FIORI, FRUTTI, FARFALLE

In the Golden Age of Prog, one of the glittering gems from Italy was Maxophone's brilliant 1975 album. The album is a blend of multiple musical styles, great songwriting, and wonderful musicianship, as well as an underlying lovely pastoral ambience that suffused the album with a peaceful, dreamlike quality. One of the contributors to that album was Paolo Farina, who wrote the lyrics to "Al mancato compleanno di una farfalla." Farina was one of the many youths in the early 1970s who got together with friends to play and sing. He wrote several songs in those days, and even roughly recorded a 16 minute song, "Fiori, frutti, farfalle". Decades later, Farina discovered that old cassette and decided to bring the music to light. Fleshing out that piece and adding other compositions from the early 1970s, Farina joined together with several other musicians, using almost exclusively acoustic instruments, trying to recreate the typical musical atmosphere of those old times, as if it were a group of friends gathered together in a park under the shade of a tree to create music. One of those musicians is Sergio Lattuada, key contributor to Maxophone both in the 1970s and the reunited lineup, who plays harpsichord on the song that started it all, "Fiori, frutti, farfalle." The resulting album, appropriately named after that track, was released in 2014 on the BTF label.

The atmosphere on the album definitely succeeds in providing the pastoral, intimate feeling that was intended by Farina. The title track is a sequential combination of several themes and melodies, pleasant and not too challenging, featuring the acoustic guitar but marvelously enriched by swirling violin and flute, along with harpsichord fluorishes. Bass and drums, and even electric guitar appear on this track, giving it a bite and drive not found on the other songs. The recurrent theme is a beautiful pastoral melody that is embellished differently each time it appears. Through it all, Farina's very pleasant baritone sings the story.

The other standout track for me is the last track, "La Ballata degli Amici Perduti" (The Ballad of Lost Friends). This features acoustic guitar and lush strings, playing a nostalgic tune that befits the song title. It is a track that is easy to get lost in.

The packaging is wonderfully done (as always by BTF), with a nice thick papersleeve gatefold mini lp style, with lyrics, photos, and artwork in the booklet. I'm not a huge fan of the cover itself, but I suppose it does match the overall purpose of the work. All in all, this is a really nice album, much in line with the better of the folk-style RPI titles from the 1970s. Three and a half stars, rounded to four. (Gnosis 11/15)

The music from Flori, Frutti, Farfalle (link to Italian promotional video) is an unusual musical ride in that its pop-folk- flavored music is acoustic guitar based. But, when confronted with the story of the origins of these songs (all penned by one of MAXOPHONE's original lyricists, Paolo Farina, in 1972-3 and all, until now, previously unreleased), one can understand.

1. "Fiori, frutti, farfalle" (20:00) begins with a beautiful, HARMONIUM-like first few minutes. The gorgeous tapestry of picked acoustic guitar, violin, harpsichord, flute, and hand percussives weave their magic for the first 2:25. Then Paolo's vocal introduces a new section--which is soon backed by a more traditional rock band (including full drum kit and electric bass, guitars, and synths.) At 4:35 things slow back down into a dreamy, wordless vocal passage in which Paolo sings in his upper registers while a violin plays below him an octave. At 6:05 a section of full-out rock ensues (think "Sweet Home, Alabama"). The vocal, however, continues to anchor the music firmly in 1970s RPI. Then a very surprising turn occurs at 7:21 in which a new section begins with strumming acoustic guitars backing a bird-like call and mokingbird-like echo response by flute. Gorgeous. The final 30 seconds of this 'duel' is an all-out war of screaming, jamming instruments. Awesome. At 9:07 begins the most majestic section of the song. First Paolo's beautiful vocal backed with electric piano & organ, then at 10:08, we are introduced to one of the most beautiful melody lines to have ever graced these music- loving ears. This melody from Heaven is at first introduced by a quiet flute, and then taken over by a gorgeous violin backed by an organ-lead rock combo. Even as Paolo and the band return to some previously exposed vocal melodies and band structures, the 'divine melody' continues to maintain its distractive presence. Even at 13:44, when the songs tempo is doubled, the violin-carried melody continues to run away as Paolo and his band seem to give chase. At 14:44 a JAN AKKERMAN-like lead electric guitar takes over with an incredible two-part solo (think of the "Tommy" section of Moving Wave's "Eruption"--the second of which maestros JEFF BECK or CORRADO RUSTICI would be proud). Gut-wrenchingly emotional! At 16:44, a kind of laid back whole group recapitulation of some of the song's high points ensues. There is a great call and response section happening here between Paolo and his background chorus. At 17:49 things wind down with a slower, minor-keyed return to the song's opening acoustic guitar arpeggio, some gorgeous floating flute work, and this time with the addition of a bluesy lead acoustic guitar jamming along. SERGIO LATTUADA (MAXOPHONE)'s harpsichord play joins in to take the song to its "Cinema Show"-like conclusion. This is the best prog epic I've heard from a 2014 release. (40/40)

2. "Bianco, Rosso, Verde" (3:51) rhythmically strummed acoustic guitar, hand drums, and spacey synths over which singer-songwriter Paolo Farina and his background vocalists sing a light, bouncy pop melody. (7/10)

3. "Cerce in Te" (3:27) opens with a tanpura and santoor giving it a Middle eastern sound. But when an AMERICA-like acoustic guitar riff joins in--and hand drums and flute--the song takes off in another direction. (7/10)

4. "Mamma Pubblicita" (3:50) acoustic guitar and hand percussives accompany Paolo on this pleasant jaunt into Kindergarten. Later male b box, jazzy flute, and second guitar join in on the storytelling. (7/10)

5. "Nel prato più verde" (4:47) is a favorite in spite of the almost exact lifting of AMERICA's chords and strumming from their song "Three Roses" (from their 1972 eponymously titled debut album). Luckily, Paolo has chosen to use his own vocal melody (and, hopefully, lyrical content). Hand percussives, airy flute, and acoustic lead guitar help out on this one. (8/10)

6. "Ti chiedo scusa" (2:25) Both the acoustic guitar work and vocal on this one are a little grittier in the A Section-- which I really like. The chorus, however, finds Paolo returning to an upbeat and very catchy melody (begging his pardon?) Paolo is helped out here by tambourine, violin and second guitar. (9/10)

7. "La ballata degli amici perduti" (5:00) begins with a lovely, slow folk delivery of guitar picking/arpeggiating with the accompaniment of a string quartet and hand percussives. The wonderfully delicious intro is followed by an equally wonderful vocal in Paolo's most plaintive tones. This song reminds me strongly of some of the best work of the legendary Jacques Brel. (9/10)

B/four stars; a wonderful prog folk addition to Prog World.

Overall this album is really a very pleasant if sometimes innocuous listen. The highlights being, of course, the prog epic that opens the album, and its two final songs. The near perfection of the album's epic title song alone cause me to rate this album at least a four star value. The good but not-all-great pop-folk songs that make up the remainder of the album make it impossible for me in good conscience to rate Fiori, Frutti, Farfalle full five star masterpiece. But I want to! This is an album well worth hearing!