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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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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars This is Le Orme at their most chilling and mesmerizing: I am with the majority at indicating "Felona e Sorona" as this Italian former trio's masterpiece album. This is a concept album about two twin planets (the bright, joyful Felona, and the somber, hopeless Sorona), which stand located on both extremes of the Cosmos in order to keep the balance of the Universe the way that the Supreme God had created it. The metaphysical implications of this concept is perfectly related to the ethereal air conveyed by most of the synth sounds (for instance, 'Attesa Inerte') and the somewhat mystic drive that is used in some of the most explosive passages of the album (the best example is 'Ritorno al Nulla'). Being as they were a keyboard-based power trio, it is only natural (or almost) the ELP thing happened to be certainly influential in the maturation of Le Orme's sound, but the result was not properly ELP- ish. On the contrary, Le Orme managed to keep a distinct Mediterranean sensibility in their softer, bucolic numbers, as well as a homeland Baroque spirit in their most pompous ones - this is something they could call their own, while maintaining a link to the symphonic prog movement that was taking place in the British scene (I also notice some touch of Genesis as another major Anglo-Saxon influence on them). The superb musicianship and the fluid interplay that is continuously exposed help to build a strong connection between the repertoire and the listener: the inventiveness of the musical ideas and the cleverness of the arrangements are perfectly complemented by an emotional richness portrayed in both Tagliapietra's singing and the threesome's instrumental performances. My only personal complaint is concerning the sound production, which is a bit tiny: perhaps the strength of the material doesn't show its full potentiality. The opening track is one of the most impressive ones: 'Sospesi nell'Incredibile' comprises a combination of rocking energy, reflective mood, and an exuberant closure where power trio prog and jazz rock melt together in a sonic nucleus - amazing (but only moderately pyrotechnical) drum solo by Dei Rossi included. The folkish kind simplicity of 'Felona' and the dark melancholy of 'Sorona' serve as accurate portraits of the characters previously described. 'L'Equilibrio' and the spectacular, bombastic closure 'Ritorno al Nulla' are the closest thing to ELP that Le Orme ever created; on the other hand, 'Ritratto di un Mattino' and 'All'Infuori del Tempo' are constructed under a typically Italian-symphonic frame, creating an exhibition of sheer beauty. Not only because all tracks are linked in a continuum, but also and mostly because there is a unitary integrality functioning all throughout the repertoire, "Felona and Sorona" must be enjoyed as a whole. This wholeness is accomplished with a that makes this album a definitive classic in Italian prog - in Prog Archives language, this is 5-star material.
Cesar Inca | 5/5 |

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