Il Cappello a tre Punte

great review Rico, looking forward to read other ones!!

L'Apprendista

The progressive avant-garde works can have a full potential of being over-existentialist, distinctively contemporary or of passion that combines treacharous tendencies with the closer than ever insoluble expressions of a current art. Within all the perfectly wonderful, interesting, elegant, coruscating, special or biased and tormenting point of views, it feels very good and calming that some of the expressions that cultivate the genre have a more supple force and recognize some almost traditional values of music and composition, before they head themselves into a new preservation of texture and language, of connection and exulatation.

Stormy Six, as a band of great impact in the "Rock In Opposition" born movement has, through its best and most stable composition, the affinity of progressive rock common signs and plain intricate harmonies; the rest of the "avant-stylization" is kinda lost when the music isn't creative in dexterity and heterogenus passions, in revolting or lacking qualities, in agressions or (too) stubborn fixations, in perfisions and misled gambles of their rock heart etc. Stormy Six may be (or truly are) the least pretentious and convincing avant-rock big band - yet that feels simply arguable and consummable. In a brighter form, and through collosal interpretations, like L'apprendista, the band's impact is mostly intellectual, aphoristical, quasi-abstract, craftful, light and energy compact...and, lastly, beautiful.

As rock glamour and general balance, this big album is something with good feelings, reachable intense concept, "rock in rhythmicization" power, a fresh-air based emotion, suave coiplexity and a vold charm. Their candle-warm improvisation and line of sound-mystification has a good troubadouresque analaogy with none but Gentle Giant, being more viable to art-sparks than the latter, which prefers from popular melodies and catchful beats to deeply pejorative hardened rock glows. The folk inspiration isn't, sincerely, of any marvellous good, espectially since the recording seems, more or less, of a cubik space and a fleeting fantasy; however, it is quite contemptful to call L'Apprendista as a jeweled strong character of jazz, sound-color, avant- idealization, dance-imaginative rhythms and complex senseful art composition. The vocals, left out of all this, are more franc, rubatic and significantly rhythmic, lovely being those with deep sense (in an otherwise, jumping state, by cheerful language and easy decorative lines of unique tap) or those with rhyme and punching accents (a logic practices, almost as a rock "cantofable"). The instrumental embrace is clearer, but various, by violin, xylophone, saxophone and so, creating the plural sense along the more weak-enchanced or natural guitar, bass, excessively tasteful drums and strings; no sign of keyboards fantasy, hard music or wooden, impatient essences. The poly-rock (or "poli-musica", as some lyrics say it) character remarks itself the same way a brass rock movement and orchestrality would improvise. The rest is softer, mellow-hearted, melodic and crunchy, at times.

Conceptuality, in L'Apprendista, bares the meaning of originality and complex affection for music. Emotiveness, just the same, falls under charming and creativeness lacking impetuosity. Most of the eight deep pieces here use the entire set of "contemporary composition", acoustic-weightened polyphony, strange rock sensations and intelligent inspired free-likeness. Maybe only Il Labirinto, great and profound as a piece, creates more fusion, classic-beat prog and a jazzy melodic theme, out of which nothing exasterpates a close compilation. The last pieces tend to land, already, more heavily or monotonous, but that's the thing of calling the style balanced and the entire arrangement (whether avant, soft, pure or traditional) admirable.

As my debut in RIO/Avant, I see this recommendation I picked as very good and close to the classic progressive rock topping (having also some ideas that step further) - so I'm gonna recommend it onwards. An album of overall excellent quality, moody emotions and hardly anything to call bullocks. An album even to remember upon the times when the avant/RIO/Zart complexity is an orientation without escape in your preferences.