OCEANS OF THOUGHT

Marco Ragni is a psychedelic/space rock artist from Italy. He has been active in the music industry for several years being mostly attracted to psychedelic music. In 2010, he released his first solo album and has released 7 albums since then. His 7th album is called "Oceans of Thought" which was released in June of 2019. Most of his album include him as the main performer with several guests to help out. On this album, Ragni does the vocals, guitars, keys and bass. The other core members of his band for this album include Peter Matuchniak on electric guitar, Dave Newhouse on woodwinds, Jeff Mack on fretted and fret-less bass and Chapman Stick, Maurizio Antonini on drums and Jojo Razor on backing vocals. The album consists of 9 tracks ranging from 3 minutes to almost 10 minutes.

The album starts out with 3 shorter tracks around 4 minutes each. "Flashlights" begins with gentle acoustic guitar, but suddenly switches gears when the band kicks in with guitar, synth and woodwinds. A short vocal interlude starts halfway through with a mix of Marco's and Jojo's vocals. A sudden blast of guitar improvises off of the main guitar theme. "Dizziness" emphasizes different keys and more brassy woodwinds. Vocals come in quickly and then the guitars bring more intensity to the track. The music softens and the percussion stops as the music goes more acoustic with guitar and flute, then strengthens again. At 3 minutes, the music softens again with acoustic guitar and more vocals, with more layering and harmonization. Marius Halleland plays lead guitar on this track and also on the next 3 tracks. Next, "Hammil's Thoughts" starts with piano and a symphonic synth effect. The vocals are more emotional on this track. It remains slow and thoughtful to the end.

Now the next three tracks are around the 6-7 minute mark. "The Wind Blows Anyway" starts off mellow with acoustic instruments and more emotional vocals from both Marco and Jojo. During the 2nd verse, the drums kick in giving more energy to the track, but remaining at a moderate pace. Synths are also added to the mix. The percussion drops off again and the pattern repeats a few times without much change. An instrumental interlude comes in before the 5 minutes mark. But the music remains pretty standard without any hint of psychedelic or space rock for that matter. Layered vocals come in at the end. "Regain Control" continues in the same style as the previous track with acoustic guitar and layered vocals. Drums and glittering synths come in, but the music still moves along in a moderate and straightforward manner, with maybe a slightly more complex melody, but mostly unmemorable. Things get a little more interesting when the long, instrumental break comes in before 3 minutes with a good guitar solo, and a bit of progressive changes, but it falls apart when the vocals come back in, striving for a folk influence, but feeling not very authentic with the flat melody. The title track "Oceans of Thought" comes next. Starting with a nice piano introduction, vocals and strummed guitar comes in. The track has a more rhapsodic flair to it, but still no sign of psychedelic or space rock. There is a sudden change in vocal timbre as they get deeper and more ominous. A moderate beat comes in and a nice guitar solo makes things even better. This intensifies as it goes along, then softens again bringing back the vocals. This track is much better and is a highlight among the tracks thus far. Another great solo finishes off the track.

Next is a short interlude called "Under a Big Red Sun" lasting just over a minute only. This is a nice acoustic solo. The two following tracks are both over 9 minutes each. "Voice in the Dark" again starts with a smooth acoustic guitar with the vocals bringing in the woodwinds and synths with a pensive melody. There is also a sitar playing in there, but even it's mystical sound doesn't bring in any psychedelic sound. However, the melody, even though it is not really complex, it is at least interesting. Keyboards follow the vocal melody and do most of the support here with drums anchoring everything. A sudden tempo change brings in another good guitar solo based around the main theme before it gets a bit darker and improvises more freely. The tempo slows again, but the guitar continues. The rhythm drops out when the wordless vocals come back with only acoustic guitar, and then more lyrics. After another verse, the sitar comes back in, and then an over-emphasized vocal brings the band back in, with more guitar. Again, the tempo speeds up as before. This is probably the closest to a space rock style as it comes, but I would still be hesitant to name it that as it seems too structured.

The last track is "Open My Arms". It begins with a lone piano and soon vocals come in. The rest of the band comes in about a minute later, but things remain at the same moderate sound that the album is replete with. The rhythm backs off again for a repeat of this pattern. The vocals get more emotional on the 2nd go round. After the second verse, it gets more atmospheric, but all levels out soon enough for another moderate beat and more guitar. But, there still is no psychedelic or space rock sound here, just mostly straightforward rock with a little progressive flair here and there. Bjorn Riis also guests on guitar on this track, but it doesn't bring the track any more life in the end.

The overall feel of this album is definitely not the psychedelic or space rock sound that this is labeled with. I know I have mentioned that several times during this review, but I just wanted everyone to come into this album expecting that when the music is actually quite accessible and straightforward. The guitar and piano solos are nice, but there really isn't a lot of substance to this album, nor is there anything that stands out. It's good music, for the most part. A few of the melodies are a bit uninteresting and tend to meander a little bit. The best track here is the title track, but the others are only just all right.

For his fiftieth birthday, Marco wanted to put out his best album yet. I followed him on Facebook as the album came together. Once again, guitarist Peter Matuchniak (Evolve IV, Gekko Projekt, Bomber Goggles, solo) was involved, his third time to play on a Marco Ragni album, I believe. Jojo Razor also appears, a name I know from Gekko Projekt's "Raya of Titan" album. Having a few of Marco's albums in my collection already, I was eager to hear what he would do on "Oceans of Thought".

Marco's style is labeled as psychedelic/space rock, but from the albums I have, I think he shows a strong folk rock/Pink Floyd/California '69 feel to his music. There are times some very nice melodies but often a fair bit of meandering. The longer songs can feel a lot like floating down a river where you find something to latch onto for a moment before the current carries you away, and then something else comes along. On "Oceans of Thought", I found the latch on points to be more frequent once I began listening intently. There are some beautiful piano intros on tracks like "Hammil's Thoughts", the title track, and "Open My Arms" and as well many songs open with lovely acoustic guitar. Marco's voice I find to be quite distinctive and after a few albums he had become very familiar. I feel the sound of his voice could have easily put him among the more well-appreciated vocalists of the seventies had his career been spawned around that time.

Soothing music aside, there's a lot of action with rollicking keyboards and grooving guitar solos provided by both Marco and Peter, the two with noticeably different styles. "Dizziness" is one such action-packed song that switches between gentle acoustic passages and quick-paced instrumental parts. One thing about Marco's songs is that you usually can't tell from the intro what kind of song it will turn out to be. Each track becomes its own little journey, traversing slower acoustic parts, grooving instrumentals, assertive vocal passages, and some surprise twists and turns. Did I mention the guitar solos? Lots of those!

I think the two tracks I love best as the title track for its beautiful piano intro and cool lead guitar, one solo sounding like Marco's and the other Peter's. The longest track, "Open My Arms", also has some very lovely piano and a powerful instrumental part in the middle where Marco reaches almost mainstream rock chords, but nevertheless achieves an emotive impact, at least for this listener.

I can't say it's Marco's best album because I like all of his albums about the same with "Land of Blue Echoes" gaining just a bit of extra favour. But after a few listens, I really find myself enjoying "Oceans of Thought". Marco has done very well for his fiftieth birthday project.

Multi-instrumentalist Marco Ragni (who here provides vocals, guitars, keyboards, piano and bass) is back with his latest album. Peter Matuchniak (Kinetic Element, Gekko Project, Mach One etc) returns on lead guitar, as does Dave Newhouse (The Muffins) on woodwind, Jeff Mack (Scarlet Hollow) on five-string fretted and fretless bass plus Chapman Stick along with Maurizio Antonini. They were all involved in Marco's last album, 'The Wandering Caravan', and the core band line-up also now includes JoJo Razor (Gekko Project) on backing vocals. There are also a few guests who make important contributions on a few tracks, namely guitarists Bjørn Riis (Airbag) and Marius Halleland (Wobbler), plus the incredible Charlie Cawood (Knifeworld) who on this release provides sitar on "Voice In The Dark".

Released deliberately on the Summer Solstice, this album ties in with Marco turning fifty this year which has led to serious contemplation, so the songs, cover and even the lyrics underwent changes during the process. But this isn't a melancholic or depressing album, but rather one of incredible variety and dynamics. Some songs are almost folk- based, take "The Wind Blows Anyway" as an example. Plucked acoustic guitar forms the basis of this, along with electric piano and some dated synths which weave a tapestry of sound which the bass and drums manage to find their way into, but there are significant periods where Peter is sat waiting for his moment, as electric guitar is notable by its absence as the fretless bass resounds whatever room is available. But then when Peter takes the opportunity it is deft, almost Gilmour-like with controlled sustain, which takes the song into new directions, leading into an ending I certainly didn't expect.

This is a very rich album, full of contrasts, dominated by the arrangements which are intricate, delicate, yet incredibly powerful. It is broad, controlled and epic prog, and there are times when one can hear the psychedelic influences which take his music back in time. It feels much more like a classic progressive album than one from the end of the second decade of the 21st century, and it is one which is both instantly accessible and a grower. This is an album I have thoroughly enjoyed as it moves in so many directions from Floyd through Yes and even elements of Crimson, but is very much Marco Ragni.