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Doracor - The Long Pathway CD (album) cover

THE LONG PATHWAY

Doracor

Symphonic Prog


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ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars This is another Italian band that would need some more reviews (even if this album is not a great one). This recording might not be the most original one but it remains at times a pleasant experience. Maybe I'm in a very good mood tonight.

To appreciate this "band" which is more a one's man experience (Corrado Sardella) surrounded with guests, you have to be into keys oriented efforts. ELP, being one of your mainstream. Once you have accepted the concept, you should easily be interested. Add some "Genesis" oriented keyboards as well, and you have a complete idea of what an album as "The Long Pathway" can deliver.

The other problem might well resides into the word "long". Over an hour of music is probably too much and this album would have gained in interest if downsized quite a bit. But lots of bands have made this mistake. As if to release long albums would guarantee a better quality. Or please the fans more!

After the first couple of songs, it is difficult to feel lots of enthusiasm for this work. Musicianship is of course not the problem. But song writing IS.

Too few creative tracks, no emotional moments, and generally the whole sounds as déjà vu. Not bad but is this really needed? It almost seems that if you have listened to one song, you have made it through the whole album. At times, some "Genesis" sounds might wake you up. But were these all necessary here? I guess not ("Mystrerian").

Actually, the opener is probably the best song form this album; the followings ones being somewhat too cloned to ELP. Great tracks don't belong here and as such I can only deliver two stars for this album.

Report this review (#181061)
Posted Friday, August 29, 2008 | Review Permalink
apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars DORACOR are nothing else than a progressive rock concept guided by multi- instrumentalist Corrado Sardella,who invites musicians to help him out on his compositions.Sardella is cited in Rome,where in April 97' he recorded and mixed his debut album ''The long pathway'',his only work up today,which carries an English title.The album was released on Mellow Records the same year.

STYLE: Being entirely instrumental,this effort follows the paths of grandiose Symphonic Rock with plenty of keyboards and additional support by the other instruments.Every song offers double keys attacks,partly in melodic lines,partly delivering complex and bombastic musicianship.The compositions are well-crafted ranging from impressive symph passages to darker and mellower moments.Guitars aren't used often and when they are,they are a bit low in the mix.The general style ends up to be in a Neo/Symphonic mood.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: The mass of twists and breaks are definitely of the E.L.P. school of prog,but the bands that come straight to mind are an instrumental version of IQ and ARENA,especially CLIVE NOLAN's influence is more than obvious throughout the listening.

PLUS: A musician with incredible talent,Sardella amazes with his compositional skills and great virtuosic playing.He also uses a variety of keys to give the songs some alternating possibilities.Most of the album is quite melodic and he manages to deliver a good memorable dose of them.A good first step in the fields of symphonic-oriented progressive music.

MINUS: Too-much keyboard-based ''The long pathway'' lacks in different moods and ends up to be quite monotonous after a few listenings,with the tracks being quite similar.The rhythm section seems to be a little buried in the mix,while the sound of drums is too plastic.The presence of a vocalist propably would save the album from falling down.

WILL APPEAL TO: Obviously fans of Symphonic Rock with a love to endless keyboard sounds and even fans of electronic prog...for all the others,I would recommend trying some samples first.

CONCLUSION/RATING: A solid 3 star rating for nice album overall by a very talented musician,which fails to impress due to the lack of different moods.A big disease for all the one-man bands.However still the album comes recommended by my side.

Report this review (#286663)
Posted Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | Review Permalink
3 stars The debut album from this Italian band.

This album is entirely built on keyboards. Corrado Sardella's keyboards that is. But when listening a bit more careful, there are also some other instruments present. A guitar hook here and there. Both drums and bass is rumbling in the background. There are also some vocals here. But the keyboards is the dominant factor here. Doracor and this album has been compared to ELP. I disagree a lot with that comparison. This album is much more in the direction of instrumental RPI and Camel. There is also a lot of new-age and ambient fusion/jazz here.

The overall quality is surprisingly good in my view. Yes, some of the material is a bit too dull. But it is obvious Corrado Sardella is onto something good here. The opening track Scenes from elsewhere for example. This is an album between two and three stars. But I drag it up to three stars.

3 stars

Report this review (#572364)
Posted Monday, November 21, 2011 | Review Permalink

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