LA VIA DELLA SETA

Now this is a difficult one to review and a labor of love... As a long time Orme fan and having literally grown up with their songs as background music in the seventies, I feel authorized to say that THIS IS NOT AN ORME RECORD ! Said that, the record is good, with wonderful melodies, great musicians, an extraordinary vocalist. If only they would have had the courage to name the band otherwise!!! I can understand why Michi dei Rossi, as a band founder, feels justified doing so, but I totally disagree. In my opinion, if a band should be called Le Orme today, well that's the band with 66% of the original members in it, besides the two guys having written ALL THE SONGS of their history, is the band with Aldo Tagliapietra and Tony Pagliuca. Why on earth some judge decided that the name of the band should stay with Michi? Back to the record: if you can listen to the songs without knowing who is playing, then you would get the impression of a new prog outfit with a singer trying to sound like Francesco di Giacomo of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. Since Spitaleri was already around in the seventies, it's not a copy of course, but just resemblance in style and approach. Maybe it's just me, but i miss Aldo's voice on all songs, not because Spitaleri is bad, but because 50% of Le Orme magic sound of the past is tied to his voice. I can't stop thinking that with a different band name I would have loved to hear this new band effort, but in the end I would have given this record a 3 star rating. As a Le Orme record, this is a 1 star for me. Any other record of this band would tell more about the past history than this one! So just for collectors indeed. Average of the two rating: 2 stars. Time will tell, once Tagliapietra Pagliuca Marton album is out, if ever they will find the courage...