CHERRY FIVE

Dynamic, succinct, and exciting, this album hits the listener hard with instrumental interplay in rapid changes in mood and melody. To my ears, this is early period Yes meets early period Genesis with Carl Palmer drumming.

Less bombastic than most one-off RPI I've tried, I really like the flow. The bass, mellotron, and keyboard work is fantastic. "Country Graveyard" and "Oliver" are true highlights here. Right off the bat "Country Graveyard" starts smoking with a memorable rock riff, then it splits into RPI atmospherics. "Oliver" is a nine and a half minute roller coaster that leaves your headphones smoking.

If I had any nits to pick it would be the average vocals and the name of the band. If the music is this good, I don't really care about those things. An excellent listen from cover to cover.

One of the country's few internationally-renowned outfits, the cult Italian group Goblin made their name producing stylishly creepy synth-prog soundtracks for legendary filmmaker Dario Argento, the director of such horror classics as 'Profondo Rosso'(1975) and 'Suspiria'(1977). However, before undertaking their collaborations with Argento, Goblin had previously produced an accomplished symphonic progressive rock album under the name of Cherry Five that was issued on the Italian Cinevox imprint during 1975. The album arrived several months after the group had returned home from London, the five-piece having failed to win a record deal from any of the British labels, and as a result exhibited a strong British influence obviously inspired by the likes of ELP, Genesis and Yes. It would provide a stark contrast to their later material as Goblin, with the 'Cherry Five' album featuring vocals and lengthy song-suites, yet would also provide a hint towards their blood-drenched future with such titles as 'The Swan Is A Murderer' and the Oscar Wilde-tribute 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'. For those not in the know, Dorian Gray was a character in one of Wilde's only horror yarns, showcasing the Italian group's early affiliation for the genre that would eventually come to define them. Though this album was issed under the Cherry Five name, many see it as a Goblin product and, despite the stylistic differences, rightly so. The bulk of Goblin's work came in soundtrack form, yet they did release a pair of non-soundtrack albums during the latter half of the 1970's in the form of the excellent 1976 album 'Roller' and the less impressive 'Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark' from 1978. Both albums exhibited streaks of Goblin's soundtrack work, especially 'Roller', yet also added strong elements of synthesized progressive rock, their sound flushed with snazzy keyboards and eerie effects. 'Cherry Five', with its intense instrumental flourishes, strong symphonic flavour and, at times, dazzling quickfire solos, makes for an exhilarating listen, especially so for Goblin fans, though those who enjoy the early-seventies work of the major British progressive rock groups should also find much to their liking. The album's highlights are many - almost every song is worth the price of admission thanks to an interconnecting musical flow that cleverly links one track to the next both stylistically and thematically - yet it is both the richly-drawn opener 'Country Graveyard' and the lengthy, jazz-tinged 'Oliver' that truly stand-out. Alongside the seminal soundtracks adorning both 'Profondo Rosso' and 'Suspiria' and the 1976 'Roller' album, this self-titled oddity remains one of the Italian group's key releases. Fans of symphonic prog in general are also in for a stylish, whirlwind-paced treat, the only disappointment being that Goblin/Cherry Five didn't make more full-on progressive rock albums. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

In fact the name of this 70's Italian group was Oliver, one of the few Italian bands to sing in English.Hailing from Roma they had an all-star line-up of drummer Carlo Bordini from Rustichelli e Bordini and later Goblin members Fabio Pignatelli on bass, Claudio Simonetti on keys and Massimo Morante on guitars.Oliver even traveled in England to audition a singer, eventually Clive "Artman" Haynes became the lead vocalist for a short period, but he was sacked and the band recruited Tony Tartarini (aka Toni Gionta from L' Uovo di Colombo) for the vocal work.The sole album of the band was recorded in 1974, but didn't see the light before January 76', eventually released under the name of Cherry Five.

Oliver were heavily influenced by the British Prog of the 70's, most notably from YES and GENESIS, and the fact they were quite talented resulted to challenging and complex arrangements with tight performances, but actually they did never escaped from the sound of their heroes, so not much was left to the imagination of the listener.Six nice and well- performed but unoriginal compositions is what this quintet left behind with strong symphonic leanings and a few Classic Rock and jazzy touches here and there, but the resemblance to YES' style becomes a bit annoying at moments.Of course the high level of the compositions makes the album far from boring.Lovely Classical-influenced interludes and solos performed on harpsichord and piano ala RICK WAKEMAN, strong organ leads, careful use of Mellotron, STEVE HOWE-like guitar workouts and deep bass work with evident lines from the work of CHRIS SQUIRE transform into complicated orchestral songs with shifting moods and sufficient instrumental passages.Tony Tartarini was known as an accomplished singer with L'UOVO DI COLOMBO and in ''Cherry Five'' he just prooves to be a decent frontman with an expressive and slightly GABRIEL-esque vocal color.

The rest of the story is more or less known.In 1975 Carlo Bordini, afraid that a contract with Oliver's label Cinevox could hurt his career as a session musician, refused to sign, and jumped off board along with Tartarini, propably this was the reason the album was not released in time.The rest of the crew moved on after changing their name to Goblin and had a succesful career with a more personal and unique sound.

''Cherry five'' comes as an equivalent to the works of Acqua Fragile and is likely to please more fans of British Prog than Classic Italian Prog due to the English lyrics and the strong British Prog influences.Pretty unoriginal but well-played Prog, that deserves a recommendation.

The pre-Goblin band Cherry Five's only album.

I do not know much about Cherry Five to be honest. The full story of this band is told somewhere else in ProgArchives. But I know that the music here is pretty remote from what Goblin released.

Cherry Five does dynamic symphonic prog in the vein of Yes. The same dynamics is there. Cherry Five also sings in English, although the vocals are pretty heavy accented. Fair enough. The instruments are vintage and a real treat for those of us into this sound.

Everything comes down to the songs then. And the songs are very good. From the opener and slightly Italian beat influenced Country Grave Yard to the final track My Little Cloud Land. The songs are also filled with a lot of intricate details. Which off course adds spice to the album.

Unfortunate, some of the songs are a bit anonymous. That is my gripes with this album. It is bordering to being a great album, but it does not quite reach that level.

Nevertheless; if Yes and RPI is your thing; this album is a must have.

3.75 stars

My opinion of this album has regrettably diminished with time. Once one of my favorite Italian Prog CDs, Cherry Five just hasn't aged terribly well and suffers from mediocre sound quality, imitative playing, and embarrassing lyrics. Still, the historical value of Cherry Five is off the charts, as members of Goblin, Rustichelli e Bordini, and L'Uovo di Colombo contribute an onslaught of fierce performances; Claudio Simonetti most notably, as he controls a seemingly never-ending barrage of keyboard and synthesized instruments. Organ, piano, Mellotron, and Moog are all over this thing. Cherry Five is a fun, rocking Yes copycat that will appeal to all Goblin fans, but loses some of its shimmer after repeated listens.

"Country Grave-Yard" wastes no time in wearing influences on its sleeve, and would not sound out of place on The Yes Album. The song is a brisk showcase for Fabio Pignatelli and Carlo Bordini, and the rhythm section will lock in early and often. Morante also gets some face time here with some tasteful guitar leads and even some acoustic rhythm guitar here and there. Simonetti is far less reserved, walloping you over the head with one crazy keyboard lick after another. And that leaves Tartarini - let's just say he does a capable job with the English lyrics, but his native tongue is much preferred. "The Picture of Dorian Gray," taking its name from Claudio Simonetti's previous group, is the centerpiece of the album. Again keyboards are to the fore, as everyone else quite splendidly struggles to keep up. My favorite part of the song comes near the end when the call-and-response exchange between guitar and synth float atop a childish quarter-note foundation in the rhythm section. If Cherry Five just had more unique, interesting sections like this, I feel it wouldn't sound nearly as dated as it does.

"The Swan is a Murderer" parts 1 and 2 are each mildly enjoyable, while the long "Oliver" is far more complex and rewarding. Still, don't expect "Sound Chaser" or anything: Even though "Oliver" contains numerous tempo and key changes, the performances are fairly straight forward and typical for the era. The same holds true for "My Little Cloud Land" although the band does end on a high note and offers glimpses of the famous Goblin sound. Overall, I would probably give Cherry Five 3.5 stars rounded down. I have just heard it so many times I never reach for it any more...your mileage may vary.

To my mind--and ears--these guys are great musicians crafting intricate yet beautifully melodious songs à la a cross between ELP, FOCUS, GENESIS, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, YES and GENTLE GIANT. Great keys, great acoustic and electric guitars, great vocals (YES- and KANSAS-like harmonies, lead sounds a bit like Uriah Heep's DAVID BYRON or Grand Funk's MARK FARNER), solid bass and drumming, really tight compositions and performances. The highlights, for me, are the awesome vocals--lead and harmony. They are so well integrated with nary a wasted note or word yet are every bit as much important to their songs. Favorite song is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" with "Country Grave Yard" and "Oliver" close behind. One of my top ten all-time RPI albums.

Although there is only one Cherry Five album it is rightly regarded as an important record amongst Italian prog fans. Partly because it's such a good album in its own right, but also because three members would go on to form Goblin, a band that are best known for their film soundtrack work. In fact a band never existed called Cherry Five, this being just a name given to the project at a later date, the album being initially shelved and not released until a year or two later by which time Goblin were already up and running.

Six songs although you could probably consider The Swan Is A Muderer Parts 1 and 2 as one song in its own right, being split where side 1 would have ended on the original vinyl version, fading in again for side 2. This being the case, all tracks are around the eight minute mark give or take. Musically they play fairly complex, very lively and inventive prog and anyone familiar with early Yes (no doubt most people here) cannot fail to spot the similarities. The album is dominated by the fine keyboard work of Claudio Simonetti thought there's still plenty of space for the excellent guitar of Massimo Morante. Although I doubt they would have been an influence, bits here and there, particularly on opener Country Grave Yard remind me of Welsh psych rockers Man.

Unusually for an RPI album the vocals are sung in English and Tony Tartarini is a decent singer. Drummer Carlo Bordini (yes it is he who was later involved in the Rustichelli & Bordini project) and bassist Fabio Pignatelli are a busy rhythm section, driving the music along, often at a fair pace. Best track is The Picture Of Dorian Gray with its Hammond organ opening descending into some lovely acoustic guitar before finally exploding into a very Yes like piece. No doubt this song was named after another band that had featured Simonetti, Il Ritratto Di Dorian Gray, a band who's importance is more to do with which bands its members went onto than anything they achieved as a unit, but that's another story.

Overall an excellent album and one that all RPI fans will no doubt come to sooner or later.

The Cherry Five is an Italian prog album of a band with a strong Yes fascination and English vocals.

The biggest asset of the band is its musicians, who create energetic pieces with an amazing interplay between rhythm section, virtuoso guitar licks and keyboards. More then once they evoke the 71-72 Yes period, a good thing as far as I'm concerned, especially if it's done with so much bravura. The album's weakness comes from the vocalist, not so much due to his voice but because of his unremarkable and rather cliché vocal lines. I blame it on the choice for English lyrics. It's never easy singing in a foreign tongue of which you don't entirely master the rhythmical and harmonic qualities. Had he sung in Italian I'm quite sure this album would have been a lot better. For comparison, one only needs to look at the sub-par English-sung albums that PFL, Le Orme and Banco released.

A good album for fans of the Yes Album and Fragile, but the too obvious comparison doesn't entirely flatter Cherry Five. Recommended tracks: Country Graveyard and Oliver.

Existence and the situation of the band that projects in the flow that derives at the dawn in Prog Rock of Italy might certainly be various. The trend of the market seen at the time of 1975 from especially 1972 was active. The existence of Cherry Five that only announces this album in the situation will be able to be called valuable existence in Prog Rock of Italy.

As for an original and expression of feelings part to which the band of Prog Rock of Italy had gone, a lot of unique cultures that the band in other countries doesn't have are involved. The rush power and the throb feeling of this Cherry Five will have been existence in a lot of bands where the diversity existed to which uniformity by the construction of a technical tune in respect to perform was done enough.

Generally, this band is known as an antecedent of the situation that reaches "Goblin". However, the united music characters and technical parts might have had the originality not installed only by Prog Rock of simple Italy. Certain part of composition of sound and tune. And, the impression that "Yes" and "Gentle Giant" are recollected will be given. However, the absorption of an original melody of Italy and music is expressed enough as their tastes.

The relation between about some respects and time can be enumerated if it thinks about the situation by centering on this Cherry Five. Part of creation of composition power of expression of feelings by Claudio Simonetti of keyboard player who will be known later as member of "Goblin" and guitar player's Massimo Morante and Bass player's Fabio Pignatelli and tune to rush. In addition, existence of "Il Ritratto Di Dorian Gray" that had existed as history of activity of music before this Cherry Five. And, the situation of the band that was called "Oliver" that derived from the band might have been in the part gradually exactly revolutionized in the market of Prog Rock of Italy. It is said that the member had already visited Britain as a guess at this time. Perhaps, it is guessed that it is reflected in lyrics all English to which the event at this time is sung by this album.

The existence of Carlo Bordini of the drum player known by the member of "Rustichelli&Bordini" might act overwhelmingly on the band, too. It contributes enough as a Music character of the band ..him.. the part of the nucleus. Part of construction of rhythm that supports band from the under and complete technology surely. And, the song of active Tony Tartarini gives the listener the impression of the axis of the band as a member of "L'uovo Di Colombo". The melody of the song completely contributes to an original tune that is. The flavor and originality that Italian Rock done at this time is good are equipped enough.

The activity of Cherry Five known well as a situation in which it went to "Goblin" for the above- mentioned description did not continue long as a result. The band by this member did not exist when the debut album of Cherry Five was announced because of the relation of the recording of "Profondo Rosso" of Goblin produced at the same time. The absorption of exactly good symphonic and the unique culture are uniting valuable existence. the Music character that Cherry Five didThe throb feeling and the rush power united overall might be overwhelming.

As for "Country Grave Yard", the theme of an original melody in close relation to six rhythms is impressive. Expression of feelings melody in close relation to straight rhythm. The part, the song, and the chorus of the keyboard and the guitar produce the sense of relief. Solo of the keyboard in close relation to the part of complete Rock is overwhelming. And, the composition with the tension that makes three rhythms a base is calculated from the part of ensemble of the band well. The rhythm and the melody developed one after another are tunes for them.

"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" starts in symphonic and a pastoral part. And, it is partial of the construction of a complex melody that is reminiscent of a few "Yes" and "Gentle Giant". Part of flavor that Rock to rush straight from 16 notes is good. The melody and the throb feeling are expressed enough. The part of the melody and the unison with a bright keyboard the guitar is impressive.

"The Swan Is A Murderer Part 1" produces the melody and the dash feeling of good symphonic. The melody with expression of feelings while taking the element of the chamber is constructed. A tune advanced as the rhythm of the shuffle is multiused will have a complete symphonic and classic element.

"The Swan Is A Murderer Part 2" shifts from the part of Intro with the tension to the part with the dash feeling. The band expresses ensemble exactly in union. The processing of the song and the chorus is complete. There is a flavor of good Italian Rock.

"Oliver" makes the tension with a good melody of the guitar and the keyboard. The composition in which a complex melody and eight rhythms developed one after another are not felt is splendid. The dash feeling and the tension continue. And, the melody with the anacatesthesia that appears during the tune and the line of Bass expand the width of the tune. It is possible to listen to very original development that is. The part of the dash feeling and five rhythms visited again heads for the top.

As for "My Little Cloud Land", ensemble of the band is splendid. It is expressed as a part where a melody that gives the sense of relief and original development are given. The music character of "Yes" and "Gentle Giant" might be reminiscent. However, the listener is told the element of complete Italian Rock enough. The continuousness of a complex melody and the rhythm in technical respect has good composition power.

Generally, it is known well as a band to reach "Goblin". However, the music character that they had constructed showed a high technology with originality enough. It is likely to always belong to a valuable position as an album of the band only announced.

Cherry Five was a short-lived band that released a sole album: so far, nothing really special since this was the usual fate for most progressive bands in Italy (releasing 2 albums, at most). The extraordinary thing about Cherry Five is the set of circumstances that led to its inception ? it came out of the ashes of a previous act called Oliver, with keyboardist Claudio Simonetti and guitarist Massimo Morante joining forces with the other two musicians. But, before the Goblin era, all four went to England to audition vocalists, but eventually, the role was filled by yet another Italian person who had had his own progressive past as a member of L'Uovo di Colombo. So, the album "Cherry Five" was recorded in 1974, but post-production stopped while the band was negotiating the recording contract, so the album wasn't released until 1976, when a slightly altered line-up of the instrumentalists was already paving a firm career as Goblin. The released album was labeled under an invented name and with scarce information that omitted any mention of Goblin musicians. So, what about the music itself? Let me tell you that this band is one of the least Italian-sounding bands from this progressively prolific country ? their nuclear sound is more oriented to early Yes and, perhaps, Flash, translating their dynamics into the sort of stylish extroversion that was so common among the greater bands from the proto-prog era (Beggar's Opera, The Nice to a certain degree). At times, the instrumental excursions may also remind us of the aforementioned L'Uovo di Colombo, although it is true that the Cherry Five guys deliver a higher degree of energy and a more polished compositional creativity. The opener 'County grave-yard' bears a catchy drive, with a punchy rhythm scheme and guitar arpeggios complemented by electric piano syncopations. The organ and piano solos that emerge later on help to preserve the recurrent power, as do the effective bass guitar flourishes (very Squire-esque, indeed). . 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' starts on a very bucolic mode, with magical acoustic guitar phrases and mellotron layers, until the main body settles in and installs a specific sense of typical Yes-like flamboyance. The album's first half ends with Part 1 of 'The Swan Is a Murderer', which keeps on bringing business as usual ? stylish composition, tasteful arrangements, enthusiastic dynamics in the performances. This part ends with a musical box, ghostly whispers and a wild wind, fading out until it is taken back for Part 2. in this second part, the main musical ideas are taken to an enhanced sophistication, in this way completing the bombastic ambience that had been so explicit until now. All in all, the album's absolute gen has to be 'Oliver', 91/2 minutes of pure progressive joy. Influences from (the ever-present) Yes, ELP and Gracious! are easy to notice in the rockier moments, albeit not being overwhelming either. On the other hand, the more relaxed passages bring some of that Mediterranean sensibility that overall has forged that special essence of Italian symphonic progressive rock. A gem, indeed. 'My Little Cloud Land' wraps things up with a slightly lesser degree of intensity than on the preceding songs, but the bass interventions and synth solos are featured items through the track's development and variations. The piano coda and the gunshot sound emphasize the song's dramatic intentionality. So, this is "Cherry Five" as a whole, an efficient, effective piece of symphonic prog that deserves proper recognition from prog collectors everywhere: it may not be totally excellent, but it is much more than just good.