ANIMA TERRA

I confess this has been a secret fave for so long, I have kept in the closet for so many years, mainly because of a few quirky aspects but really because I wanted selfishly to keep all the pleasures for myself. There are 7 tracks on "Anima Terra" but for some odd reason all CD players show only ONE very long 52 minute track, so I can't really chop it into sizeable bits for recording purposes! Knowing full well how Machiavellic my Italian pranksters can be, I would be surprised if not done on purpose. Buffoni! First some facts, Bondage is a one shot wonder from 1996, reissued in 2000 with beautiful artwork (i have the old blue one), great production and in a reversal of the usual form, has a dramatic vocalist that has to be one of the most fascinating operatic voices you will ever hear anywhere! Angelo Calleri is a Venetian Christian Décamps (Ange is one of the very few prog bands that can claim to have a primo spotlight vocalist) who can actually sing, laugh, wail and emote with anyone out there, using the entire emotional spectrum of the Italian language (is there anything more exalted than Italiano?), with massive doses of dramatics, theatricality, spoken word dialogue and assorted mouthed noises, giggles, snorts and angered cussing ("sporco, farabutto, bastardo"). The keyboards are classical in tone with plenty of piano passages, the guitars alternate between crisp and crunch, the intricate bass keeps the story route lit and the frenetic drums set a torrid pace, varying speeds and rhythms according to the urge of the moment. At the circa 18 minute mark, there are some playful Gentle Giant instrumental moments, goofing with plenty of twists and turns, humping organ dog fighting with wah-wah guitar, totally unpredictable, completely bizarre and utterly enjoyable! This is great music but the first truly heavenly moment comes with the "Vagabondo" chorus passage: the highly expressive vocals are sheer genius, imagine early PFM led by a manic Decamps like vocalist in Italian! It is a very rare event when Progland can ever boast of world class singing, in any language but this album is the little rebel lung that could! The next and even more touching epiphany occurs at the 38 minute mark, a section titled "Cantico Dei Tempi: Il Menestrello" (the Minstrel) that has a "Lie-lah, lie-lah" repeated chorus that should leave one assuredly breathless, a modern-medieval operatic prototype that is just pure fun, as only a Gondolier, gently swaying to the oar-led beat, can come up with, Bloody Tourists, indeed! "La-la, la la la, Lie-lah, lie-lah": No wonder they disappeared from the scene, this was so original that it could not be bettered! The last piece, the sinister and somewhat lugubrious "Canto all' Insistenza Della Morte" has some devilish inflections from Angelo since the theme covers that good old tried and true fave Mediterranean subject: Death! Sounds almost like a funeral procession gone awry, with another brief but raging wah-guitar whirlwind, before a sleek bow and a silent "ciao, bello". Sadistically tasty and a true Italian unknown classic. Find it, buy it and be selfish. Five leather straps.

52 minute prog opus

Bondage are another in a long line of Italian one-shot bands, in this case the group recorded their sole work in the mid 1990s and release was delayed for several years. By the time the CD was issued by Mellow Records the band was no more. While the disc boasts individual song titles, they are fused together into one long 52 minute track giving the album the feel of an "Amarok" or the like, basically one long epic song. The Bondage sound is a highly theatrical one thanks to Angelo Calleri's gregarious style of vocal delivery, a bit like the vocals of Ange or Fiaba. The group reminds me a bit of Fiaba or Minstrel, not very helpful as both of those groups are similarly obscure. It's an all-over-the-map blend of operatic grandiosity, 90s light metal/neo/symphonic influence, and as our site bio states, maybe a bit of Banco mixed with Zappa as inspiration. The keyboards are a huge buzz-kill for me here, that cheesy 90s sound that so many otherwise fine bands chose to use. ( If you know the sound I'm referring to, you can expect a good deal of it here. If you don't, then that sound probably doesn't bother you, so ignore the comment.) Another complaint I have is the unrestrained cymbals in some places, which are quite tinny and ring too loudly. Aside from that, the guitars are quite good, a modern style reminding me of 80s Lifeson at times while the bass is like a wall giving them a "large" sound. I can't say I am moved much by the composition beyond being impressed by the vocalist. Over 52 minutes there are undoubtedly some interesting things that happen but much of the time my attention drifts. If you're looking for a wild Venetian rollercoaster with some ups and downs, and you enjoy good operatic Italian vocals, you may wish to roll the dice here. The booklet is quite generous with full lyrics (Italian) and some very nice painting reproductions that I enjoyed more than the music. Many good performances despite not really being my cup of tea, and certainly deserving of 3 stars at the least.