QUIA NESCIUNT QUID FACIUNT

1. "Bait of Success" (5:55) the opening motif was so cheezy and hokey that I nearly skipped the song. The slowed down middle section is somewhat better but sometimes I really think a group of teenagers could play, record, and engineer the music on these Roz Vitalis albums to a better end form than Ivan publishes them in. (8.3333/10)

2. "Daybreaking" (6:29) a saccharinely beautiful opening turns two chord rock at the end of the second minute before collapsing into some kind of multi-continental mish-mash in the third. (8.5/10)

3. "Fountain" (1:28) solo piano played delicately with feeling and poignancy. Probably the best song on the album. (4.25/5)

4. "Se Camminiamo Nella Luce" (LP Version) (5:49) a song that plods when it feels that the band should be able to easily step up at least double time (and when they do, what was the purpose of those first three minutes: respect for the dead?!) The bass is mixed so incongruously with the rest of the band. The Mike. Oldfield organ is my favorite (next to Vlad Korotkikh's trumpet play, of course). (8.375/10)

5. "Premonition" (9:07) Was Ivan/the band in so much of a hurry to publish an album before the end of the year that they never tested these songs on anybody before they pushed "go"? It's an engineering mess! The weave of separate and innocuous melodies emanating from multiple in the fifth and sixth minutes is so messy and contradictory. The song should be called "Tower of Babel." (16.75/20)

6. "Walking" (5:19) bluesy R&B/jazz? Why not: Ivan's tried it before. 1970s Bob James with Eric Gale on guitar, Hubert Laws on flute, and Ruslan Kirillov on distorted, mushy bass. Bob can't resist, of course, to show off his chops on his newest instrumental purchase: a harpsichord. Then the band jumps back on board to ? who? what? Who's the leader here? (8.5/10)

7. "Wides" (6:24) an attempt at some cinematic music in which the inability of the individual band members to stay in sync with one another is intentional (to evoke the sense of tension and disharmony on the movie screen). Unbelievable! Are they even in the same universe? This is a song that my brothers (and daughters) and I could pick and play infinitely better than this crew! (Not that we'd want to, though.) Maybe there is a limit to how much ethanol a Russian can imbibe while still maintaining functionality.(6.5/10)

8. "The Man Whose Wings Were Cut Off" (LP Version) (7:48) Now here's something that is syncopated and yet everyone seems capable of staying together with. There must have been magic in the vodka during this recording session. Around the four minute mark I start to hear the VESPERO influence. Not quite as tight or smooth as their country mates, but a fairly decent product. (12.75/15)

9. "Beautifulness" (LP Version) (4:06) an odd mish-mash that sounds as if it could be a soundtrack to a Russian puppetry performance. I hear some skill in both the composition and performances but, once again, it just feels unfinished/unplished. (8.666667/10)

10. "Nocturne" (1:23) solo piano piece to wrap things up. Too bad they couldn't find a real piano anywhere. Guess the computerized one had to do. (Expedience, mates!) (4/5)

Total Time 53:48

Ivan and company obviously have skills--and I understand Ivan's desire and inclination to display his versions of blending world styles and sounds, but I don't know who his test audience members are because, in my opinion, his blends only work about one in five times; the rest of the times are awkward, sometimes conflicting or contradictory, and never mixed into a "polished" version. It is SO FRUSTRATING because I know these guys have talent and I like a lot of Ivan's ideas, they just rarely feel fully worked out much less finished. Alexey Gorshkov is the album's only saving grace for me. And, occasionally, Vlad Korotkikh's flute.

Were I a professional musician with any sense of pride whatsoever, I would never have published these songs in the states of partial-completion that they're in. It is, to my mind, disgraceful.

C-/2.5 stars; the worst album rating I've had to hand out in over a decade! It's so flawed and unpolished but, okay, listen to it for yourselves if you must!

Share this ROZ VITALIS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to BrufordFreak
• Report this review (#2970358)
• Buy ROZ VITALIS music online with PA partners
• Show all ROZ VITALIS MP3/Stream
• Go to ROZ VITALIS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Quia Nesciunt Quid Faciunt page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ROZ VITALIS related discussions