UOMO DI PEZZA

Without a doubt 1972 were the year where very many groups of Italian progressive rock catapulted themselves towards but high of quality in, the proofs are the first disc of Premiata Forneria Marconi and Darwin of Banco del Mutuo Socorrso , and also our old friends of Le Orme recorded the second album of their discography Uomo di Pezza, and that is also part of the classic trilogy, and it is really a truly amazing disc, a sublime combination of progressive tones that they elevate to this recording to be, for many, the disc of reference of all the discography of Le Orme.

In this work, flood of harmonic findings of strong color, we already found a total maturity in the form to compose and it is possible to be affirmed that the duet Pagliuca/Taglapietra is revealed like teachers of the grace, of the melodic style, the rythmical freedom, the flexible but meticulous counterpoint and the elegant and majestic tone, as well as composers of surprising fecundity. This masterful work catapult the group to the premier league of progressive rock, but throughout the world, called the attention until the musical leader of Van der Graff Generator, Peter Hamill, who is made fan to his music immediately.

This magnifies work contains the 7 more representative songs of how the Progressive rock in Italy becomes, of frank and strong rates (e.g Alienazione, the la Porta Chiusa), very pastoral, sensible songs and much very melancholic (e.g Aspettando l'alba, Breve Immagine), and until an example of which they will do after 1974 with the more pop song of the disc, but that contains a really progressive foundation e.g.(Gioco di Bimba), the quality of the production is pristine and is first of the discs of Le Orme in where it is seen like collaborator the master of the piano Gian Piero Reverberi.

The group follows in its same alignment with Toni Pagliuca - organ, synthesizer, piano, electrical organ, mellotron, celesta, Aldo Tagliapietra - voice, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and electrical of 12 cords and Michi Dei Rossi - drums, bells and percussions, accompanied by or mentioned Gian Piero Reverberi - piano in Una dolcezza nuova, and here they excel all the members of the group since independently of the equipment work that always have done, he is fascinating to listen this masterpiece, catapulting what or they had done in Collage and adding own influences of Italian music, with canterbury characteristics, obvious influences of Emerson, lake and Palmer (ELP), and inspirations of music classic in general, the album also very spiritual and nostalgic, and letters that is as it builds, best the side of Felona e Sorona, that has written the tandem Pagliuca/Tagliapietra; the extensive use of the Moog and the Sintetizador, causes that oniric musical landscapes of strong counterpoint are constructed in which finery through all the songs becomes, of this work. Also the cover is one of most characteristic of the Progressive rock, when revealing part of which the letters and cuasi concept which is this recording, it is an art work, and the relation with the letters that speaks to us of the mental diseases, psychological disturbances, of the emotional fragilities and in general of the people that east type of affections suffers, for that reason is not chance that completes melodies of the disc is called Alienazione, and the relation with the art of the cover of the disc is evident, a person seated in a diván and another one trying to listen what says and behind them, images psychoanalytic and also the night and day reflected in the front and the back of the disc, for that reason it is possible to be said that it is a work very finished and monumental of this great group, this art was designed by Walter Mac Mazzieri.

Most of the songs of the disc they recreate a dreamy atmosphere, melancholic, and with moments also of fastest intense, and that are no boring or no low moments, single of finished good progressive episodes, audacious quickly worthy polyphonic tones of keyboard of a virtuoso, the bass playing without effect overdrive, but exploring and operating the fact in Collage, guitars with exquisite and ingenious arpeggios, and immense rates worked by the drums, and with brilliant contrapuntist patterns simply and single obtained by some Progressive groups in the world (e.g. the use that gives to Michi to the Hi Hat plates or cons and maintaining a frenetic rate and extremely difficult in the song the La Porta Chiusa and that serves as example as the use of these in a rate clearly characteristic of the Progressive like style), adjustments and baroque timbres of the highest musical class, compositions of great elaboration, but, majestic and at the same time sublime with the use of the Mellotron on the part of Tony, a disc unforgettable and considered a masterpiece of Progressive rock, each one of its musical pieces is a drama and under each one of its harmonies a new intention is discovered and contributing to the establishment of musical comedy, that in this case is the Progressive rock, with a distinctive album in this magnifies Venecian group. This disc is a guarantee of excellence in all the Le Orme catalog.

And now the analysis of the songs:

1. - A Dolcezza Nuova. - The subject that opens this work instantaneously and feels one transported to adjustments of very classic cut, with the piano of Gian Piero showing so that it was asked for that it collaborated with Le Orme and constructing an avalanche of notes next to the bass player of Tagliapietra and the organ of Pagliuca, whereas the drums takes a frenetic rate, maintained by Michi until or it is transformed into a song full of evocations, with a rhythmic rate, and timbres done with the piano and the keyboard of Tony, with the great voice that has Tagliapietra and clearly it is indicating the sound that or moulding under the forges of Collage and it shows is this musical piece, of high flights, a loaded piece of emotions, in example of the letters and that indeed speaks to us vaguely of the conflicts of the double personality: :

... therés in your eyes an ancient to fear, ashes' dreams now burn in you. When the fears fade away, believe in me... the storm is in your heart, you take refuge in me. In the space shouts the to thunder, your voice is now to sigh and you trembles beside me... .

Perhaps he is this romantic interlude? Or he is the narrator of one of the parts of the double personality that tries to replace to first, that not this ready to never face the crudity of the reality more? Without a doubt I begin of disc outside series, and that by the way remembers to the fact by ELP in the song Three Fates of its idem album. Excellent 2. - Gioco di Bimba. - Second song of the disc in comment and Le Orme construct a subject with many elements here pop, nevertheless it is a musical piece where the notes and intentions of the letter stand out and valorize with subtle means that affect the rate, the harmony and condimenting with the electrical harpsichord of Tony, the sweet voice of Tagliapietra causes that one feels that happy harmony that transmits the musical piece, as if it was in a roundabout. Nevertheless the letter deals with the subjects the people who cannot even leave some episodes of her childhood; also it seems that it was removed like single in successfully sufficient the Italian market so that the music of Le Orme arrived to more public. A perfect sample of the melodic side of the group. Very Good.

3. - La Porta Chiusa. - The musical piece that defines Le Orme as one of the great names in the Italian Progressive rock and places in first row when naming to the great ones of that country, one of the most complex songs of the history of the group and that competes with much of the fact in Collage and Felona e Sorona and with the Contrappunti song of the album with the same name, peerless work of Tony with the keyboard and the mini Moog, showing really progressive passages, discordant notes and floods of virtuosity, and the sensation really occurs to be before the first épic composition of the group, with his 7 minutes, the work of Aldo in the bass guitar is extraordinary and full of meticulous and fine harmonies, as well as its voice that is very or in the calm parts of the work, but the work of Michi in the drums is the most incredible and... too encyclopedic for want of appropriate note word, thousands touched through his hi hat, developing a cadence of rates of but in the diverse shades, expresses, furious, calm or maintaining one cries out not peaceful, and an example for many of which without a doubt it is of the best drummers of the world, alternating through the musical piece, different poli rates and that sometimes I cannot believe it, that single it makes with a pair of hands and legs, really seems a squid touching the drum kit, as soon as meter, rate and melody, any fan to the progressive one of any tendency, it was more than satisfied with the fact by this great group, and the end is of furious, in the musical sense, that I have listened to Le Orme. The Lyrics are full of mystery, dark and obvious related to the general subject of the disc, I consider that basic song is the mysterious song, and the best one of the disc. Excellent.

4. - Brevve Immagine. - One of the songs with very many dramatic force by the voice of Aldo, really very melancholic, oniric, that moves to share that desolate feeling as if you lived it, that you were recalling some episode of your life in where the things did not happen as you hoped and you feel on the inner full of desperation. The keyboards of Tony are constructing a series of trimmed melodic that are accompanying that heartrendering feeling that trasmits the melody, and the use of mellotron (that clearly it difference of Keith Emerson, since him did not like the sound produced by that musical instrument), and who is listened to like a burning sound that really arrives until the pituitary gland, the drumming of Michi maintains the rate and remembers the fact by Michael Giles, with the first King Crimson, the lyrics, very good so that it does not leave the thematic one of all the disc, also mainly really incredible! And it clearly shows of which they are able to do. Excellent.

5. - Figura di Cartone. - Here Le Orme offers to us a melody of elegant turn and that has a rare refinement and a style a little lighter, but very effective, following that dreaming atmosphere, that happens with melodic melancholic to the descriptive virtuosity, courtesy of the keyboards of Tony and to the show of knowledge in the use of mini moog. the interest of the piece resides in a dialog between the voice and the keyboards, as well as the very precise rate on the part of the drumming of dei Rossi the lyrics are something really wonderful and that follow thematic the psychoanalytic one of the work: :

... in your own strange world, made of cartboard's you appear and lots of cloth's dolls... you live there between those four walls, you don't to remember whóve leaded there, you only know who playing with you. For You don't have anxiety the future, for Time you there are not value... you talk with the Angels. In that closed circle of madness yoúve lost your youth...

Then it did not lack more than this great group gave another prescription us of like doing excellent melody with very good lyrics. Excellent

6. - Aspettando l'alba. - in this album one Really goes listening to small masterpieces, to form a powerful and skillful set, and that it is possible to be said of this song, probably it competes with La Porta Chiusa and Alienazione to be considered as the best piece of the disc, but that difficult is to decide thus in a disc! Incredible of Le Orme and very melancholic, evocative and also imaginative other melody an acoustic guitar with relatively arpeggiated notes, that are constructing through the work a musical landscape, of sadness, enigma and solitude taken root in the personage, whereas the Voice of Aldo shines in the firmament, Tony gives a delight us of use of synthesizer-moog recreating this atmosphere with dismal and space tones, in addition to as it equips with powerful chromatist the set, a quiet thought as it says clearly to the letter and the drumming to it of Michi, doing use of small quiet rates but that they adapt like play do to the mold of the musical piece, a true sample of these great teachers in the scope of Italian Progressive rock. Excellent.

7. - Alienazione. - The subject that closes this masterpiece of the group and another one of the candidates to be the best song of the album, a sample which of the complex and contrapuntist rates which they are able to make these skillful musicians, the drumming of Michi wasting virtuosity to each note touched in his drums, Taglapietra's bass, creating meticulous, note resistances and which it is weaving little by little, the musical framework of all the song, and the keyboards of Pagliuca that dose of polyphonic refinement does finery of their musical faculty when prescribing to us, force, amplitude and elegance, combined with an inexhaustible force in the handling of the note multiplicity that it distills through all the range of instruments based on the keyboard and that dominates like but a completed master, a show of symphonic excellence, with clear Carterbury influences mainly as of the minute 2:30, where it is listened to more clearly and than he is not very characteristic of his sound, but equally fascinating one, a subject of very power and gotten upset tone. Excellent.

As they realize, if they have read kindly, this is one of the works more impressive than they have become in the Progressive rock and that they do not have to let pass opportunity to enjoy this disc, it is difficult not to let itself seduce by the enchantment that is given off, of his musical pieces, written skillfully, to develop an episode in music that I create difficult becomes to repeat.