THE STORY OF I

This is one of the very best solo efforts to be released during the hiatus between Relayer and Going for the One, masterfully crafted and solidly elaborated throughout its inherent diversity. This was also the solo effort that was released last, which came out ot be the relevant reason for Moraz not being present at the GFTO sessions. Another Yes collateral gem from that era is Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water, in which the bass player decided to further the symphonic side of his musical vision with some hints to The Beatles and jazz-rock. In comparison, Moraz's The Story of I delivers a wider sonic spectrum that comprises symphonic prog, jazz-fusion (heavily based on Brazil's carioca folklore), chamber music, AOR and spacey ambiences (mostly based on abundant cosmic nuances on mellotron and synth). One major factor in the isntrumentation is the featured presence of grand piano: Moraz didn't really have much room for this particular keyboard in the Relayer album, let alone display his love for classical music (Baroque and Romanticism). In this album he does both things in many passages. The fact that the repertoire is linked is explained by it being a concept-labum revolving around a theme of love, rebellion and afterlife redemption in a futuriscit tyranny. The album kicks off with a powerful intro organized around two poles: the keyboard layers and the percussion section. This one fluidly leads to the first track with vocals, a very dynamic and catchy jazz-rock piece. Moraz is so vversatile that he feels really comfortable delivering his Corea-inspired Moog phrases among the guitar adornments and singers. The synthesized explosion of 'The Storm' is an effective bridge toward 'Cachaca', which happens to be the most explicit homage (not the only one) to carioca festival music. The easy-going, simplistic colorfulness of this piece is succeeded by a pair of more solemn, academic tracks. First, 'Intermezzo' brings a beautiful dose of Baroque airs with a noticeable addition of Flamenco-inspired adornments; the dual female vocals are just captivating. Then, after the climax gets really loud, comes 'Indoors', which expands the symphonic prog journey all the way. Side A ends with the first ballad 'Best Years of Our Lives', a moment of soft meditation, with featured piano and soft ornaments on synthesizer. The pair of 'Descent' and 'Incantation' brings an attractive mixture of symphonic prog and jazz-fusion, including yet another excerpt of Brazilian percussions. Tracks 10 and 12 (the former, a jazz-pop mid-tempo, the latter, an AOR ballad) bring more of the accessible side of this album, yet with a distinctive touch of elegance that make them stand above the standard of merely commercial rock. Sandwiched between the two is 'Impressions', a lovely piano interlude forged in a late-XIX Century fashion. 'Rise and Fall' is a very intense instrumental epic that retakes much of the musical power of 'Indoors', but also incorporating many jazz-rock textures and perucssion-dominated passages: something like a recapitulation of the band's three main elements. Very properly, the album ends on a cosmic tone - 3 minutes of sheer, slightly dense layers performed on mellotron and synth, as if Moraz had stopped looking at the sunny landscapes of Brazil and decided to look the other way at the atmospheres of German's electronic krautrock. The Story of I is an excellent prog item, indeed: this is Moraz at his most ambitious from a progressive standpoint. Later works will find him exploring other musical sources that won't be reviewed or analyzed here.