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Il Giardino Onirico - Perigeo CD (album) cover

PERIGEO

Il Giardino Onirico

 

Crossover Prog

3.68 | 53 ratings

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octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
4 stars The speech which introduces the first song is about somebody affected by a "Bipolar Spectrum Disorder" (This is the meaning of B.S.D.) which is a mood disorder with tendency to depression and sometimes schizophrenia. It's characterized by frequent changes of mood and the way the hard guitar of the first minute fades into the soprano vocals then into a jazzy mood is probably a symptom of what the authors are trying to transmit. However, what first impressed me when I heard it for the first time was the floydian guitar at about minute 5 which is followed by a very heavy section of guitar, drums and keyboard. This track then goes into a melodic part and comes back to the operatic vocals which reprise the initial theme but on a more spacey base. The final fadeout doesn't sound like a cut. It's a proper final.

Speech again and we are on Mars! "Another change and will begin the journey which will lead me to the borders of reality" Spacey, isn't it? The first minutes of this track remind me of ELOY, in particular Ocean for the general mood of the song. I don't need many words to describe this excellent track. Think to ELOY of Oeans and the PINK FLOYD of the mid 70s with some modernity more so to remind also to PORCUPINE TREE....is the genre clear? well, this is a very good track in that genre. By the way, Utopia Planitia is where the Viking 2 Probe landed on Mars in the 70s.

This strange journey continues with a specific "time" instead of a "place". From Utopia Planitia to "Agosto"(August). This third speech is about "a life spent vomiting mediocre thoughts" and "trying to resist but attacking as a predator"...a keyboard layer and a melody played by a fretless bass. When the guitar enters we are between DAVID GILMOUR and VANGELIS. Unfortunately it doesn't proceed in this way as when the drums start it's a 90s kind of things, but if you like The Division Bell this track is surely not bad even if not my fav in the album. When it drastically change at minute 6 becoming heavier and rocking it's another story. OZRIC TENTACLES as reference.

"Amigdala" (Almond in Latin) is the site of the brain which seems to manage the emotions. Darkness, Death, Sadness, Revenge...this is what the speech is about. The music starts calm,like the beginning of a nightmare. ALso this track has a very Floydian incipi, but with some important differences: Keyboard sounds are closer to TANGERINE DREAM of the 80s/90s than to Floyds, the signature is odd and in some points it could be called "dark ambient". After minute 6, before an interesting signature change there's a moment of relative quietness on which I can imagine Fish singing, and effectively the unusual signature which follows has a GENESIS flavor, in particular the guitar sounds close to STEVE HACKETT (The Air Conditioned NIghtmare comes to my mind).

"It was due to happen:waking up and not recognizing myself anymore" On those words begins the closeing track, the album's best in my opinion which I could synthesize as a mixture of ELOY and TANGERINE DREAM of the 80s with a touch of early MARILLION. It's curious that I don't find words for the tracks that I prefer. Just a mention to the sopraco who on this track is back and I think fits perfectly with the music.

A lovely album that I have compared to Eloy's Oceans but not so "dated". It's not derivative. The bands that I have mentioned are only to give an idea of what I have heard.

No doubts about the rating. 4.5 stars

octopus-4 | 4/5 |

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