The Italian Prog Appreciation den

A breath of fresh Aria

Before taking the path of commercial success with songs like "Figli delle stelle" and "Tu sei l'unica donna per me", Alan Sorrenti wrote prog music. Have you ever listed to "Figli delle stelle"? If you are not italian, as I am, I think not. Well, I don't want to judge but ?. ehm? I don't like this song very much 'cause it's nothing more or less than 70's disco / 80's pop or something.

So imagine my surprise when I learned that Alan Sorrenti had to his credit a couple of prog album! And now imagine my surprise when hearing "Aria" the first time I realized it was a very good album. And when, at the second hearing, I thought that the title track suite was a masterpiece. Today I listened to this record probably at least thirty times and I can safely say that Aria is my favorite suite of Italian prog with Banco's "Il Giardino del Mago".

A delicate guitar arpeggio introduces "Aria", the suite of nearly 20 minutes which is the highlight of the record. The voice of Sorrenti is soft initially but soon, when the music becomes more frantic, it turns and becomes rougher, and more intense and dramatic tones emerge suddendly, in a style very close to Peter Hammill. Acoustic moments alternated instrumental crescendo with typically Mediterranean percussion style and great demonstrations of virtuosity of Jean Luc Ponty on the violin. Note that the keyboards do not have large space in favor of other instruments much closer to latin tradition. The lyrics seem to be related to a mental trip, a dream or something, until the final part of the song, where is a sudden return to reality: "Attraverso i vetri della mia stanza io guardo fuori, e fuori piove / e nelle gocce sospese alla ringhiera vedo le perle della tua corona / Aria, in ogni angolo della mia stanza io ti sto cercando / Aria, sull'asfalto bagnato della mia strada io ti sto inseguendo e tu ti stai sciogliendo / Aria, io sento che ti sto perdendo" ("Through the windows of my room I look outside and outside it's raining / In drops hanging from the railing I see the gems of your crown / Air, in every corner of my room I'm looking for you / Air, on the wet om my street I'm chasing you and you're melting / Air, I feel that I'm losing you").

The second track, "Vorrei Incontrarti" is a delicate acoustic ballad, much more simple and melodic, very relaxing and beautiful. The final two song are more complex: "La Mia Mente", with a lot of piano and mellotron parts, reminds me the Hammill style quite clearly and so well the final track "Un Fiume Tranquillo", that stands out for its large use of wind instruments. In conclusion a great album that will appeal to fans of ethnic and folk prog, maybe a little less to fans of symphonic prog and other groups of the 70's italian scene, too much oriented towards a music dominated by keyboards.

A masterpiece of italian prog: 4,5 stars but.....yes, after many hearing (and you need a lot of hearing to understand this work), I think 5 stars.

P.S. For VDGG fans only: If you want to hear the "italian answer to Peter".... what are you waiting for?

"Clowns" is a classic RPI album from 1973 and the final studio album from the band.For most the vocals will be the "make" or "break" factor.Yes his voice has character but it's not for everyone.Instrumentally there's no question that this band was abundantly talented. "Clessidra" opens with some atmosphere as dissonant horns then a beat arrives.A full sound follows.Guitar to the fore before 2 minutes then it settles with vocals before picking back up quickly.This is great ! The organ is prominent here too. "Un'isola" opens with reserved vocals and this has such a classic RPI sound to it.It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes but the tempo continues to shift back and forth until before 2 1/2 minutes when it kicks in with vocals.It settles back before 7 1/2 minutes as reserved vocals return as that intro sound is reprised.So good. "Il Giardino Dei Sogni" is the first track where the vocals get theatrical and therefore difficult to digest.It's building and then we get contrasts between the mellow and more powerful sections.Some nice guitar 2 1/2 minutes in.Great sound before 4 1/2 minutes with the vocals and organ standing out. "Clown" opens with organ,bass and drums as we get a good solid sound.The piano replaces the organ.The vocals before 1 1/2 minutes are passionate.Guitar to the fore after 3 minutes.A calm 6 minutes in then it builds.Strings too.Sax and a jazzy vibe take over 7 1/2 minutes in then it kicks in after 8 1/2 minutes.Vocals after 9 minutes with guitar. "Una Vita Nuova" is pastoral with fragile vocals to start.The vocals stop as piano and a fuller sound arrive before 3 minutes.Horns 5 minutes in to end it. I was surprised at how good this was,i'd heard about the vocals and so was prepared but like i said earlier i would describe them as having character and they're entertaining as well.Excellent album !