ARTI E MESTIERI

Music is impressive and the skills of the musician unquestionable but that peculiar sypmhonic attidute has (incomprehensibly) gone. Where are the majestic mellotron's atmospheres?

They play professionally and blend the technical perfection of MAHAVISHNU with mathematical knots of GENTLE GIANT and touches of mediterranean folk. Drumming is astonishing as always.

Sadly enough, this album never really grabbed my full attention. Excellent, but a bit too soft and a bit too unchallanging without those memorable symphonic effects of the famous precedessor.

Unlike many other bands, Arti e Mesteri avoid falling into the trap of making a reunion album which tries too hard to sound just like their classic-era material: instead, they've produced a piece which shows they've paid attention to developments in fusion and jazz over the course of their hiatus. The end result is a very good album which sounds like an entirely different band.

Arti E Mestieri are an obscure band from Italy who focus on jazz rock fusion unlike many other Italian prog artists. Their debut primarily is an instrumental with moments of Italian singing. The title of the album is "Tilt: Immagini Per Un Orecchio", and this is translated as "Images For An Ear" which seems profoundly appropriate. The tracks blend together beautifully in places, such as the stunning 'Strips', 'Corrosione' and 'Positivo / Negativo', and jump wildly about with odd time sigs and virtuoso musicianship. At other times, on tracks like 'In Cammino' the sound becomes rather subdued and tranquil.

The band are consummate professionals at their craft consisting of Furio Chirico on drums, Beppe Crovella on acoustic and electric pianos, synths, mellotron, Hammond organ, Marco Gallesi on bass, Gigi Venegoni on guitar, synthetizers, Giovanni Vigliar on violin and Arturo Vitale on soprano and baritone saxes, clarinets, and vibraphone. Vitale's sax work on 'In Cammino' is an incredible tour de force and of note also is the guitar lead break of Venegoni. This track is a definitive highlight along with the spine tingling opener 'Gravità 9,81'.

'Articolazioni', the mini epic that takes up most of side 2, features vocals along with 'Strips', the only occasions, and these are rather a nice break from all the musicality. This track features stunning clarinet and some very heavy passages mixed with moments of peaceful serenity. These dark and light sections are balanced perfectly with the amazing drumming skills of Chirico. The time sigs are everchanging and it even locks into a 6/8 rhythm and beautiful vibraphones are heard from Vitale. Vigliar's violin is absolutely gorgeous and sings sweetly in the melancholy soundscape. This really is a masterpiece track with some of the finest musical structures in the 70s golden era of prog.

Overall, Arti E Mestieri's debut is a lost classic in Italian prog and really deserves more recognition. The music is similar to Mahavishnu Orchestra and at times just as astonishing in terms of virtuosity. There is never a dull moment and it is packed solid with inventive musicianship and creativity.

Due to their tight instrumentation, the band has a big sound, sometimes like one of Zappa's jazz orchestras toned way down, sometimes like an enhanced Weather Report or the Dixie Dregs. Although their songwriting is quite innovative and unique, I would say those bands have the greatest influence on the group's playing and arranging. The vocals (all in Italian) are not the centerpiece of the music, but offer another instrument to be arranged into the song.

There is plenty of mellotron from Beppe Crovella, and the instrumental solos, duets and trios abound using sax, electric violin, electric piano, bass, and clarinet. "Strips" includes wonderful violin solos behind electronic grand piano. Often a languid section breaks into an instrumental duel.

Some of the tracks are much more arranged than others, leaving you with the feeling that the show drifted off of and onto their pre-arranged schedule. If you know Arti y Misteri, you will note the great production values of this album, the tight musicianship and the band's enthusiasm, even after thirty years. If you are new to the band, then this will guarantee your follow up with at least the first two albums.

"Gravita 9, 81" starts the album off with an attention-grabbing motif that fades quickly to a deceptively melancholy intro...the combination of clarinet, violin and synth here is celestial. Then after the electric piano kicks in and sets the tempo, the world is introduced to Furio Chirico. Italian prog stalwarts will recognize the drummer from The Trip, but to the uninitiated, hearing Furio play drums the first time is like your first kiss - a little scary at first, somewhat sloppy, and WAY TOO FAST. But then you get that feeling; that warm buzz in your stomach like hot chocolate on a winter day. It courses through your veins and fills your entire nervous system with dopamine. That's what Furio Chirico's drumming is like. Bill Bruford will always have a special place in my heart, but if I had to pick one drummer as the "best," it would be Chirico.

Nowhere is his mastery of the drum kit more evident than in "Strips." An absolute monster beat, so carefully and thoughfully composed to accentuate (not overstate) the arrangement. "Corrosione" gives us our first taste of Mellotron, and again the woodwinds playing against violin is a combination of sheer brilliance. Nothing groundbreaking, but usually intonation suffers between these two particular instruments - not here. Giovanni Vigliar and Arturo Vitale play in perfect unision, often switching instruments not just mid-song but mid-phrase! A real show of virtuosity but also restraint. We then segue into Positivo/Negativo, another amazing showcase for what the band has to offer. "In Cammino" solemnly rounds out the first side.

"Fahrenheit/Articolazioni" is one of those songs that, once you hear it, is like a part of you. I will seriously just be sitting in traffic and it pops into my head, and get goose bumps every time. The first two-thirds of the suite is structured much like the rest of the album, but the third act is where the symphonic influences really take over...an orchestral feast for the ears that tugs at your heart strings and doesn't let go. I always get a little sad at this point because I know the album is almost over. A case for quality over quantity if there ever was one. Arti e Mestieri would go on to record many albums, but none as fine as this one.

It's actually fairly interesting to hear the Tilt album tracks, though not in the same sequence, in their live versions and pick out the differences, outside the obvious different vocals and the energy level. Most of the tracks are actually slower-paced (whether intentional or not), but oddly enough most of them are shorter (sometimes very significantly) than their studio version, except for the closing Gravity 9.81, which almost doubles in length and is also the highlight of the gig with some Crimsonian improvs. The balance is also fairly different as well, thus providing an interesting change of view on their music, much like a King Crimson Collector Club album. One of the attractions of this live album is the presence of an unheard-elsewhere track, a rare Vigliar composition Coming Here To Get You, which does melt fine into the A&M mass.

A rather poor-sounding album, everything being relative, because there is also much worse from greater-known groups (again ogling towards Crimson), especially from an approximative reissue label like Vinyl Magic, but this is exactly the point: this release is not a reissue. Certainly not essential, unless you're an A&M fan.

There's definitely a sense that some of the fusion elements aren't as potent as on the first album. Beppe Crovella comes to the fore more here and uses instruments that aren't typical of fusion, like mellotron and harpsichord (not mentioned in the liner notes but it appears quite prominently). But the main difference is in terms of the songwriting and the melodies. Some of the melodies definitely have a more symphonic feel to them and I would guess that this is mainly due to Crovella's contribution. Don't get me wrong, the prevailing elements are still those of jazz-rock. The electric piano is still the main keyboard instrument, as was the case with most fusion bands of the time and the saxes, violins, vibraphones and other percussive instruments still speak in the voice of fusion but every now and then the violin seems keen to play something resembling classical music rather than jazz.

The main composer is probably still Gigi Venegoni, whose sometimes blazing and sometimes passionate and emotional guitar playing is the basis for many Arti melodies. Furio Chirico is still a dynamo of a drummer. He seems to be the engine that drives this band. He seems to be a relentless source of energy. Some passages that he plays are simply beyond belief; he plays them at such a tremendous speed and with such technical proficiency.

The main problem still remains the vocals. Although they recruited a singer for this album, he doesn't really perform his duties with very much critical acclaim. The vocals on Tilt were just as good (or maybe just as bad?), so there was really no need to recruit a new singer. But fortunately not many songs have vocals on them. I will however admit to liking the vocals on Rinuncia with the contrast between the tenor and bass voices.

This is definitely an album that is at least an equal to Tilt and deserves to be acknowledged as an excellent work of art. 8.5 out of 10.

Arti E Mestieri is one of the most famous and highly regarded bands from Italy. Although they are not officially recognized as a Rock Progressivo Italiano (RPI) band, their music has a lot to offer to fans of the Rock Progressivo Italiano scene. Their style is a blend of RPI and Jazz/ Fusion. To my ears, that is a very nice blend. This live album is full of this blend.

The band debuted in the early 1970s and their debut album Tilt is widely regarded as a classic album. It is therefore quite fitting that this album starts with one of the songs from this album; Gravita. The tone has been set for seventy five minutes of some truly great music.

The music flows and ebbs like a truly great Fusion/RPI live performance always does. The leader of this band; Beppe Crovella also gets some minutes of solo material. The violinist Lautaro Acosta adds some folk/gypsy music to the blend too. In short; Arti E Mestieri really impresses me with their style, their abilities and their songs on this live album. The roof is not falling down and the Japanese audience is polite in the background, listening to these masters and hopefully copying them (Read: creating bands like this which we can add to ProgArchives). In short; this is a great live album and a must have for the fans of this band and Italian music in general.

I am impressed.

4 stars