IL PAESE DEI BALOCCHI

"Il Paese Dei Balocchi" name is a reference to "the fictional location in the Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) that is disguised as a haven of freedom and anarchy for boys and occasionally girls, but is eventually discovered to be far more sinister" (Wiki). The Italian progressive rock band of the same name dedicated its debut album to tell part of this story.

PDB's album is not an easy one to swallow when you listen to it for the first time. It took me some 4 to 5 times to really capture its essence. It's very unorthodox if we compare it with other Progressive Rock Bands. Its tracks are very sentimental, melancholic, very silent and with an interesting sense of mystery, like spirits singing silently in desert halls such as in the track "Impotenza dell'ulmitá e della rassegnazione", being interrupted by prog rock style guitars, drums and organs. This whole atmosphere has an explanation.

In an interesting interview to Italianprog.com, the guitarist Fabio Fabiani exemplifies the whole essence of the album.

"The main themes in our LP were very pessimistic, because in those years we didn't trust the official institutions, and we were nauseated and obsessed by everything that was around us (Vietnam, politics, false respectability, ...) where the questions were so many, and with no convincing answers. All these things did spiritually inspire us in the making of our LP, just searching for.... the answers."

It's an odd and very interesting album, a nice addition to any prog rock collection.

Lowlights: Very silent tracks sometimes spoil the listening experience due to bad mixing quality. Highlights: Wonderful orchestral tracks and innovative approaches to music. Overall Rating for the Album: 4/5 Overall Rating for the pressing quality: 4/5 (Vinyl, LP, Label - K22P-244) Vinyl (used for this review) Quality Grade: Very Good (K22P-244)

This review is based after listening to the band's record Vinyl Label Ref: (K22P-244)

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