ESSERE O NON ESSERE ?

All the members of Il Volo were excellent musicians and the only problem in their debut album was the lack of originality in the song-writing. Anyway their second work in my opinion is better than the previous one. It's almost completely instrumental though this wasn't exactly a choice of the band... According to an interview with Gabriele Lorenzi on the site of their label, Numero Uno, it just happened that the guitarist Alberto Radius had a dispute with the lyricist Mogol and the album lyrics were left unfinished... Perhaps this was just a lucky chance, because in my opinion Mogol's lyrics on the eponymous debut album of the band weren't particularly inspired... Here vocals just seem to sketch whispered melodies but the result is very suggestive and pleasant and they probably give a touch of "unintentional originality" to the whole album...

The opener "Gente in amore" (People in love) is a good track that reminds of some works of Lucio Battisti (especially "Anima latina"), but low subdued vocals drawing a murmured melody without lyrics give it a strange feeling... Into the following track "Medio Oriente 249,000 tutto compreso" (Middle East 249,000 all included) prog, jazz and Mediterranean echoes are blended together for an interesting trip towards Middle-Eastern atmospheres... The third track "Essere" (To be) is the only one with lyrics, but they are very far from memorable... "Dignity is a very difficult subject / Tears and pains never change you..."... Anyway the music is excellent and features a good guitar solo...

The music flows steadily without weak moments... "Alcune scene" (Some scenes) is dark and suggestive and it could have been a good soundtrack for a film of Horror or Science-fiction... "Svegliandomi con te alle sei del mattino" (Waking up with you at 6 a.m.) takes you in a kind of peculiar "Latin jazz" atmosphere, with a guitar solo in Carlos Santana's style giving way to a good keyboards work... In the last track "Canti e suoni" (Songs and sounds) whispered vocals are used as an instrument to introduce an ethereal a quiet first part that after two minutes melts in a more aggressive and nervous crescendo...

The album is short, but without fillers and in my opinion it could be an excellent addition to an "Italianprog" collection...