QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA

One of only two albums produced by this most fascinating of groups, Quella Vecchia Locanda's self-titled debut is an intense and hugely-inventive slice of genre-bending Italian prog jam-packed with enough ideas to fill any number of albums. Many fans consider the group's follow-up, 'Il Tempo Della Gioia' to be the superior recording, but this reviewer thinks differently. Whilst QVL's sophomore effort is also a great album, it is their eponymously-titled offering that shows just what an incredible bunch of musicians they really were. From the striking artwork to the plethora of instruments on show, 'Quella Vecchia Locanda' is a thoroughly exiciting listen, filled with unexpected musical twists and, at times, sublime instrumental passages. There isn't a dud song to be found, and the album more than deserves it's place at the head of Italian prog table, sitting proudly next to the likes of PFM's 'Per Un Amico', Le Orme's 'Felona E Sorona' and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso's 'Darwin!'. A genuine genre classic. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Quella Vecchia Locanda's second and last album "Il tempo della gioia" (The time of joy) was recorded in 1974 with a different line up featuring veterans Giorgio Giorgi (vocals, flute), Massimo Roselli (piano, organ mellotron, moog, vocals), Patrick Traina (drums, percussion) and Raimondo Maria Cocco (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals) plus Claudio Filice (who replaced the American violinst Donald Lax) and Massimo Giorgi (who took the place of bassist Romualdo Coletta). The strong classical influences are still there but overall sound is slightly different from the eponymous debut album and features a jazzier and darker atmosphere. The art cover is magnificent and tries to describe the content of this work where music and words loom nightmares and dreams.

The intense and dreamy opener "Villa Doria Pamhili" begins with a beautiful piano pattern, then acoustic guitar and violin delicately come in and melodic vocals try to describe the feelings that you could experience going to a pop festival in the early seventies... A sweet harmony plays with nature, soaring and gliding on the grass while joy makes people vibrating...

"A forma di..." (In the shape of...) is a classical inspired short instrumental that could remind of "Traccia" by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. It starts softly, as if the music was coming from a distant place... Violin, counter-bass, flutes and harpsichord, then soaring vocals used as an instrument to colour some melodic lines... Amazing track!

The title track is more complex. It begins with a delicate and romantic melody. A sundown on the sea, a magic carpet ride towards new horizons... Then a sudden change of rhythm and mood brings in dark shadows... "It's like if you were beating the time of joy / And never the time of pain / Your smile is already there... Suddenly the air is trembling / Fear has already taken you...". Some vocal passages could remind of the gloomy atmospheres of "Ys" by Il Balletto di Bronzo, while others recall of Hans, PFM's merchant of dreams, and of his coach... A very peculiar dream full of colours and musical nuances.

"Un giorno, un amico" (A day, a friend) features jazzy touches and violin rides, delicate calm passages and fiery ones. It's a long and complex track full of changes and colours. Take a deep breath and imagine to run into the sun, just to find out new sparks of life and old fears, hidden words and thoughts concealed in a secret jewel-case...

The last track "E' accaduto una notte" (It happened one night) is dark and gloomy. It describes in music and words a nightmare. It begins with a choir setting a gothic atmosphere, then the music goes on quirkily while lyrics depict a snake crawling through the rocks in the night, a car falling into the void, bad omens and vanishing hopes... "A roar bursts out / A flash of fire / That suffocates voices already put out".

On the whole a really good album even if some passages could sound a little bit naives and derivative. Nonetheless essential in every Italianprog collection!

Quella Vecchia Locanda were one of the many prog bands formed in Rome in early seventies. They released their eponymous debut album in 1972 for the Help label with a line up featuring Giorgio Giorgi (vocals, flute), Massimo Roselli (piano, organ mellotron, moog, vocals), Donald Lax (violin), Patrick Traina (drums, percussion), Romualdo Coletta (bass) and Raimondo Maria Cocco (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals). The musicians had a strong classical background and their music is a very interesting blending of classical influences with rock and folk. The beautiful art cover tries to describe the content of the album, a concept about difficult relationships and solitude...

The opener "Prologo" (Prologue) depicts in music and words a desperate and gloomy landscape of solitude and alienation, an old and decrepit house in a dark wood where even the worms refuse to live, where love for life gets hate in return. The very first notes are picked up from Johannes Brahms' piano trio, op. n. 8, then the music develops in a shifting way before calm down... "These walls are heatless and dark / You can find here nothing but pain / Light I'm looking for you / Life, I'm running after you".

"Un villaggio, un'illusione" (A village, an illusion) describes a desperate and frenzy running through burnt grass without a goal, lead by the thirst for life... "There's a village out there / It's open to everyone but not to me / My destiny is dreadful / I need someone beside me...". A sudden change of rhythm underline the fear of a refusal and the sensation that bullets shot from the village could penetrate into your body and turn the green grass to red like fire...

"Realtà" (Reality) is a beautiful dreamy ballad where the dread illusion melts and hope rises... "I can breath / I can see the light... Pain, hate and love do not make any sense to me by now / I look at the sky that resembles to me / A storm starts raging / Shouts, lightning, wind... They do not notice the people who is suffering and envy their honey... I'm dreaming of something that could give you a real peace... Who can understand this reality?".

"Immagini sfocate" (Unfocused images) is a short and hypnotic track where an aggressive and psychedelic guitar riff emerges from experimental sounds... "I'm dreaming, I think so / All is dark around me / Only mysterious forces can explain...". The psychedelic dream fades on the next track, the complex "Il cieco" (The blind man) where the sounds of life bring back to reality and lyrics describe the meeting with a blind man who need someone beside him and asks for help...

"Dialogo" (Dialogue) is a beautiful complex track where classic influences are perfectly blended with rock and a touch of jazz in the musical dialogue between the scared hermit banned from society and the blind man. New positive feelings come to life...

"Verso la locanda" (Towards the inn) is another excellent track, bittersweet and dreamy, where the violin leads the way to the house of joy... "Thousand shadows are running in my direction / Come, my friend / The way is long but I will lead you / That's the inn...".

The final track "Sogno, risveglio e..." (Dream, awake and...) opens with a delicate piano pattern, then violin and flute come in... "The roof crumbles / The walls falls down / In the theatre of the world...". Here the melancholic and dreamy mood and a reprise of the initial theme could suggest that what is crumbling is the dreadful house of solitude in the dark wood...

A must for every Italiaprog lover...

Quella Vecchia Locanda's first of only two studio albums (a shame, really), offers a tornado that ripped up symphonic and heavy progressive rock styles and churned out something delicious yet hard to digest. Most of the pieces are admittedly disjointed- the compositions do not all flow very well, but the individual ideas themselves are quite a compensation. All in all, this is an important album for any Rock Progressivo Italiano collection.

"Prologo" With call-and-response violin and piano, other instruments join in, soon creating a frantic yet easy-to-follow rhythmic backing- it is the violin that is the most crazed, sawing through several lower notes before abruptly shooting up into a long high one. Backed by that same rhythm, the singing comes through loud and clear, with a floating monophonic synthesizer in the backdrop. It all falls away to bring in gentle acoustic guitar and more keyboards. The flute solo at the end is a non sequitur, but a welcome one.

"Un Villaggio,Un'illsione" Sweet violin begins this track, offering an almost classical introduction (not unlike the Electric Light Orchestra). Soon it becomes a bit harder rocking than the previous track; the lighter flute passage is akin to early Jethro Tull, but that violin sets it apart.

"Realta" A delightfully familiar finger-picked acoustic guitar passage provides this song's gentle, melancholic foundation. The vocal harmonies are excellent, and this time the flute outshines the violin. For those familiar with The Steve Miller Band, "Winter Time" sounds very much like this song.

"Immagini Sfuocate" Emerging with a far more experimental sound initially, this piece eventually takes on a more coherent form. From then on, it's all heavy progressive rock finished off by a quick drum solo.

"Il Cieco" The drums fade back in, inviting a cool bass groove to tag along. I really like this primal rhythm and the harmonic synthesizers that creep in. After this, however, is one of the most breathtaking passages I've heard in the genre- violin and flute, like two graceful fairies of different worlds dancing over a lush bed of organ. The tribal business makes a brief return before gorgeous violin and piano finish it off.

"Dialogo" A tumbling bit of guitar and synthesizer kick this off, and soon there's a funky bass line in 6/4 time along with a nasally synthesizer lead. The vocals arrive over piano, and the late verse has a slight Supertramp feel.

"Verso La Locanda" A strange bit of piano opens this track- it sounds like a nervous child practicing at home under the watchful eye of an instructor. A refreshing violin and some rock music rescues the lad. This is, however, the most disjointed of the material on this album, with several abrupt changes and an apparent lack of direction. The verse is one of the quietest points. The flute plays over a calm electric guitar, but everything settles into a nice groove with yet another interesting bass line, and as it picks up, a wild synthesizer solo concludes this difficult music.

"Sogno, Risveglio E..." This has the same feel as the previous track initially, like that of a person practicing the piano at home, although the player here is clearly more advanced- in fact, the piano is brilliant, and the ghostly violin adhering to it, followed by a reluctant flute, is one of the highlights of the album, despite not being a rock song at all. Vocals follow, with discordant fills on the piano. It is strange to me that the band would choose this sleepy work as the conclusion to such an otherwise dynamic and disorderly affair, but perhaps that is my American sensibilities peeking through!

The last of the two classic albums that this band released in the early seventies and this one is from 1974. Considered a must have album by anyone who has a leaning towards good progressive music and not just fans of Italian Progressive music. Like most bands from the continent they have a distinct classical influence which makes for a wonderful diversity in Progessive music from Europe and Quella Vecchia Locanda certainly display this with rock and a slight Jazz Influence.

Il Tempo Della Gioia ( The season of Joy) is dismissed as the 2nd best album often by this band but I find that this is as good as the self titled debut if not better and more distinctive as the band seemed to be truly heading into unknown territory with this release and the use of choirs and that violin giving the feel to this album which although the violinist ( Claudio Felice) has changed from the previous album he still leaves his own mark as Donald Lax did on the first. Flute is also used and does not sound as similar to Jethro Tull as it did on the first release

The album commences with the track Villa Doria Pamphli and the keyboard opens this tune and finishes it off on its own and is one nice track with vocals and if Symphonic is what you want well that is precisely the description in the high moments of this composition.but it is the the 2nd one for me ( A Forma Di ) when this album heads for the stratosphere with only vocals used without words and that violin, wonderful stuff in the car whilst driving and what a feel.On the title track from the album you relly hear some great vocals opening the song which quickly heads into prog heaven with that choir again a time change what more could you want. There are five tracks on the album and not one poor one and even with the last song E` Accaduto Uma Notte the album goes out with a bang.

Although only running at just under 34 minutes to quote another great fan and mentor for me of this genre. Micky......All Killer No Filler

I wonder what the 3rd album may have been?

Beautiful Classically Inspired Italian Prog

One of the aspects of RPI that appeals to me most is that the classical influences are transparent. That is, while Genesis and ELP have some obvious roots in classical music, the Italians seem to have it written in their marrow. The amount of "rock" in their prog is variable, but the classical influence is always crystal clear. Among the bands with the heaviest classical flavor, by far my favorite is Quella Vecchia Locanda (QVL). Their second, classic album was the second RPI album I owned and I still hold it as one of the masterpieces in its genre even after acquiring a much bigger collection. I later acquired their self titled debut and found another great piece of work. Perhaps not as evocative as the sophomore, it is still a grand album well worth owning.

Interestingly, one of the stars of this particular album is an American, classically trained violinist Donald Lax. His violin opens the "Prologo" theme which is echoed by various other instruments, and then has a torrid solo which would have been a better example of the devil's champion that that offered by Charlie Daniels. Indeed, despite the minor keys and classical arrangements, his energy and tonality are almost fiddle-like, stretching an already diverse sound.

The most rocking part of this band is the rhythm section. Conventional trapset and electric bass form the backbone, and they can range from quiet accompaniment to nice bombast. Unlike the second album, guitar plays a slightly larger role, with the track "Immagini Sfucate" having both a distorted riff and rock leads. Flute plays a large part in the mix, adding a significant 60's psychedelic flavor. The voices are pleasant and less operatic than some RPI, though they still fall within genre. Finally, keys range from clean piano to distorted organ and possibly mellotron.

Some of the highlights are the Genesis-like "El Cieco" which features frenetic rock interspersed with ethereal flute interludes, the aforementioned creepy "Immagini," and the Zeppelinish "Realta." The latter combines with the Italian harmony vocals beautifully, before a wah-electric guitar brings up the intensity. The whole album is more rocking than the second, more intense, but also lacks a little of the intricacy and longer, more ambitious compositions. Still, it is an excellent piece of work and among my favorite RPI albums. 4 stars.

The second of only two studio albums from Quella Vecchia Locanda, both highly regarded amongst RPI fans, Il Tempo Della Gioia saw the band in the main leaving behind the more bombastic moments of their eponymous debut and expanding more on the classical influences evident on that release.

Il Tempo Della Gioia is largely a more mellow affair, classical influences well to the fore, occasional jazz flourishes with pastoral moments alongside occasional forays into more high octane territory. Fans of PFM should find much to enjoy here on an album lacking any real highs and lows. That's not meant in a derogatory sense as it's an album maintaining a high standard throughout. The organic production leaves plenty of space for the music to breath with pleasing use of classical instrumentation such as violin, flute, clarinet, acoustic guitar and piano underpinned by a rock rhythm section and fine vocals. Electric guitar takes more of a back seat and the predominant keyboard is piano.

No better or worse than their excellent debut then, it's down to personnel preference (I have a slight preference for their debut), both close to the top of the pile of important RPI releases. It's a shame they only released two albums as with the talent on display here, had they continued they could have been up there with the big three of PFM, Banco and Le Orme.

I have been interested in Italian Prog recently, and so I decided to try out the band Quella Vecchia Locanda. While there seems to be no end of Italian Progressive Rock bands, this one stood out to me because of "IL TEMPO DELLO GIOIA's enchanting album cover. The artwork, which takes up the cover and the back of the album, reminded me a lot like Roger Dean's classic album art we all know and love. Fortunately, the music inside the jacket is just as mystifying and beautiful, and I'll be reviewing it today.

The album opens up with "Villa Doria Pamphili." The track captivated immediately, with dreamy soundscapes made by the piano, violin, and acoustic guitar. I knew right away that I had made a good purchase. The vocals come in at about 2 minutes, and the lyrics are about a natural park. The music really matches the idea of being in a park, beautiful and tranquil.

Then there is the instrumental "A Forma Di." The heavy use of an orchestra, flute, and piano make this one sound like classical music, only shorter. This track is also very beautiful, but a little more stern.

Next comes the title track "Il Tempo Della Gioia." This one is a bit more rock-oriented than the other two, and more daring. This track really impressed me by showing that Quella Vecchia Locanda could also be aggressive. Fans of King Crimson should dig this track.

After that, there's "Un Giormo, Un Amico." This track is pretty challenging, but is the challenge well worth it? I say yes. There is some great instrumentation here, and the vocals are confrontational.

Finally, we have "E'Accudato Una Notte." It begins very dark, opening up with a choir. Then it becomes more somber, full of woodwind and guitar. Like all the other tracks, it's classical influence is apparent. I really like the finale, and I feel that it's a great way to end the album.

I really enjoyed IL TEMPO DELA GIOIA, and plan to check out Quella Vecchia Locanda's other album soon. This is a must-have if you like Italian Prog, and you should still check it out if you like Symphonic Prog with some more challenging elements. My only real complaint is that it's too short.

4 Stars- Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

I am supposed to rate this album, huh huh huh.

This band sadly only released two albums. Very few Italian bands have long life spans and there is a lot of very interesting 1-2 albums bands in this scene. Quella Vecchia Locande is one of them. Their music is a mix of everything from Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, Focus, Le Orme, Banco to ELP. The Jethro Tull influences are pretty obvious on the two first pretty hard edged songs. The flutes here would had been approved by Ian Anderson. The album then mellows out a bit and we get the typical Italian lyrical approach to progressive rock. I find Italian prog more softer and less bombastic than UK/US prog and this album proves that point. Although pretty bombastic in places, the sound is based on a melancholic theme throughout this album.

The flutes has been mentioned. The vocals are pretty strong too. The keyboards are superb. The same can be said about the bass, guitars and the drums. My only gripe, and it is a big one, is the lack of any good songs here. There are a lot of excellent short pieces of music scattered around. But no really good songs. This album feels like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. It is a good album, but nothing more than that. It is still an album well worth checking out, though. Trust me.

3.25 stars

Many years ago, a friend introduced me to QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA (That Old Inn), with an original cassette of their self titled debut, my first thought was that I would probably listen another good band from the fertile Prog scenario of the early 70's, with beautiful melodies and a pastoral sire, but I was wrong.

QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA is a different specie, of course they have that unique Italian melodic sound but their approach is much more aggressive than most bands of the region, the massive use of violin makes the different to most of their coetaneous plus the fact that they still have a post Psyche sound reminiscent of the 60's with a relation to FOCUS rather than to any other band.

"Prologo" introduces us to their unique style, the first section is a contrapuntal between violin, piano, violin drums and then a an explosive section as intricate as the early works of KING CRIMSON, this guys rock much more than their peers and are not afraid to take a violent approach instead of the mellow and soft that we could expect from other band of Italy, even the choirs are absolutely radical with polyphonic and almost chaotic arrangements, in other words one in a kind.

"Un Villaggio, Un 'Illusione" starts again with the violin as lead instrument with a strong and perfectly syncopated drum as support, when the flute enters, I feel all the style of Thijs Van Leer, and the vocals introduce us to Hard Rock with a sound of the late 60's. The bass work by Romualdo Coletta is brilliant, and maintains the band connected with reality while the rest of the instruments are allowed to wander through uncharted territory. Special mention to the breathtaking violin solo, is simply outstanding.

The first notes of "Realta" announce that this is the first track in which they sound more as a classical Italian band, the sweet melody is impressive, but still the multi layered vocals indicate that the band wants to be unique. Even when they never abandon the soft mellow sound, they manage to experiment with contradictory styles and complex arrangements.

Now, if you want something really weird and experimental, pay special attention to "Immagini Sfuocate", an ultra elaborate track in which they allow themselves to do whatever they want, distorted guitar solos, rocking piano sections, weird sounds, they jam almost as if the Psyche years would had never left,

"Il Cieco" begins with a drum and bass duet that leads to some sort of Italian Rock with touches of Prog, but it's not until when the instrumental breaks begin that they dare to explore most than almost any Italian band of the era, the JETHRO TULL aroma is there, but much more rough and aggressive.

"Dialogo" is another complex track that reminds of KING CRIMSON structures, with a lot of dissonances and complex sections that morph into different ones in a matter of seconds, the song jumps from elaborate and weird to melodic and soft and weird again, in other words pure Progressive Rock.

"Verso Locanda" sounds like an Emersonian keyboard nightmare with Jazzy atmosphere and ultra radical changes, a good prelude for the melodic and extremely beautiful"Sogno, Risveglio E..." that closes the album with a fantastic piano performance by Massimo Roselli who almost makes me break in tears, specially when the nostalgic violin of Donald Lax and the flute of Giorgo Giordi join to create a Classical oriented song that closes the album with a special taste.

To be honest there are many Italian Symphonic albums that have impressed me more, but this album deserves no less than 4 stars, despite my personal taste.