light, in an incense mist, lonely wandering souls float in the air. Grey thoughts fall dawn on a poet who has lost his inspiration and, as the wind, bangs against immovable things destined to disappear...

Next comes “Campi di Marte” (Fields of Mars) where the music and words invite you to set off for a kind psychedelic journey where you have to follow light trails under the rain without looking back, leaving behind tears and worries. The light carries you beyond greedy streets, towards deserts where words are worthless...

The title of the reflective “L’uomo dal fiore in bocca” (The man with the flower in his mouth) refers to a play of the same name written in 1922 by Luigi Pirandello telling of the meeting in a bar, late at night, between a man who is dying of a cancer (the flower in the mouth) and a businessman who has missed his train. The dialogue between the two characters marks the contrast between someone who intensely lives the little time left to him and someone who has plenty of time to spend, waiting for the morning and completely absorbed by trivial mishaps, taken by his daily grind. Imagine people without a goal who are waiting for their death, waiting for the end with no escape...

The oneiric “La via del sognatore” (The dreamer’s way) ends the album. It’s a long, complex piece divided into three parts. The first is subtitled “La notte” (The night) and depicts in music and words a devouring dark, a black space dotted with stars that laughingly melt into oblivion. Shadows thickens around you, the night is falling, tired limbs can rest as the mind can’t switch off and overflows... The second part is subtitled “Il sogno” (The dream) and conjures up the realms of dream, an ever changing place where tears of opals cross the streets between high stone columns and the lights of a new life show the way while strange sounds surround you... Then the last part, “Il risveglio” (The awakening), describes the come back of day light. Reality is still fuzzy when dawn begins to snatch the dreams from the night to let them fade out in a silent world...

On the whole, a good mature work that is worth listening to.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Marchesi Scamorza: Hypnophonia (2015). Other opinions:
Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: It would be easy to place Marchesi Scamorza alongside numerous other low-key modern Italian bands that fly under the radar, but at the same time, `Hypnophonia' is the sound of what was an already promising band stepping up in a big way and delivering a superior work that easily eclipses their earlier effort, carefully showcasing their influences but also offering unexpected surprises. It boasts a fuller production, more confident vocals that aren't afraid to step back and let the thrilling instrumental passages take the focus, and gifted musicians playing with boundless enthusiasm and sharp skill... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Marchesi2016/ 

A NEW CONTAMINATION

Contaminazione 2.0 is a live album by Il Rovescio della Medaglia that was released in 2020 on the independent Jolly Roger Records label. It captures a very particular performance of the band with a line up featuring Enzo Vita (guitar), Pino Polistina (guitar, backing vocals), Nicola Costanti (piano, keyboards, vocals), Carmelo J. Arena (synth, Hammond, vocals), Andrea Castelli (bass) and Andrea Bruni (drums). In fact, the album was recorded at Abbey of Saint Galgano in Chiusdino, Siena on September 11, 2018 with the help of a string quartet formed by Federico Galieni (violin), Francesco Gemo (violin), Emanuele Guadagni (viola) and Katie Bruni (cello) plus the special guests Vittorio De Scalzi (flute) and Marco Fusi (Scottish hornpipes). As you can guess from title and the art work by Carmelo J. Arena and Piera Arena, it’s all centred on Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s 1973 album composed with Maestro Luis Enriquez Bacalov, Contaminazione...

The location of the concert is surrounded by a magic aura. The Abbey of Saint Galgano was a Cistercian Monastery whose construction began in 1220 around the site of the former hermitage of the saint, in the valley of the river Merse, between the towns of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena, Tuscany. It’s a place full of mysticism and spirituality, despite having been deconsecrated since 1789 (the first year of the French Revolution), and is related to the Arthurian cycle of the Sword in the Stone. In fact, nearby lies the hermitage of Monte Siepi where, according to legend, Saint Galgano retired to life as a hermit in 1170 and, as a symbol of peace, stuck his sword into the rock, where it is still today. The roofless walls of the Gothic style 13th-century Abbey church still stand and it’s exactly inside those walls that the stage was set...

Contaminazione, a concept album telling the story of a mad musician who think to be the heir of Bach, was conceived for rock group and orchestra and it’s not easy to play it live. For this concert the band re-arranged and played the whole work without the orchestra and in a “rockier” but effective way, with amazing harmony vocals and the classical touch of the string quartet. The sound quality is perfect and all the musicians involved showcase great technique and passion. The result is astounding and, in my opinion, this live album should be considered a good complement to the original one...

As bonus tracks, on the Cd were included three other pieces taken from Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s debut album, La bibbia, that were recorded on May 5, 2019 during a concert in Barberino Tavarnelle, near Florence.

Overall, a great document of the band’s vitality on stage.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/ilrovesciodellamedaglia/