JUMBO

This band is a case apart in the Italian prog music. They embrace several genres which are highlighted in their third album, more than ever before.

They play a complex heavy prog combined with a most delicate symphonic influence: the flute play is an exquisite way to achieve this great mix ("Specchio"). Still, I have never been quite a fan of their lead singer, whose voice is quite disturbing to my taste.

As lots of Italian band from the golden era, there are some jazz elements which pepper some tracks from this album. It is not dominant though, and can be easily digested ("Come Vorrei?"). Song writing is complex and there are lots of different sections in this relatively short track. Drumming is wild and excellent during the second half of this very good song.

The short "Il Retorno?" offers some tranquillity and allows to breathe somewhat. My perception of the band is that they were improving after each album and that this one is their best achievement. It is a bit sad that no follow up work was released after this one.

I guess that the type of music played was rather difficult to access: a song as "Via Larga" groups again some nice Italian symphonic elements mixed with beautiful and Trespass- esque portions but the experimental start is quite challenging. The challenge is even more difficult to overcome during "Gil" which mixes scary passages, Oriental influences, loose and almost experimental middle section as well as tribal sounds (percussions). Quite a ride indeed!

The music performed is rather on the weird side for most of the time. Close to the eclectic genre by its complexity and diversity. Not easy to apprehend. "Vangelo" features all these characteristics: soft and melodic, wild and powerful. All this in less than six minutes.

There is some fine music played on "Vietato?" of which the psychedelic "40 Gradi" is my fave. The roughness of Alvaro Fella's voice is less on the front line and offers some delicate work. I have to admit that I far much prefer this style, but it won't be too much present in the course of this album. The chaotic end confirms my perception.

The whole sounds too much adventurous, avant-garde at times. Three stars (seven out of ten).

The debut album from the band was not really exciting as far as I'm concerned. Heavy and blues oriented music sung in Italian. Big deal?

The epic "Suite Per Il Sig" opens more promisingly, at least if ISP is your cup of tea, as it is mine. The introduction is sweet, full of sentimentalism thanks to a moving instrumental part.

It would be unfair not to mention the average and rough vocals from the lead man in charge: Alvaro Fella. I really don't like his timber of voice (it was already a comment of mine for their debut album). He sounds as if one would nail him to the cross while performing.

There are an awful lot of Tull related passages during this long song (almost twenty-one minutes). These are my fave even if not very original. There are also some heavier moments which are the occasion for the guitar to soar and for the organ to pump. This song is really great as long as it remains instrumental (which is mostly the case, fortunately) and is a definite four stars.

I can't be as laudatory about the remaining three tracks: vocals are still painful (believe me) and the song writing is quite thin. Neither the rock "Miss Rand" nor the acoustic and sentimental "E' Brutto?" which sounds not too bad, given the circumstances?

The jazzy "Hai Visto" features some fine and heavy organ for brief moments, and the flute work is quite melodic. But again, vocals are quite disturbing.

I belong to the one third of reviewers who believes that this album is a good one and not to the third that thinks it this is a masterpiece.

This album holds several fully heavy blues oriented songs and apart the fact that the language used for the vocals is Italian, this album doesn't share a lot to the genre I love quite a lot (ISP). It is true that in the meantime, a new category has been inaugurated and hold anything with an Italian name.

I don't like this album very much. It features little songs of interest ("Dio E" maybe). Vocals are quite difficult to bear: mostly screams instead of true sung passages (at least during the first side of the vinyl album). Some Tull influences are definite, yes, it is true. But not as many as would have liked.

The second part of this record is better though. After the good "Dio E", the pleasant "Amore Sono Qua" brings some Italian emotion I was quite missing so far. The third good track in a row is being achieved with a more delicate, folkish "La Strada?".At least during the first part of the song, since the closing module reverts us back into a heavy-bluesy affair.

The delicate but short "Ho Visto Piangere" closes this average album on a fine note. Still, I can't go above two stars to rate this album (five out of ten probably).

Not to be missed, bluesy-prog fans

Strange. Usually when a band presents two sides of itself I will enjoy the more elaborate, the more "out there" work. This time it doesn't hold true. While Jumbo's final classic- era recording is rated slightly higher, it is their 2nd album, the gripping "DNA", which I find to be their masterpiece. Direct and raw with a nice balancing of contrasting sounds and cohesive themes. Nothing but pure human emotion, graced by melancholic acoustic beauty on one hand and charged with a raw bluesy power on the other. Atop these two dynamic legs you have the gut wrenching vocals of Mr. Jumbo himself. Sans the attempts at sophistication that the next album brought, there is only the pure magic here. Jumbo is one of RPI's first tier bands who actually managed to record more than one album and they are certainly one of the best in my opinion.

"DNA" was recorded in just one week, so typical of the time and place, and proof that the old Italian bands could use pressure to create more magic in days than today's stars can manage in months, with their budgets, tour riders, and computers. It is true that the second side of this album does not quite rise to the level of the side-long masterpiece suite of the first, but it is still good. Side one's "Suite per il Sig. K" is just phenomenal in its simplicity, passion, and connection to something inside. It combines bold and forceful piano with delicate and melodic flute play, backed by sprightly acoustic play and jamming electric rock guitar. The electric has a tortured fuzzed-up distortion that manages to rival Alvaro's grizzly bear roar. Throw in the occasional organ textures and you've got it made. As with "Thick as a Brick," to who's fans I highly recommend this baby brother of an album, the piece alternates between extremes and features a good composition. While perhaps not as fancy as "Thick" or polished as some of its more elegant Italian peers, Jumbo makes up by pushing harder. This album combines the raucous energy of Flea's "Topi o Uomini" with the stunning authenticity of the Grateful Dead's seminal "American Beauty." Different style than the latter of course, I'm talking about feelings and impressions here. Scented Gardens correctly notes DNA as combining "heavy progressive and blues-rock with classical references." There's no need for me to bring out the charts and graphs here, this album is the real damn deal. Just one more home run for 1972.

Get the BTF gatefold mini-lp sleeve CD edition for great sound and a nice booklet.

3.5 stars actually...

A significant reference for Italian progressive rock,JUMBO were formed in 1969 in Milan,named after the nickname of their leader singer/keyboardist/guitarist Alvaro Fella.They debuted with two singles in 1970,while their first full-length release came out in 1972 with their self-titled debut on Phillips,often regarded as a solo release of Fella and based heavily on acoustic instrumentation with only traces of the band's later sound.''DNA'',their sophomore release,came out the same year, this time with a rockier and more aggresive sound and great musicianship.

Side A is exclusively covered by the 20-min. epic ''Suite per il Sig.K'', a track deeped into changing rhythms and tempos.Led by the harsh,raw yet expressive vocals of Fella,JUMBO offer improvisational flutes,bluesy passages,psychedelic guitars,sensitive piano parts,some harmonica here and there and dominating Hammond organ in a composition listed among the best long tracks created by an Italian band.Side B starts from where the first track stopped.''Miss Rand'' is a decent composition with fantastic guitar work,pleasant piano,nice flutes and a bluesy feeling overall.The following and quite mellow ''E bruto sentiri...'' is very close to ''Trespass''-era GENESIS with nice acoustic guitars and beautiful flutes wrapped unter a light symph mucisianship,while Fella sings in a more soft tempo.The album closes with ''Hai visto'',where JUMBO deliver a great middle-section with jazzy influences,based on the tight rhythm section and the groovy piano,but the track closes with the vocals of Fella on front,a heavy amount of organ,the appropriate flutes and some sensitive acoustic instrumentation.

For fans of JETHRO TULL,this is definitely a masterpiece,I tell you!For the rest of the prog fans,I think it is a really very good album.Another great release coming out of Italy's best prog period.Recommended!

— First review of this album —

This DVD features a short documentary about the history of the band. Alvaro Fella, Daniele Bianchini and Aldo Gargano talk about the beginnings of "Jumbo's adventure" and the Italian prog rock scene of the early seventies while some excerpts from "DNA" and "Vietato ai minori di 18 anni?" are in the background (the dialogs are in Italian with English subtitles). You can see also many old pictures that can give you an idea of the "halcyon days" of the band. An unplugged version of "La strada porta al fiume", from Jumbo's debut album closes the first part of the DVD.

The second part features some live excerpts from a concert in 1995. Many tracks are taken from the most recent albums ("Folle corsa", "La mia vita", "Bella & finta", "Metropolis" and "Lakota"). Nothing special indeed, although the final track, a long and original version of "Suite per il sig. K." is absolutely worth listen to.

The DVD ends with some short excerpts from a live performance in Paris in 1990. The Paris concert should be released on a future DVD although the quality of the videos taken from that show that you can see here are very far from perfect...

The booklet and the packaging are poor: no photographs and the biography of the band by Augusto Croce is taken from Italianprog.com website... So, on the whole I found this DVD interesting but a little bit disappointing.

01. Specchio The voice is the differential (90% of the Italian vocal are good), with Alvaro Fella is no different. The band has brought a calm environment / medium strong and full voice yelled in lungs is a hit. Full of breaks and rhythms for guitar and tape (laughs). Several interpretations of variants with flute and guitar and bass. Forward means of a mess of guitars in a fast pace of the band, almost a progressive speed (more laughter). Pianos links melodies for violins and dreams. And much violin and piano. But it is the voice that surprised even to the end.

02. Come Vorrei Essere Uguale A Te A start light and folk. Delay until you get used to hearing with the small volume of sound. When the man takes the same bassist Aldo Gargano is a show that the destructive line. The pianos of Samuel Conte always present. And in the band a series of blows, which I am not sure whether or synthesizers are blows, I think the mayor is right the second.

03. Il Ritorno Del Signor K More calm, a folk guitar and the piano. This time the vocals are more relaxed for the instrumental track. At the end of the song surprise, 78!

04. Via Larga Seems like a Cartoon, maybe to illustrate the cover of the disc! Guitars well and good interpretations drawn from the battery Vito Balzan. The whole band singing a piece of cartoon together. Several Jasons keyboards as Celeste, typical design.

05. Gil Ballad of guitar and vocal and interpretive. Full details of the guitar, and a good keyboard solo in almost over. This is where the band enters a crazy time doing super-broken and full of details, Pupo Bianchini of the guitars are always well boladas and rings. After a very crazy last part quiet and pensive.

06. Vangelo? Full of percussions, everywhere sounds of some kind of percussion, keys and many lost some blows. Many parts in a different time broken, and many quebradeira everywhere. Until a few bells lost the road. A good jazz guitar takes care of the environment while the guitar is based. But what is crazy is the head of the quasi-jazz crazy full of details.

07. 40 Gradi The various' barulinhos' start so bland. Line bottom excellent! Many guitars. Of course, many of the great voice of Alvaro. Another highlight is the guitar than the drums, very well placed in all the details of music, including percussion. A beautiful melody in the middle front. A climate and space, with a sax lost here and there.

08. No! In the continuation of 40 Grade dedilado opens up a guitar and the song, right there in the background keyboards, flutes and intersections are low is a clear line of jazz / cool. When you enter the voice is almost a tirade, a speech. Soy soy against government, or something. To eliminate many flutes and guitars fade in out.

You know what? What good disc! Full of details and a sensational voice.

Source: www.progshine.com

3.5 stars.Good album but i much prefer the one to follow "Vietato Ai Minori Di 18 Anni?",it just seems more electric and dynamic to me. Certainly the highlight is "Suite Per Il Sig.K" the side long suite at over 20 minutes.I like the way certain themes are repeated throughout.A piano intro is followed up a minute in by acoustic guitar and flute.A full sound begins 2 1/2 minutes in as organ,guitar,drums are joined by vocals 3 minutes in.Harmonica a minute later is followed by an excellent raw guitar solo.More vocals and harmonica 6 1/2 minutes in.A beautiful passage of flute and piano before 8 minutes followed by a nice heavy sound.A flute solo 9 minutes in.Another full sound comes in a little after that.More harmonica after 12 minutes and a wonderful electric guitar solo.Nice.A pastoral section follows 14 minutes in.Check out the organ 15 1/2 minutes in! More vocals,guitar and piano to end it.A nice journey. "Miss Rand" has an uptempo intro before it quickly calms down.Harmonica and vocals are joined by piano in this catchy passage.Flute 2 1/2 minutes in, followed by some scorching guitar 3 minutes in.It calms down again before an uptempo ending. "E'Brutto Sentirsi Vecchi" is a mellow song with reserved vocals.Piano comes in.Flute before 4 minutes. "Hai Visto..." features some nice organ early followed by piano.Vocals 4 1/2 minutes in.Flute 6 minutes in followed by a pastoral section to end it. I can't in good conscience give this 4 stars.It is enjoyable, but it lacks that fire i love on their next record.

With all the complaints i've read about the singers vocals i'm surprised there wasn't a warning label about it on the cd cover.As Finnforest mentions in his review,at least "the guy has a pulse".I found this to be a bit of a grower,and it's still growing.Haha.This has truly become one of my favourite Italian records.Excellent flute,organ and guitar throughout.Yes,the vocals can be harsh but they are also reserved a lot of the time.Oh,i almost forgot about the mellotron on three of the tracks.Nice.I love the picture of the band in the liner notes.The seventies were a special time. "Specchio" features a good contrast between the aggressive and mellow sections.The vocals hit you right away like a pale of cold water in the face, with the usual response being "What the ..." Hammond organ followed by some fine guitar play 2 minutes in.Flute and more organ follow.The guitar is back 4 minutes in just ripping it up.Violin after 5 minutes with piano.The rough vocals return before the song ends with organ. "Come Vorrei Essere Uguale A Te" opens with a distant sounding piano which gives way to acoustic guitar then electric guitar and reserved vocals.It kicks into gear 3 minutes in with fast paced drumming and sax blasts as the organ rides shotgun. "Il Ritorno Del Signor K" is a 2 minute track that features piano,acoustic guitar and vocals. "Via Larga" opens with a collage of different intricate sounds all blending together perfectly like an early PRESENT album.Vocal melodies arrive before the song stops and returns with a pastoral section with flute leading the way.Retstrained vocals with some violin and acoustic guitar a minute later. "Gil" is an experimental song with some mellotron after 2 minutes.The vocals are experimental too.I like this one.The percussion 5 1/2 minutes in to the end is cool. "Vangelio ?" has some atmosphere to it.Church bells and haunting vocals will do that.We get a melody 3 1/2 minutes in with vocals.Some nice piano as drums come pounding in.Guitar tears it up for a while.Flute and piano to end the crazy ride. I love the sound in "40 Gradi" once it gets going about 1 1/2 minutes in.It reminds me of ANEKDOTEN.This is my favourite track.It gets fairly atmospheric after 4 minutes.Mellotron waves crash the soundscape with sax in tow after 5 minutes. "No!" features theatrical vocals,mellotron,heavy drums,organ and flute. I'm a bigger fan of the second half of this album than the first half,but to me this is easily a 4 star record,perhaps closer to 4.5 stars.

Another Italian classic from that greatest of years, 1973.

If you want to find the most intriguing Italian stuff, you have to dig beyond the surface of the PFM/Banco/Orme albums and find the hidden gems. Nothing against the big groups but as with anything, there are lots of great lesser known albums that feature treasures of their own, and they sometimes take more chances. Here's one of those delicious lesser known treats.

This is one those bands that gets maligned for having "harsh Italian vocals" which makes me laugh because this usually means the vocals are passionate, energetic and gregarious. In other words, the guy has a pulse. I've heard Alvaro Fella described as sounding like Roger Chapman, and Jumbo described as being somewhat difficult to get into. They have a harder edge that compares to bands like Jet and De De Lind but they also have a more avant side than those two groups. Will you like them? Here's another way I can describe them:

Jumbo sounds like the Italian version of Ange! If you like Christian Decamps boisterous spirit and the bands rowdy theatrical sound you will love Jumbo. They are over-the-top sometimes but this music is lively, fun, and interesting despite the somewhat dark lyrical content. A special mention goes to drummer Tullio Gianatello who is nothing short of fantastic.

"Specchio" explodes immediately with Fella's big welcoming hug voice and right off the bat we have squealy electric acid guitars, acoustic, organ, flute, good audible bass and drums. At 5 minutes a nice break of piano and violin. "Come Verai" starts with some playful piano and chants before a nice guitar solo. The song gets more rocking as it goes with some horns towards the end. "Il Ritorno" is a strange short interlude that sounds like a Pierrot Lunaire "Gudrun" cut. "Via Larga" continues the strangeness with flute and horns and quirky guitars. At 1:20 there's a wonderful moment where the boys sing like a drunken gang in a pub, fa la la la..then there's a quiet flute interlude. A vocal section follows with more impressive instrumental work. "Gil" is another trippy avant piece with Fella singing over all manner of unstructured weirdness and hand drums. "Vangelo" has a distinct Tullish feel to it, a bit folky with some acid guitar and flute in the latter half. "40 Gradi" is a good heavy psych rock tune that feature prominent keyboards and acoustic guitar in the background, with a Robby Krieger-like sound on the lead guitar. We close with a brief piece called "No!" in which everyone gets in one last exuberant jam. If you need one more reason to try Jumbo consider this: Our own Sean Trane gave it 5 stars and you know he doesn't pass those out too freely. The excellent Italian gatefold mini-LP sleeve cd reissue is of the highest quality and the booklet contains a band history, lyrics, and band photo. Essential to an Italian collection, but I'd say 3.5 stars for the broader site.