ARTI E MESTIERI LIVE

Behind an extremely sober artwork, this album was recorded in the aftermath of Tilt's release (all of the tracks bar one improve are from the album), this is a first-era posthumous release, but there is a significant difference: the presence of a specific singer (Gaza), absent on Tilt, but present on the following studio album. That evening's mood is still more in the Tilt area rather than the coming Giro realm, with the Mahavishnu ghost hovering over the stage, but the mood is more energetic.

It's actually fairly interesting to hear the Tilt album tracks, though not in the same sequence, in their live versions and pick out the differences, outside the obvious different vocals and the energy level. Most of the tracks are actually slower-paced (whether intentional or not), but oddly enough most of them are shorter (sometimes very significantly) than their studio version, except for the closing Gravity 9.81, which almost doubles in length and is also the highlight of the gig with some Crimsonian improvs. The balance is also fairly different as well, thus providing an interesting change of view on their music, much like a King Crimson Collector Club album. One of the attractions of this live album is the presence of an unheard-elsewhere track, a rare Vigliar composition Coming Here To Get You, which does melt fine into the A&M mass.

A rather poor-sounding album, everything being relative, because there is also much worse from greater-known groups (again ogling towards Crimson), especially from an approximative reissue label like Vinyl Magic, but this is exactly the point: this release is not a reissue. Certainly not essential, unless you're an A&M fan.