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PICCOLA RAPSODIA DELL'APELe OrmeRock Progressivo Italiano |
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A collection of 8 short songs, for just 33 minutes. Not a memorable album, not at the same level of the previous one. More un-inspired than that, sometimes it appears to lack in imagination.
I think the only one that deserves to be appreciated more is the instrumental title track. An acoustic-baroque gem, with a remarkable vibraphone played by Michi De Rossi (or Giuseppe, as he used to be called at the time). The music is very interesting and manages to describe a little bee's flight. I'm not the first to notice a vague Gentle Giant's influence on this track. Violin and delicate cello are also played in good mixture.
The other tunes show the band approaching quickly to the pop music. Sadly "Florian" seems to be very far.
1.5 - 2 stars.

While earlier albums show LE ORME's masterity in composing great Symphonic Prog pieces for ELP-like trio, they never fall into bombastic category - LE ORME are Italians and they care for MELODIES first!!! This one is pure brilliance - melodies and emotions. No bombastic keyboards at all - acoustic guitars, violas and pianos...My favourite from them, along with recent "L'Infinito".The opener "Il treno" reminds of BEATLES' "Hello Goodbye" - great! "La mia bianca sposa" is another highlight - pretty memorable chorus and Aldo is stunning with his trembling voice..."Piccola rapsodia dell'ape" is an instrumental,very good - acoustic and pastoral,but partly wild!"Charango" is another step away from Prog,but it is amazing song - quirky and firing, humorous in mood. My favourite here is probably the closing "Buonanotte" - simple lullaby with AWESOME melodic chorus...very peaceful and calm piece, proving that LE ORME are more melodists than bombasters. Highly recommended, especially for those who uncapable to get the genius of "classical" albums - maybe, you should try this one like I did!

Actually, this one doesn't sound as classical as its predecessor ("Florian") if you would except the title track which, therefore, doesn't succeed in pleasing me. Chords, marimba & tutti quanti. Not my cup of tea. At all. Same sort of feeling (except the marimba) with "Fragile Conchiglia".
Popish accents are also in place here. And pretty unbearable ("Charango"). Press next.
This album also holds some good tracks to be honest. More in their subtle and delicate style : "Il Treno" is probably the best one to get here and "Raccogli le Nuvole" doesn't fall short. A very nice melody (even if the chorus is a bit weak).
These two songs were a good start for this album but the next pleasant moment I can point out is the sixth song "Fiori Di Luce". A good combination of a passionate and melodic song with an upbeat tempo during the middle part. Very nice.
The title of the closing number is rather explicit "Buona Notte" (good night). Yes, good night and have a nice sleep while listening to this dull song. If I do the total good musical moments from this very short album, I reach the fantastic total of almost .twelve minutes. Not really enough to deserve more than two stars.


''Piccola rapsodia dell'ape'' is again a very gentle and pastoral release of Classical Music mixed with Acoustic Prog.Strong romantic passages,warm melodies all over the place and nice vocal work by Aldo Tagliapietra.This time Germano Serafin leans towards using more of his mandolin and leave aside his violin,thus adding to the album a heavy and lovely Meditterenean feeling.Pagliuca shines again on tracks like the eponymous one or ''Fragile conchiglia'' with his complicated Classical-influenced piano and the atmosphere becomes even more cinematic with the help of Michi Dei Rossi's vibraphone and glockenspiel.The album is actually carefully balanced between Classical and Acoustic vocal-based Music.The final result is very close to what the album title indicates,a small rhapsody full of smooth acoutic passages,harmonic vocal lines and classical references.
This would be unfortunately the end of Le Orme's best period.''Venerdi'' from 1982 on DDD without Serafin and produced by Roberto Colombo would send Le Orme to the SanRemo Festival but also to their first breakdown.They would reform in 1986 with the classic 1970-1975 line-up to perform a huge number of shows but the 1990 album ''Orme'' was again just horrible pop-rock.The band broke up again the same year,Pagliuca was gone for good and only the 1996 re-formation would show a turn towards a more progressive sound.Meanwhile Le Orme's last document from their early good years is a decent album and if you like ''Florian'',you should certainly go after it.

So the new album was a compromise of sorts, between the classical chamber pieces of its predecessor and the exquisite RPI of the group's better-known masterpieces. The music was still attractively switched-off, but held all the melodic appeal of the best Orme balladry from the '70s, minus only the synthesizers. In an age of Arena Rock bombast and Neo Prog ascendancy, the simplicity of purpose and clarity of presentation was refreshing, precisely because it was so out of step with changing fashions.
The album doesn't rock, despite the emphatic momentum of songs like 'Il Treno', and the atypically forceful chorus of 'Raccogli le Nuvole'. But it rolls with a natural grace that hasn't aged in 35-plus years: the sound of classic (if no longer classical) Orme, stripped to its lyrical essence.
And when Aldo Tagliapietra sings the album's closing lullaby, he's bidding a wistful 'Buona Notte' to a decade of creative music making, the likes of which would not be heard again from this band for another fifteen years. Upcoming efforts would mark Orme as quintessential sellouts in a dumbed-down marketplace. But they at least ended the '70s on a welcome note of pristine benevolence.
LE ORME Piccola Rapsodia Dell'Ape ratings only
chronological order | showing rating only
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