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tszirmay Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
Le Orme are finally back and just like PFM, they realized that poppier stuff just won't cut it anymore
and that a return to their progressive roots is where their future lies. I guess it's true, the old cliché: as
you enter the golden age, the loop tightens and we return to our childhood. The move back started
with "Il Fiume" and then with "Elementi", each "progressively" better and more focused than ever.
2004's "L'Infinito" has Le Orme purring on all cylinders with all the hallmarks of a once glorious history,
with all the elements that are specific to this storied band: Aldo Tagliapietra's lush voice, arguably one
of the finest in Italy and Miki Dei Rossi massive drumming style, as well as bringing new techniques
with a dual keyboard approach, including the "Alien", a guitar simulator that sounds just like an electric
6 string sizzling machine! As usual with this band, the songs just flow from one into another as if one
long extended piece. The opening instrumental lays down the keyboarded carpet with waves of
synthesizer and organ, propelled by that fierce and immediately recognizable drumming. The boys
don't mess around as the next opus "La Voce del Silenzio" is sheer harmonious beauty, a gentle
pastoral setting with some iridescent crescendos, the Alien kicking in some ivoried lead guitar that just
hurls the passion forward, undaunted. An organ propelled romp keeps things on edge, until the title
piece kicks in, the overtly symphonic "L'Infinito" has some purist classical tendencies which are most
appealing, a luxuriant string quartet cattily playing with the arrangement until some mellotronish mist
announces another gut wrenching vocal plea. Just like in the good old "Felona "days, there is a nearly
operatic feel to the proceedings that no one can really cop. A fabulous harpsichord leads the most
baroque of melodies, the breathtaking "Si Puo' Immaginare", featuring a soaring vocalization that will
leave anyone speechless, further compounded by a sweeping synth passage, a searing violin solo
courtesy of second keysman Andrea Bassato and a funky MB3 self-made custom organ solo by Michele
Bon. Buon Giorno, Maestri! "Il Tempio sul Lago" is a Wakemanesque piano etude that evokes a bucolic
temple by the lakeside, elegant and ardent at the same time, complemented with some detailed
orchestrations. The aptly titled "Canto" is just a pristine song with assorted effects and Aldo singing his
heart out, the Alien making another otherworldly foray into fretdom, bluesing and bruising with
unreserved abandon. The trademark Tagliapietra sitar makes an impromptu appearance on "La Ruota
del Cielo", ushering in some heavenly fragility, a playful ditty that suggests a distinct sense of joy and
serenity. The sitar and the violin conspire to trade some licks and the result is sheer splendor. "Tra la
Luna e Il Sole" is an additional impassioned melody that erupts with impunity, funky organ and swirling
synths combining in elevating this piece to lofty heights, with a tender return to chorus finale. A brief
keyboard-heavy instrumental gambol, including an extra terrestrial keyguit howl, shepherds in the title
reprise, an ultra romantic expression of the power of the infinite. 4 Infinite footprints . After such a long time, proof that prog is like a box of chocolates...
tszirmay |4/5 |
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