FRANCK CARDUCCI

Franck Carducci is natural born french multi instrumentalist , moved to Holland later on and having released thier first album named Oddity in 2011. IN 2015 was time for a second release - Torn apart. Well, this second album is the best from the two so far, I like what I've heared here, for example opening title track is a near 11 min clever , catchy tribute to the '70s prog rock, to me the best track of the album. Overall the album is a cross between heavy prog a la Uriah Heep, some symphonic passages a la Genesis , some neo a la IQ, lots of keyboards, changing moods and tempus, like the voice on this one a lot, nice guitar parts aswell. Steve Hackett is guesting on Closer to Irreversible, a nice tune. Even Franck Carducci got some rave reviews across the years with his two albums, he remaining relatively unknown to prog rock public, wonder why. To me this second album aswell like the debut are good, with a plus on Torn apart, who I find it enjoyble from start to finish. 3.5 stars, I like the art work aswell

Basically you can considered ''Oddity'' as the perfect definition of a modern Neo/Xover Prog album, which opens some branches to more symphonic territories, is often flavored by clever Art Pop vibes and at moments comes quite close to the sound of Carducci's heroes PINK FLOYD.But the overall atmosphere, the stylistical variety and the electroacoustic switches come closer to what STEVE HACKETT was producing in late-70's, some sort of pre-Neo Prog fashion with evident hints to the symphonic bands of the 70's and a certain eye to the future.What sets him apart though is the fact he decided to put some effort on long, multi-themed tracks instead of delivering shorter and more accesible pieces.Of course his music is filled with elaborate melodies and cathartic acoustic textures, but there are also lots of bombastic sections, epic atmospheres and symphonic grandieur to be found.Blending PINK FLOYD and IQ would make a pretty accurate result.Carducci's compositions are not outstanding or original, his Prog idols apparently inspired him to more than an average deegree, but his material is well-crafted and perfectly balanced with the old stylings (vintage-sounding organs) meeting modern fashion (synthesizers).Nonetheless the songs are pretty enjoyable with countless twists and variations and a decent prog depth.

A modern version of a young STEVE HACKETT in my opinion.Blend of Symphonic Rock, Neo Prog and Art Rock in equal doses and executed in lovely, long arrangements.Recommended.

This multi-instrumentalist is Franck Carducci, who sings, plays bass, organ, keyboard, mellotron and guitar - and composes his own music. The album is Torn Apart, a 65 minute journey through the world inside Carducci's head - and as on most journey through unknown territory, there is room for joy, surprise and in some places also disappointment - but in the end the feeling of having arrived.

The journey starts at full energy with a keyboard and guitar driven opening for the title track Torn Apart. After the drums and the organ comes in, the 70s, slightly high pitched rock voice of Carducci starts telling us about a character getting stuck in life, and apparently losing his or her lover at some point. The song is short, lyrics wise, but since this opener is 10 minutes long, there's enough room for an instrumental part that first covers every instrument and chord that Uriah Heep and Deep Purple have ever used, until everything quiets down and a whistle like sound (is this your mellotron, Franck?) sets in a tune that resembles You Can't Always Get What You Want. This lasts for a bit (a bit too long for me actually), before leading back to an almost Rush-like instrumental part until the vocals come back in to continue the story, in a more dramatic tone this time. After the final verse, guitar and organ take turns playing good old classic rock solos to build a nice climax to the track.

The follow up track Closer to Irreversible starts a lot quieter, as a rock ballad, but soon the bass, organ and mellotron make it into something far from standard. After the first vocal part, Steve Hackett gets to show what he does with a guitar nowadays. The result is a solo that starts relatively melodic, but builds up into something fuller and faster, with additional effects near the end. After that, the track goes back to the ballad mood from te beginning, but with more room for guitar and organ. A track that has bits of 70s rock in it, but also modern guitar work and some Pendragon and IQ resemblances.

Journey Through the Mind then starts with a rocky, keyboard heavy intro, that immediately brings to mind a Styx song - and I'll leave it up to the listener to find out which one (I know, but I like to give you all a bit of brain exercise as well). After the intro, a flute takes over, and then acoustic guitar and flute accompany the first verses. Vocals here are slightly less raw than on Torn Apart. Later on the organ wailing under the vocals reminds me of Bootcut, a side project of Beardfish keyboard player Rikard Sjöblom. Near the end we hear the Styx riff from the intro again, but the surprise of this track is the real ending - a full minute piece of tabla (a hindu drum) and sitar, which somehow fits but has nothing to do with the rest of the song.

The short piece (2 minutes) Articial Love, is full of Yes and Genesis influences, but with a modern touch. Funny bit is the guitar that at a certain point seems to sound like a violin, if ever so briefly.

After this, a longer part of the journey takes us through the 12 minute epic A Brief Tale of Time. The four pieces that form this composition are easily distinguishable. The first one, The Quest, is a dramatic piece, with high pitched vocals singing about a character on a journey toward its impossible, secrete love. The organ makes it grow fuller near the end, to introduce the second part Higher and Higher. Here, the organ disappears in favour of bass and acoustic guitar, while Yes like goals sing about the same character getting energy from its (answered?) love. However, suddenly the mood becomes darker and keyboards come in - giving a gloomy feeling, which is confirmed by the closing verse, which explains that the flight of love has taken a dangerous turn, tearing the lovers apart. This accompanied by a 'square' hard rock keyboard and guitar piece. A Genesis like guitar fades slowing into part three, 2078: Möbius Trip, which seems to be a time loop. This part consists mainly of electronic sounds and noises, possibly mimicking a time machine. A computer voice tells the character to go away and meet its destiny. When the noises stop, we are in part 4, Back to Reality, in which the character accompanied by the piano and Hacket like guitar tells us that 'nothing lasts forever but impossible love'.

If that is so, a Girlfriend for a Day may be a better idea. A rock ballad with piano and moog explains that. However, it's a short one, and when you feel the drums are taking you into the song - that is actually the end of it. Surprise!

Instead, Mr. Hyde & Dr. Jekyll take us into a real classic rock piece, with lovely guitar and bass work. The Jekyll-Hyde theme is reflected in the song, which consists of two rocking parts interleaved by two more laid back parts before the full blown hard rocking outro (note the organ and the bass doing their job more than brilliantly!!)

After that, the actual (but not real) closing track Artifical Paradise keeps us busy for another 14 minutes. Lyrics wise, it could have fit 3-4 minutes or less, so we're actually treated to a lot of instrumental work. There is a Genesis like piece with a melodic guitar (which for a second I though played the Phantom of the Opera tune) after the first verses, which then grows into a more full blown symphonic part. Then a short break with children's voices takes us to a Spirit of Radio like part, which then drops into a part where the guitar thinks about 'going Firth of Fifth'. The organ pushes it away however to make room for a ballad like part with piano and acoustic guitar that develops into the final verse. A 2 minute single note on the mellotron ends the track...

The only real disappointment on the album is the bonus track School, which is a lot like the original, but lacks it's power and energy. The reason is probably the fact that it's a bit slower than the original, and the vocals are a bit lower (and less piercing) than on the original Supertramp track. Maybe I like the original too much, but I wouldn't have regretted it if this track was not on the album.

Overall, also after listening to his debut Oddity, Franck Carducci has delivered a fine album. I hear a lot of influences from the past that may make it a bit old fashioned for some, but the great musical skills of Carducci and his many guest musicians make up for that and sound and production wise it is a fine, modern album. Give it a try, and if you like, tell others to do the same!

First of all, the guy is no newbie: I heard he´s been playing for over 20 years in several bands (none famous, as far as I know). Second, he decided to do it under none other than Steve Hackett´s suggestion (for whom he was opening at the time in Holland). So I guessed he: a) had a quite strong repertoire and b) he would be doing it in the melodic and tasteful tradition of most dutch artists. When I put the CD to play I was delighted to hear exactly that: fine crafted songs, a modern, but very organic production and surrounded by excellent musicians. One of the guests was SH´s brother, John on flute.

Carducci plays most instruments and sings all the tracks. His voice is not that great, but he does it with such passion and conviction you end up thinking that, if not great, he is at least the right person to sing them. the arrangements are very well done, and I specially liked the keyboards (lots of Hammond organ) and drum sound (a rare case when the right production and the right musicians meet). But of course nothing would work so well if he hadn´t come up with a bunch of real good songs. And that´s where Carducci´s power really lies: good, melodic, varied and full of energy set of songs. Ok, nothing´s new here. In fact his influences are easy to trace and he makes no secret of them: Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, krautrock, blues and country. In other words, late 60´s/early 70´s stuff. Yet it doesn´t sound dated nor too retro. It is original music inspired by his heroes.

Highlights are many. In fact, it´s hard to point out just one track, they are all quite different from each other. One of those records where different styles are in fine harmony and the CD always seem to be too short, even if it is over one hour of music. A good sign indeed. However, for the average prog fan the opener Achilles, an epic with almost 15 minutes of music (and John Hackett´s flute), is maybe the most appealing one. If you want to get a taste of what Carducci´s all about, go straight to this tune. He even goes as far as covering one fo Genesis most beautiful and well known songs: The Carpet Crawlers. A bold move where he succeeds in what most people fails: he kept the original feeling and melody while adding his own mark on it (I just loved the violin line on the chorus).

Conclusion: Oddity is a very strong debut in any way you look at it. Franck Carducci proves to be a talented and promising artist. I´m looking forward to hear his next works. Holland has geven us one more reason to just love this country!

Rating: something between 4 and 4.5 stars. Highly recommended!

Take for example first song [b]Achilles[/b]. Start with strong piano/guitar/percussion introduction (kicks right in the action type) and when bass joins in, Haken feeling is very eminent. Then all breaks up and quiets down, time for second in total, but first vocal intro that starts to tell a story. I like Ancient Greek myths (I like THAT VA compilation, you know which one) and the tale about mighty warrior speaks to me. Let's get back to the music - music, suddenly quiet is once again strengthening and meaning of these words gets intertwined with feeling I get from music. That's good. At nearly 5 minutes, clear keyboards joins and yet another chapter begins. Also, necessary melody eruption around 9:20. Not sure how to call it, nobody ever told me technical term. Don't worry, you will know when you hear it.

Now let's hold for a minute, I don't want this to become manual to songs on this album, describe one by one, minute by minute. But I'm sure you know get the idea how this song works.

[b]The Quind[/b] is humble piece and not that enjoyable for me (too weak - quick hint from Marty says that you should turn up volume, perhaps up to eleven). It has very interesting end, but it's only one minute out of nine. Weakest link of Carducci chain here. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot about [b]The Eyes of Age[/b]. Enjoyable indeed, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Would probably be hidden in the back of such drawer if that drawer was meant to be Prog one. Then we get [b]Alice's...[/b], which is basically Blues Rock with some Prog patterns thrown in (trying to be progressive Blues, length of it), but in the end it's Blues-Rock-a little bit of Prog hybrid. Interesting work though. [b]The Last Oddity[/b] is the kind of Genesis-like Prog that we heard before. It's interesting song, where you will feel familiar. Can be divided into three parts. Sometimes rather Rock song. Pleasant ending cover, [b]The Carpet Crawlers [/b] is beautiful one. On par with original version (singing jumps, sometimes better, sometimes worse).

Is it only coincidence that there is Genesis song The Carpet Crawlers and Hackett on one album ? Even it's not that Hackett. Nice cover art though.

4(-), while this is nice album, it's nothing like breakthrough release. I wish there were more songs like first one, so deep and complex, yet melodic. Others are rather average.

The main portion of Oddity consists of 4 lengthy tracks all around 10 minutes, and one shorter song in the middle. The majority of the instrumentation is taken by Carducci, playing guitar, keyboard, bass, and even the mandolin. He also sings all of the vocals on the main tracks, as well as harmonizing with himself. There are a handful of instruments played by guests, such as flute and violin, though they only appear on one track each.

The sound of the album is pretty folky, and usually acoustic. The atmosphere is generally calm and peaceful, but in the fourth track, Alice's Eerie Dream, it gets pretty loud and rocky. The piano gets about as much time as the guitar, and provides a few very nice moments. The vocals are sung in English, though they are accented. While there are only a handful of vocal highlights, the singing is generally pretty good. The lyrics deal with myth and fantasy, and are evocative of early Genesis days.

The songs, like the album as a whole, are fine, but rarely anything more. Apart from the first track, which also happens to be the longest, none of the other three long songs break out into very exciting territory. The opening number, however, is composed beautifully, and is the one to feature the flute. It makes you wish that Carducci composed for it on more songs, as it is the highlight of the entire album. The fact that it's John Hackett, which the album cover is very proud to show, doesn't matter too much. It seems more like a name drop, because the part, along with the violin section, could ostensibly be played by anybody. Nevertheless, they are used well, and I'm glad they're on the album, regardless of who is behind the instrument.

Unfortunately the remaining four tracks just don't reach the heights of the introduction. They are nice, and occasionally have their moments, but mostly just meander along until the final notes. The middle song, The Eyes of Age, is a shorter bout of some goofy fun with the violin and mandolin. Even though it's half as long as any other song, it ends up being more enjoyable than either of the two it's sandwiched between or the closer, which are fine, but nothing special.

The bonus material consists of a pretty faithful, but more modern sounding version of The Carpet Crawlers, from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and a shorter edit of Alice's Eerie Dream. The former is pretty good, and solidifies Genesis as one of Carducci's influences. The edit is not bad, and puts some of the best part of that song together, but it's nothing you'll take over the full version. These two songs are good, and it's nice to have more material, but they won't change anyone's mind about the album as a whole.

I think if Carducci had focused more on the long dynamic songs like Achilles, and the shorter songs like The Eyes of Age, this album would be a lot stronger. However, the weird middle ground of simple, yet long songs that take up the majority of the album aren't my favorite. Even with three songs that are only OK, Oddity ends up being a pretty good album, and I'm interested to see where the follow up will take Franck Carducci.

Probably you can mention the Alan Parsons Project for a comparison regarding this six sections here first and foremost - his charming voice convinces, John Hackett's flute nicely appears in between. Compositionally this is well thought out with changes in speed and mood - enjoyable even after repeated requests. With The Quind he begins to drift into mainstream fields then, a lovely folk ballad where I especially want to point out the organ ínput. Alice's Eerie Dream brings us back to the common rocking path, a blues based tune basically, still lacking of prog substance though.

Given with obvious Hackett reference The Last Oddity easily can compete with the quality of the 'Achilles' suite then. Balladesque apriori but livelier later on, when some 'Echoes' adapted jamming attitude comes up with fine organ and guitar interaction. While mixing up prog and mainstream textures Franck Carducci offers nice accessible songs on 'Oddity', some of them show real potential. A solid, technically skillful debut, worth a listen.