VERITÀ NASCOSTE

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Excellent album registered in London and released by Le Orme in 1976, after the previous and more commercial Smogmagica, which has its interesting moments, yet. Now Tolo Marton is gone, replaced by other guitarist Germano Serafin who stayed with the group until 1982. He sadly passed on in 1992. Electric guitar takes now its own place, a more appropriate and right equilibrium with the mythic keyboards of Toni Pagliuca. Verità Nascoste signed the most high point of glory for Le Orme in Italy.

The opener is the strong 6 mns piece titled Insieme al Concerto (Together at the Concert). It starts with the usual soft acoustic guitar and is well conducted and played to a more strong melodic-prog way from the 2nd minute. "People has already gone away.what a marvellous full-moon evening.".

In Ottobre (At October) is a 6,43 mns track, another favourite of mine, speaking about the time the group spent in London to work on this good release. They commenced October the first and finished October the 31th. Great rhythm session here, one of the best tunes of the album.

Verità Nascoste (Hidden Truths) is a soft and acoustic gem within very nice strings, presage of what would have appeared later, with the excellent 1979 album Florian.

Vedi Amsterdam. (See Amsterdam.) is here the true highlight, in my honest opinion! "Mothers don't know why their sons go to Amsterdam.Never-crying- Venice.". Great keyboards parts, very good drums and bass, it reminds me of Contrappunti album!

Regina al Troubadour (Queen at the Troubadour)...another good 6,44 mns long piece with soft opening vocals: " Queen of the Snow, we're sitting besides you, why you cannot say no? You give to each one the Most Near Good.easy, so easy!".

Radiofelicità (Radiohappiness) is an interesting song, not at the level of the previous tracks, though. Radio frequencies acting during the song.some more commercial keyboards.

Salmoni (not really necessary to translate) is an awesome arranged track with funny lyrics telling all the risks and the dangerous life of these fishes during their river- climbing.

Il Gradino Più Stretto del Cielo (The Most Narrow Step of The Sky) is another excellent track in a very similar Contrappunti vein!

Excellent and surprising 1976 effort! 3,5-4 stars are well assured!

"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.

Just like in their previous effort, this album starts really well. "Insieme Al Concerto" is the best track form this work. A wonderful song which brings us back into the best of their repertoire but adding these guitar sounds which are now well integrated into the band's music.

Songs are also longer than on "Smogmagica". At least this allows the band to dig further into the songs and to propose more complex ones. In this respect "In Ottobre" is another highlight. Since the beginning of "Verità Nascoste", vocals are sublime. You could experience the same feeling with the great Giacomo (from Banco).

The title track is another of the good songs from this offering. Very much classic oriented thanks to these beautiful chord work, it is the most delicate part of this album. Almost four minutes of pure beauty completely opposite to "Vedi Amsterdam" which starts as an experimental track with lots of weird sounds. But after this first chaotic minute, the elements are put together and the listener gets another interesting number. Harder at times, it is also more upbeat. Not bad.

I very much appreciate the guitar work in the intro of "Regina Al Troubador". The mood is again more on the rock side but subtle vocal parts also relates this song with their traditional and beautiful style. A joyful and optimistic track. At least it sounds so (but I can't judge the lyrics). Another highlight featuring solid instrumental parts.

This might well be one of the best "Le Orme" album. No weak tracks so far. The beautiful vocal work on "Radiofelicità" contrasts with its electro pop beat reminiscent of their previous work. But these moments are rather short to avoid this song to be ruined by these childish parts but the end is really ridiculous.

The candid "I Salmoni" has also this enjoyable savour so intimately linked with this genre. A simple structure and approach for this straight-forward soft rock song. And the upbeat "Il Gradino Più Stretto Del Cielo" closes this album on a high note again. A beautiful marriage between Italian subtlety and powerful rock beats. Very strong synth and bass work. A nice way to close this good work.

This album is not a masterpiece but it holds a collection of good songs and no blunder. Just short of the four star rating but would deserve seven out of ten as soon as this possibility will be available (which should be pretty soon now).

Three stars.

3.5 stars. I wouldn't say that the music on this record is very proggy, in fact it's quite commercial sounding at times. But as long as Aldo is singing i'm happy, and there are no instrumentals on this album.

"Insieme Al Concerto" opens with a one minute uptempo melody before the vocals and a calm arrive. Man when he sings when the full sound returns, it just makes me smile. Guitar and drums are both prominant. Some nice organ late. "In Ottobre" opens fairly powerfully with drums and organ before the vocals come in. Tempo continues to change. Great organ 2 minutes in followed by some excellent guitar a minute later as drums pound. A calm before 5 minutes followed by a catchy percussion / drum led passage. "Verita Nascoste" opens with gentle guitar and vocals. Beautiful. A string section helps out as well.

"Vedi Amsterdam..." is experimental sounding to open before organ then an uptempo melody.Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. A nice heavy sound follows. Organ runs 4 1/2 minutes in as drums pound. "Regina Al Troubadour" is a catchy track with some mellotron. I like the mellow sections, but it's all good. Great sound 5 minutes in and check out the drumming. Organ ends it. "Radiofelicita" opens with strummed guitar before those amazing vocals join in. Synths and drums take over 2 minutes in. I like the heavy beat that comes in at 4 minutes, but I don't like the way it speeds up. "I Salmoni" features fast paced vocals and a good beat. "Il Gradino Piu Stretto Del Cielo" has some really good guitar as vocals come in. Guitar returns 4 minutes in ripping it up to end it.

Not as bad as the previous album of course, but a far cry from their earlier classic albums. Not quite 4 stars but still an enjoyable record.

After the commercial departure of "Smogmagica", one might have expected LE ORME to poppify itself even more as the middle of the decade past. Instead what they produced with the help of new guitarist Germano Serafin is a superb rock album informed by 1960s enthusiasm and 70s sophistication, with progressive overtones. The rhythm section and Serafin are so formidable that "Verita Nascoste" should have been required listening for the "masters" of prog in 1976, most of whom had long since abandoned any pretense of caring for their rock roots.

For those who felt betrayed by "Toni Pagliuca" on "Smogmagica", rest assured he is back and an equal partner. In particular his synthesizer work sizzles on vibrant cuts like Regina al Troubadour", and the closer "Il gradino più stretto del cielo" before the equally exultant guitars lead the way out. The organ is more ubiquitous but employed chiefly for colour. Among the more commercial cuts that shine, "Radiofelicita" is as good as it gets, which is to say excellent, particularly in the vocal department, and the tubular bells of Michi Dei Rossi tap out a deceptively simple tune. Again the synth passages are wonderful. Some dissonance in the form of other voices and an oddly sped up ending demonstrate the group's continued wish to experiment even in a more conventional setting.

The title cut is the most mellow, and tugs at the strings be they orchestral or cardiac. Again Tagliapietra is at his best, and this might be the album that showcases his strengths better than any, but that is generally true for the whole group on "Verita Nascoste". The two opening tracks are also strong, with plenty of imaginative shifts in service of a loosely unified whole, and rich acoustic dimensions. Only "Vedi Amsterdam..." and "I Salmoni" lack originality and verve, sounding somewhat strident and more like a group following a trend than setting one.

I have made few comparisons to anyone in this review, because the energy level on "Verita Nascoste" is beyond what one might expect from a pre-punk mid 70s product, but also far superior to what followed in the punk and new wave genres. Still, I hear in the more aggressive passages some of the angst of the best rock groups from the turn of the 70s, such as THE CLASH. I shudder to place too much emphasis on this, because those groups were shackled by the 3 minute tune and plowed a singular furrow, albeit well. LE ORME set the pace using a multidimensional strategy, and that's the hidden truth as I see it.

Why reminding you of an interesting poppy turning point of their career, with this Verità nascoste" it's so important, in spite of appearing more simplistic? Perhaps because the band in 1976 was able to maintain the old spirit, like within "Contrappunti", even though by changing their way to compose the songs...well of course their approach became less proggy and more song-oriented, as the present act brought about a certain criticism all around the media in the late seventies, especially regarding of a reduced contribution by T. Pagliuca at the organ...in fact, unlike inside "Felona e Sorona" and naturally "Contrappunti", where the instrumental numbers, enriched by means of some "epic" analogic effects, seemed to be the unique and true essence of the Italian prog ensemble, here the synths were less used and the music approach completely diverse as well...instead, in spite of lacking some typical and strong elements of a certain "symphonic prog rock", which were so important in the early seventies, the output was good, thanks to their music taste (think of the opener "Insieme al Concerto", with its memorable melody after the good intro at the acoustic guitar); then thanks to the rhytmical tune "In Ottobre" (note: the sessions at the Recording Studio in London began and were completed on October, 1976 ); and the third track- the title-track- which remained a good song, being aligned with the previous two songs!

Probably their effort in creating something more mainstream (a certain commercial rock) was driven by their music producer; otherwise in the period between 1977 and 1980 the Punk music was able to destroy one decade of great British art and prog rock, as for the policital rebellion, which made a disturbing invasion also in the world of music; so Le Orme were careful, in order to avoid their typical sound in the vein of ELP, and to earn new fans...nevermind if the other tracks are not always inspiring and sometimes more simplistic, in comparison to their glorious past.

A different album from a quite remarkable band (one of the best ones in Italy- especially during their executions live on stage- and for me that's enough!!).

Non-essential but anyway important example of mainstream music, by Le Orme.

With the ambitious ''Smogmagica'' Le orme tried to approach a wider audience,but the album was very flat and uneven.So the band decided to change some of the negative points,starting with recruiting new guitarist Germano Serafin instead of Tolo Marton and continuing by writing material closer to their earlier style.These facts were taped on their work ''Verita nascoste'' from 1976.

The presence of the guitar has now a more distinctive role and is added where needed and not for the sake of the guitar dominated grooves.The sound is softer,closer to works like ''Uomo di pezza'' or ''Collage'',but there are also plenty of rhythmic parts as in ''Smogmagica''.The delicate organ sounds and the atmospheric synths of Tony Pagliuca in the classical style return to offer moments of untold beauty and Tagliapietra voice continues to be very romantic and warm.Mellow vocal-led acoustic passages are again a basic ingredient of the band's style.Serafin has also his personal moments with a couple of really good solos.The result is a typical Le Orme work:Rich musicianship full of classical influences,romantic vocals and deep ethereal soundscapes.

''Verita nascoste'' is another trully good album in Le Orme's discography,this work fails a bit compared to masterpieces like ''Collage'' or ''Contrappunti'',but it contains a mass of inspiring moments to please any fan of Italian Prog.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.