VERITÀ NASCOSTE

"Verità nascoste" was recorded in London in October 1976 with a new guitarist in the line up, Germano Serafin, who took the place of Tolo Marton. The album should have been produced by Vangelis, but there was no feeling between him and the band, so at length Le Orme chose to work without an "external producer". However the result was not bad and the sound is compact and well balanced.

The opener "Insieme al concerto" (Together at the concert) is a kind of mini suite about the feelings of the public before and after a concert: curiosity, happiness, the magic of the music hanging on the people after the show until dawn. "I'm walking towards the sun / I will keep in me such a sweet night until tomorrow / I will have to half-open my eyes / And let reality driving me away". A good track with an interesting instrumental middle section.

"In ottobre" (In October) is about the time the band spent in London during the recording sessions. Le Orme found London changed since their last visit (different mood, different music, different people, different fashions) and they were very disappointed. "Who carried away the people / from Carnaby Street, from King's Road, from Hyde Park, from Piccadilly Circus? / Music, where are you?...". Anyway the music here is dynamic and powerful and the new guitarist seems to interact perfectly with the rest of the band.

"Verità nscoste" (Hidden truths) is an amazing acoustic ballad, dreamy and poetic. "I would like to gather your world / And set the big dreams free / And colour your drawings / With desperate white nights / And laugh like someone who is winning / His life in a losing game.". You can find here the seeds of 1979's masterpiece "Florian": the music is clearly classical inspired and there's a string quartet interacting with the band .

According to some old interviews of the band, "Vedi Amsterdam..." (See Amsterdam...) is about the problems of heavy drugs addiction. The music is dark, obsessive, in some moments aggressive but there are no explicit lyrics and the impending death is concealed behind the lines like a "hidden truth". "Mothers don't know / Why their sons go / They go back to Amsterdam / Just for another trip / I would like to burn my ticket / But the show runs again / The point where the wind dies is sad / The blades form the big crosses / And the wind comes back / The wheel's still in spin / Obligatory holiday / Please stop someone in time!".

"Regina al Troubadour" (Queen at the Troubadour) is about a runaway girl who left is rich family and went to London where she become the "Queen of the Troubadour Club", losing herself among sex, drugs, dreams and false realities. "Queen at the Troubadour / Queen of the snow / Everybody is around you / Because you can't say no." Well, the snow here is not made of water crystals but it's made of white powder.

"Radiofelicità" (Radiohappiness) is one of my favourite tracks on this album, introduced by simple guitar chords then giving way to a more experimental sound. Lyrics are about the "peculiar feeling" between a man and his radio. "Don't worry if I'm like that / Nothing can change me / I don't run like you, desperate / Following the chances you can find / Don't try to understand / If I spend my days listening to the world / Don't look at me in surprise / There's no room for you among my beautiful things / I have a friend enclosed inside here / And when I'm sad it gives to me happiness."

"I salmoni" (The salmons) is another good track "against the stream", with the members of the band that seem to identify themselves with the salmons. "You know, we have to do so / Keep on going up, against the stream / Up the river, to reach the source / We have to do so / It's an ancient desire that pushes us / And nothing can change our crazy idea / We could jump and fall on the bank / We could hit the head against the rocks / We could be hooked in the back / But we have to keep on going / To arrive where the sky is closer / Because that is the place where our children will come into the world".

The final track "Il gradino più stretto del cielo" (The most narrow step of the sky) features a good performance of Germano Serafin on guitar and alternates "storms and calms". Lyrics are about the risks of happiness. "Do not believe in happiness / She takes away your mind / On the most narrow step of the sky."

In the whole "Verità nascoste" is not the best album of Le Orme and you can't find here really outstanding tracks. Nevertheless the average of the songs is high and in my opinion this album could be an excellent addition to any Italian prog collection.