UOMO DI PEZZA

My first exposure to Le Orme has certainly been a pleasant one with this intimate and charming album. Uomo di Pezza is quite mellow--too much so in many places, but the overall quality of the music is hard to deny. I probably prefer some of the more chaotic moments on PFM in my Italian prog, but Le Orme takes a backstage to no one.

Rarely do you hear a band with a similar set-up to ELP, with a drummer, keyboardist, and guitarist. Le Orme definitely manage to pull it off, and often times deliver an impressively full sound for only three guys. Much of that is due to the variety of keys and synth effects used, with some nice additions of chimes and flute here and there to keep things interesting. However, there is also a simplicity to the music in many places, which may bore some proggers. I'm of the opinion that Le Orme overall do a nice job of balancing their slower parts, which adds to the charm of the album, but if I'm not in the right mood, they can strike me as uninteresting. In addition, there is nothing that I would consider virtuosic (including Aldo's oft-strained vocals), but everything about this album is tasteful.

As you can imagine, the highlights for me are the faster, more aggressive parts, including the beginning of the opening track, the inspired build-up toward the middle of La Porta Chiusa, and all of Alienazione. In all of these sections, you'll hear menacing organ, rumbling drums, and bouncy bass that can only remind me of ELPs better moments, though with a unique Le Orme touch. The other tracks take a more poppy format, from the solemn, 12-string dominated Aspettando I Alba, to the mellotron-soaked Brava Immagine, to the two bouncy, happy tracks (Figure di Cartone and Gioco di Bimba).

All in all there is plenty of variety, from playfulness to mourning, chaotic to stately. There are also plenty of solid melodies that will keep you coming back for more, and rewarding you when you do. I happen to find the music a bit too slow and simplistic (read: lacks a fullness that was also a downside to ELP) in places to consider this a masterpiece, but it is certainly one of my favorite Italian prog pieces.