CARNASCIALIA

A one-off of world folk music from a group of Milan-area musicians--a project that might have produced more were it not for the untimely and tragic death of Demetrio Stratos later the same year. Line-up / Musicians: - Pasquale Minieri (CANZONIERE DEL LAZIO, MAURO PAGANI) / acoustic & electric basses, vocals, co-producer - Giorgio Vivaldi (CANZONIERE DEL LAZIO, MAURO PAGANI) / percussion, flute, co-producer With: - Demetrio Stratos (AREA) / vocals - Clara Murtas / vocals - Nunzia Tambara / vocals - Piero Brega (CANZONIERE DEL LAZIO) / vocals - Danilo Rea (FABRIZIO DE ANDRÉ, PERIGEO) / piano - Luciano Francisci (ANGELO BRANDUARDI) / accordion - Tommaso Vittorini / saxophone - Maurizio Giammarco (BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO, CANZONIERE DEL LAZIO, PERIGEO, GOBLIN) / saxophone - Pablo Romero / panpipes - Carlo Siliotto (CANZONIERE DEL LAZIO) / violin - Mauro Pagani (PFM) / violin, mandolin - Marcello Vento (ALBERO MOTORE) / drums

1. "Canzone Numero Uno (c'è Chi Batte I Denti, Chi Prende Il Ritmo E Ci Balla Sopra)" (5:57) gently picked acoustic guitar opens this giving the song a MAXOPHONE-like sound. Voice and wandering/solo fretless bass enter, doing little to detract from that initial impression. As the song moves along more and more layers are heaped on with multiple voices, winds, percussion instruments, accordion, and violins all claiming territory in the mix. My favorite song on the album. (9/10)

2. "Fiocchi Di Neve E Bruscolini" (3:03) fun with Demetrio Stratos. (8.75/10)

3. "Almeisan" (9:39) as if a bucolic Eric Satie piano piece were embellished with all kinds of Italian nuances. Interesting, relaxing, and nice. (17.5/20)

4. "Kaitain (22 Ottobre 1962)" (6:56) a polyrhythmic weave of several rudimentary African instruments with panpipe, Demetrio Stratos' odd vocalizations, and jazzy saxophone. Interesting if not winning/relaxing. Has a bit of Weather Report feel to it. (12.75/15)

5. "Cruzeiro Do Sul" (5:41) shaker bells are joined by multiple female vocals each doing their own vocalise rendered onto one panning track. Centralized piano and, later, slow-panning violins and bass join in to fill the soundscape in way that is reminiscent of an orchestra doing their warmups and tunings. I don't know who's playing the sustained synthesizer chords beneath the nasally / muted rudimentary saxophone in the final 90 seconds, but I love it! (8.75/10)

6. "Gamela" (6:59) as indicated by the title, an experimental foray into the band members' perception of the Gamelan phenomenon. The bouncy, percussive bass play gives it a more African or Caribbean feel (again conjuring up reminisces of the adventurous music of Weather Report). The violin, mandolin, and fuzzy electric guitar work (and/or is it a nose flute?) in the fourth minute is very cool. Female and male scat and call-and-response style vocals enter in the fifth minute making it feel much more like Juju music. (13.25/15)

Total time 38:15

An interesting if not always engaging or completely enjoyable collection of musical experiments, I think this album only showed the potential the collective was only beginning to tap--that future expeditions would have shown much more complete musical compositions.

An interesting listen/addition for any prog lover's music education but hardly anything that I would call essential--or even highly recommended.