MACCHINA MACCHERONICA

Quite a big change in their sound from the last one "L'Apprendista". This one is much more avant-garde with a lot of humour. I can't help but think that when they played at the first ever Rock In Opposition festival the year before(1978) bands like SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA and ETRON FOU LELOUBLAN must have had a big influence on them. Georgie Born(HENRY COW) has been added to the lineup on cello and Leonardo Schiavone(MAXAPHONE) has also been added on clarinet and sax.

"Macchina Maccheronica" is led by horns and vocals before bass and drums add to the sound.This is silly. It calms down 3 minutes in with spoken words that last less then a minute before the frivolity returns. "Le Lucciole" features violin, drums, horns and guitar coming and going quickly. The outbursts then last a little longer. This is really good. Vocals after 2 minutes(they come and go). An element of darkness arrives, as well as some angular melodies. This is my favourite song on here. "Madonina" is the first of a 4 part suite all titled "Madonina". They are all under a minute, and are fun. This first one has a swinging melody that is repeated a second time but at a faster pace. "Megafonio" opens with a horn, vocal, string and drum melody. It stops as different intricate sounds come and go quickly. A better melody than the intro arrives 3 1/2 minutes in but it's brief. Vocals and more intricate sounds jump in and out to end it. Nice.

"Madonina" is a short, uptempo, fun track. "Banca" opens with spoken female words that are replaced by a haunting soundscape, although it's hard to take this too serious considering what has gone on before. Male vocals 2 minutes in. "Pianeta" is ok. It features theatrical vocals at first (they do come back) until 1 1/2 minutes in when they sound better. Violin or cello 3 1/2 minutes in followed by horns, guitar and drums. "Rumba Sugli Alberi" opens with dual horns as vocals come in followed by bass and drums 1 1/2 minutes in. Dissonant sax sounds later. "Enzo" is just over 2 minutes long, but in concerts they would expand it to 30 minutes sometimes. This one is live as you can hear the audience laughing at times to the insane vocals and harmonies. "Verbale" is my second favourite song on here. Not really a melody to open, but clarinet and different sounds are coming and going. Vocals a minute in. Violin after 4 minutes followed by some heaviness. Nice. Violin is back 5 1/2 minutes in. Guitar, horns and vibraphone follow. Good song. "Madonina" has an island flavour to it. "Somario" is almost 4 minutes of silliness. "Madonina" is short and crazy.

There's not enough on here that I really like for me to give it 4 stars. I could see why many would rate this as their best though. It depends on your tastes I guess. My favourite from them is still "L'Apprendista". 3.5 stars.