UOMO DI PEZZA

EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER's influence in progressive rock is undeniable, and they touched young musicians across the globe during their heyday to the present. Many followed the bombastic and technically brilliant keyboards of Keith Emerson, sometimes to the point of blatant idolatry. Those that moved beyond mimicry did so by infusing Emerson's teachings with their own vision of the classic inspiration, and, of these, LE ORME were arguably the prime exponents. Allowing for the fact that they were a also a trio in which the bass player sang and occasionally doubled as guitarist, LE ORME not only stood out from the imitators but from the masters themselves with their warm romantic vision, something rarely hinted at by ELP, and first brought to bear on "Uomo Di Pezza".

While Toni Pagliuca's organs dominate from the outset in "Una Delcezza Nuova" and elsewhere, sometimes to a fault as in "Alienazione", his synthesizers in "La Porta Chiusa" are just as impressive and enthusiastic. Aldo Tagliapietra's voice is both assertive and soothing, and his frequently wrought acoustic guitar and bass, and Michi Dei Rossi's drums lay a formidable groundwork for the rich melodies throughout, perhaps the best of these being on "Figure Di Cartone", which also includes Aldo's trademark acoustic guitar. Le Orme could wax reflective too, as in the profoundly expectant "Aspettando l'Alba", which needs to be heard with headphones for full effect. The most romantic and playful number is "Gloco Di Bimba", which sounds like it could have been rendered as a courtly dance 400 or 500 years ago, sans electronica.

Whereas early PFM could be too moody for my tastes, and I could never quite get BANCO, LE ORME, on several albums including this one, seems "just right", and is recommended as a starting point for those wanting to explore the RPI of the 1970s.