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Le Orme - Felona E Sorona CD (album) cover

FELONA E SORONA

Le Orme

 

Rock Progressivo Italiano

4.26 | 1062 ratings

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Flucktrot
Prog Reviewer
4 stars It may take you a while (as it did me), or it may be instantaneous, but eventually you'll come to appreciate this fine album from Le Orme. As the black-white contrast on the cover hints, there are impressive contrasts in moods, from happy, major-chord-dominated songs, to spacey and menacing bits. This album still has that cute, unmistakable charm of Italian symphonic prog, but some of the happier parts seem quite folksy to me (similar to Harmonium perhaps). Either way, Felona e Sorona is a fine album.

The highlights: Sospesi Nell 'Incredible, L'equilibrio, Ritorno al Nulla. These songs are the faster and heavier songs on the album, and Sospesi and Ritorno open and close the album, respectively. Based on my limited exposure to Le Orme, they apparently know how to put their best material in the most important places. Sospesi opens with classic prog playfulness and countermelodies, and then merges into a grandiose chorus, and finishes with an excellent spacey freak-out. L'equilibrio may be the highlight of the album for me, particularly the inspired, 5/4 piano bridge. Closing out the album on a high, Ritorno cranks up the intensity with a key and synth-dominated, menacing build. If the whole album was equal in quality to these three tracks, it would be a five-star in my book any day.

The rest. I must emphasize that there are no bad songs on this album, as you might expect. These songs are generally simpler, and to my ears largely less interesting, than the others. For those whom the charming aspect of Le Orme is a highlight, then you will be very pleased. Of course, even I have to acknowledge the remaining brilliance of this album, including the irresistibly catchy Felona and the gorgeous climax of Rittrato di un Mattino.

In short, I prefer music with a little more bite than much of this album offers, but objectively I certainly appreciate the beauty of this album in its entirety. I certainly don't mind that it's relatively short: if it's consistently good and coherent, then it's much better by me than an album packed with filler. Although I would not consider these guys to be virtuosos, they have created an alternatingly beautiful and eerie album that really works.

Flucktrot | 4/5 |

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