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BACK TO EARTHOld Rock City OrchestraCrossover Prog3.76 | 10 ratings |
From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
andrea
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Prog Reviewer |
Back To Earth is the second album by Old Rock City Orchestra, a band from Orvieto that began life in 2009. It was
released on the independent label M.P. & Records in 2015, three years after the promising debut entitled Once Upon A
Time, and confirms all the good qualities of the previous work. The line up is still the same and features Cinzia
Catalucci (vocals, keyboards), Raffaele Spanetta (guitars), Giacomo Cocchiara (bass) and Michele 'Mike' Capriolo
(drums). The overall sound draws on what now is called classic rock, all the tracks are played with enthusiasm and
vitality, they're sprinkled with a touch of psychedelia and heartfelt melody and could recall bands such as Jefferson
Airplane, Affinity or Circus 2000 without sounding out of date...The opener "When You Pick Up An Apple From The Tree" is a nice track where the beautiful voice of Cinzia Catalucci is used just as instrument and takes you high on a light flight across a starry sky. Every now and again it reminds me of The Pentangle and is enriched by the electric violin of the guest Laurence Cocchiara that adds a baroque touch to final result. It's linked to the following "Feelin' Alive" where the atmosphere becomes darker and where the music and words depict a girl who lost her soul in a rainy night and now is overwhelmed by sorrow and desperation. She needs help, she needs someone to teach her that there's always time for the last goodbye to life and that suicide can't be a good way out from her troubles... The following "Rain On A Sunny Day" and "Mr. Shadow" are two tracks full of obscure energy where the music and lyrics evoke deadly shadows looming large on the horizon. They lead to the bitter-sweet "Melissa", a delicate, acoustic song that was inspired by the 2012 Brindisi School Bombing, a bomb attack occurred in Italy on May 19, 2012, when three gas cylinder bombs hidden in a large rubbish bin exploded in front of the Morvillo Falcone high school in Brindisi, killing Melissa Bassi, a 16-year-old girl, and injuring five other students. Then "Lady Viper" lights the fire of a nightmarish vision evoking an evil, deceiving creature prowling for money and honey. It leads to the suggestive "My Love", that describes in music and words an irresistible need, the urge to join someone or to get something so precious you can't live without it... "Tonight, Tomorrow And Forever" is about the relativity of time and feelings and here the music and lyrics invite you to catch the day, freeing your mind and leaving behind fears and sorrow. Next comes the dreamy, reflective "Why Life" that in some way blends hope and regret, dreams and awareness of the limits that real life can draw around you. The long title track, "Back To Earth" ends the album with a melancholic mood and an ethereal stroll down memory lane that maybe the beautiful art work by Lucy Ziniac can describe better that all my words... On the whole, a good album in black and white played on the tightrope of nostalgia but with a close look at the present.
andrea |
4/5 |
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