Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 88

Thread: Cervello/Semiramis/Picchio Dal Pozzo/Celeste/Area

  1. #26
    Cervello's Il Canto del Capro is a truly amazing piece of music. The deranged falcetto of the vocalist, combined with out of tune guitars, saxes and flute create an otherworldly impression.

  2. #27
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    South Hadley, MA
    Posts
    2,663
    Quote Originally Posted by betty humpter View Post
    I knew this might have struck a nerve. Francesco is a talented vocalist, but the style in which he sings grates on my fucking nerves. Give me some lieder/art song by Schubert or something from Ives' hymn book and I'm happy as a lark, but opera irritates the hell out of me. Le Orme has always sounded flat to me and their music hasn't aged well to my ears. I also stand by my statement about the PFM/ELP correlation. For instance, "Generale" reeks of Emerson's musical stylings. I also think that the chorale intro to "L'isola" is cringeworthy as is, "Is My Face On Straight". Finally, they do their version of "I've Seen all Good People" halfway through "La Luna Nuova". I can already see the torches and pitchforks arriving at my front door with the prog faithful yelling, "BLASPHEMY"!!
    No pitchforks from me. I don't totally agree with you, but I respect where you're coming from. Never been such a huge fan of "Is My Face On Straight" either, or the chorale intro to L'ilosa. I just think you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater a bit with PFM. They're not my top RPI band, but they have a ton of good material, and very little of it has more that a passing similarity to ELP. But hey, whatever. If you don't dig it, that's fine. I don't personally think any of the bands you mention save Area achieved a fraction of what PFM, Banco and Le Orme did, but if you like them better, more power to you.

    Bill

  3. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Sputnik View Post
    No pitchforks from me. I don't totally agree with you, but I respect where you're coming from. Never been such a huge fan of "Is My Face On Straight" either, or the chorale intro to L'ilosa. I just think you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater a bit with PFM. They're not my top RPI band, but they have a ton of good material, and very little of it has more that a passing similarity to ELP. But hey, whatever. If you don't dig it, that's fine. I don't personally think any of the bands you mention save Area achieved a fraction of what PFM, Banco and Le Orme did, but if you like them better, more power to you.

    Bill

  4. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Zappathustra View Post
    Cervello's Il Canto del Capro is a truly amazing piece of music. The deranged falcetto of the vocalist, combined with out of tune guitars, saxes and flute create an otherworldly impression.

  5. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by betty humpter View Post
    These 5 Italian bands stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pack imho. I'm not a big proponent of the RPI movement and I find a great deal of it to be derivative of the English bands that are held in such high esteem. To MY ears, there is a clumsiness and hodgepodge approach to composition. I even find the more polished groups such as PFM, Banco and Le Orme to be extremely boring and calculated. I'm also of the opinion that the vocals of most of these RPI groups are affected and lack nuance. Lastly, most of what I have listened to is organ based, so there seems to be a pervasive blues based influence.

    Cervello-How they manage to come up with this sound and they are in their fucking teens!! The first 9 and a half minutes are perfection and can sound like something Morricone could have composed. When the chanting starts, my tits get hard and I know I'm about to go on a journey. One and done

    Semiramis-Another young, one and done band that composes beautiful music. I adore how they are able to incorporate all of the tuned percusion into their tapestry of sound as well as their highly developed sense of melodicism.

    Picchio Dal Pozzo- 2 masterpieces of Canterbury flavor that continue to reveal their earthly delights. When I spin these albums, it's as if the air around me turns into a sweet, fragrant perfume. Intoxicating!!

    Celeste-Pastoral and elegant are just two words that describe this wonderful group of musicians.

    Area-Avant at its finest! If you like your peach sour and unripe, this is the band for you. One you press play, you will encounter an onslaught of catastrophic proportion. Experience the fucking mayhem!
    You need to pick up "Il Paese Dei Balocchi" and "Quella Vecchio Locanda."

  6. #31
    I realize that Premiata Forneria Marconi might not be everyone's cup of tea, but to pigeonhole them as nothing more than an ELP knockoff? C'mon, man, there's no need for that.

    ELP is one of my favorite bands, but I don't believe they ever made anything nearly as beautiful as Per un Amico.

  7. #32
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    9,688
    Quote Originally Posted by aith01 View Post
    I realize that Premiata Forneria Marconi might not be everyone's cup of tea, but to pigeonhole them as nothing more than an ELP knockoff? C'mon, man, there's no need for that.

    ELP is one of my favorite bands, but I don't believe they ever made anything nearly as beautiful as Per un Amico.

  8. #33
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Bloomington Minn, USA
    Posts
    259
    Considering the era, are any of these bands really that bad?(PFM, Le Orme, Banco, etc.), they hardly had time to become derivatives of anything, let alone the bands you are comparing them to.
    The list of Cervello/Semiramis/Picchio Dal Pozzo/Celeste/Area are great bands, not having Arti e Mestieri, Etna, Bella Band, Nova, and some of the Goblin, Il Baricentro, Cherry Five, is a bit of an oversight, depends on what you like.

    Just to be neutral, I have a hard time understanding the "absolutes" with which people love or hate music, having my own preferences, by no means allows me the right to diminish what others are experiencing through their listening.
    That's really the beauty in music isn't it? It plays on the senses, which are integrated with the brain. Neo Prog is a hard one for me, being old and everything, but I get why some people are exuberant about it. And that's their preference.

  9. #34
    (not his real name) no.nine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    90
    Quote Originally Posted by yesstiles View Post
    You need to pick up "Il Paese Dei Balocchi" and "Quella Vecchio Locanda."
    Il Paese Dei Balocchi! YES! YES!

    A simply beautiful album, with a real haunting feeling through it all. I don't mean haunting as in "spooky"; it's more of an atmospheric moodiness. I've always felt this album has kind of a holy quality to it.


    Quella Vecchio Locanda
    is also a good album, but I've never felt it's as special as Il Paese Dei Balocchi. I think QVL's 2nd album, Il Tempo della Gioia, gets closer, though.
    "I tah dah nur!" - Ike

  10. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by no.nine View Post
    Il Paese Dei Balocchi! YES! YES!

    A simply beautiful album, with a real haunting feeling through it all. I don't mean haunting as in "spooky"; it's more of an atmospheric moodiness. I've always felt this album has kind of a holy quality to it.


    Quella Vecchio Locanda
    is also a good album, but I've never felt it's as special as Il Paese Dei Balocchi. I think QVL's 2nd album, Il Tempo della Gioia, gets closer, though.
    Yes, I agree that the 2nd QVL album is the one to get! I just didn't feel like typing that out too.

  11. #36
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    Jumbo/Perigeo/Picchio Dal Pozzo/Celeste/Area

    Subtop: QVL, Etna/Flea



    Quote Originally Posted by TheH View Post
    I really miss Demetrios and I wish there would have been much more of Area,
    (I count Deus ex Machina as a worthy Heir)
    Yup, DEM is indeed in the direct line of Area in my heart too.

    Quote Originally Posted by Zappathustra View Post
    Fantastic bands all 5 of them, Cervello, Area, Picchio would be in my top 10 from Italian prog and the other 2 in my top-20. The most difficult to get in was Celeste for me. I found it too mellow for a long time. But then its beauty sank in.
    Giorno is one of the closer-sounding album to Harmonium, IMHO

    Quote Originally Posted by mozo-pg View Post
    I like all the band listed but, for me, they're 2nd tier compared to the greatness of PFM, Banco, and Le Orme.
    They're in my second tier, for sure

    Quote Originally Posted by betty humpter View Post
    I'm a classically trained singer and I can't stand the Opera.
    One of the reason why RPI is always frightening to me... You never know when (or if) an Italian musician feels like going lyrical and go overboard.
    Last edited by Trane; 08-11-2018 at 05:49 AM.
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  12. #37
    Member jefftiger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
    Posts
    392
    I was playing Cervello's album, Melos, this morning for the first time in many years. Surfing the web, I found (as someone upthread has already mentioned) that a CD+DVD recording from their 2017 one-off concert in Tokyo is to be released soon. It's listed on Amazon as a 10 February release. I found a snippet on YouTube which looks very promising. Based on this clip, I pre-ordered the release.


  13. #38
    I have Melos. One of the best Italian prog albums

  14. #39
    Member TheH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    3,231
    Quote Originally Posted by jefftiger View Post
    I was playing Cervello's album, Melos, this morning for the first time in many years. Surfing the web, I found (as someone upthread has already mentioned) that a CD+DVD recording from their 2017 one-off concert in Tokyo is to be released soon. It's listed on Amazon as a 10 February release. I found a snippet on YouTube which looks very promising. Based on this clip, I pre-ordered the release.


    The concert is already out on CD for some time. It is an awesome Album, totally love it.

    Will buy the DVD too, so thanks for the heads up.

  15. #40
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Copenhagen, Denmark
    Posts
    7,264
    Area is one of my favorite bands regardless of country.

    PFM has been inspired by many bands and genres. In the beginning I hear mostly Genesis & KC, but I love them more when they include balkan-folk and jazz elements.

  16. #41
    Member jefftiger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
    Posts
    392
    I received Cervello's Live in Tokyo 2017 CD+DVD package from Amazon much earlier than expected. I agree with TheH; this is an excellent concert. The sound is very faithful to the original 1973 album, but still sounds fresh and exciting. The weird, out-of-tune saxophone sound is something that I really love about this group, very notable on Melos and Euterpe. The current line-up features 3 of the original members of the band. The original vocalist, Gianluigi Di Franco, passed away in 2005 according to the italianprog.com website. The new singer, Virginio Simonelli, has a wonderful voice and his performance is very respectful of the original sound.

    I haven't watched a lot of the DVD, but the production looks good. My only disappointment is that it's a DVD, rather than bluray. The snippet posted on YouTube is at 1080p resolution, so I suspect that the concert was recorded in high-def. I assume that production costs must have prevented releasing a bluray. This new re-release of the 2017 recording is released by Corrado Rustici, apparently without major label support. It's a cardboard, gate-fold package, which is nicely done.

  17. #42
    Has anyone heard this mini LP box ? Curiousys.jpg

  18. #43
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    The Planet Lovetron
    Posts
    13,023
    Quote Originally Posted by Prehensile Pencil View Post
    Has anyone heard this mini LP box ? Curiousys.jpg
    You sure it's a box set and not just one of those Japanese mini-LP CD holders?

  19. #44
    Now, I look closer, and you're maybe right. I just saw something about a 6 disc set, and didn't see the VA bit.......

    http://www.minilps.net/various-artis...onzo-du-box062

  20. #45
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    The Planet Lovetron
    Posts
    13,023
    Yeah, that open end is the dead giveaway. Thing is, they usually want more than $100 for the empty boxes on ebay. I've never understood that at all.

  21. #46
    Area, Picchio dal Pozzo, Franco Battiato, Cervello, Stormy Six, Jumbo, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Banco del Muto Soccorso, Pierrot Lunaire, Premiata Forneria Marconi.

    They were my 10 Italian faves.

    Followed by Roberto Colombo, Canzionere del Lazio, Museo Rosenbach, Opus Avantra, Arti e Mestieri, Osage Tribe, Napoli Centrale and Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno. And Semiramis, And Osanna.

    And so on.

    Cervello's Melos stands out from the "average" Italian 70s "symphonic" rock endeavour on so many levels, but the inimitable combination of manic aggression and densely textured arrangements is the main faccet. They also worked in more unusual harmonics than others of their ilk around, and they infused an atmosphere of controlled chaos and melancholia which was even more darkly intense than that found on IBdB's Ys - which I also love, btw.

    Hell, I've written so much about all of these artists and pieces over the years. I'm getting old and tired. But my fave five Italian progressive records were Abbiamo by Picchio dP, Vietato by Jumbo, Maccheronica by SSix (arguably the single bravest rock album I ever heard), Arbeit Macht Frei by Area and Melos by Cervello.

    Here's a previous thread on the topic: http://www.progressiveears.org/forum...cervello+melos

    The two older gems I'm really looking for nowadays are the debut Mamma Non Piangere and the sole Gramigna album. I've got those 200+ others.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  22. #47
    Member interbellum's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Xymphonia-city
    Posts
    4,603
    Quote Originally Posted by jefftiger View Post
    I was playing Cervello's album, Melos, this morning for the first time in many years. Surfing the web, I found (as someone upthread has already mentioned) that a CD+DVD recording from their 2017 one-off concert in Tokyo is to be released soon. It's listed on Amazon as a 10 February release. I found a snippet on YouTube which looks very promising. Based on this clip, I pre-ordered the release.

    Cool! I have the CD, but it's cool to see the live-images as well (just as was done with Corrado's trio-album). I've ordered it directly from him: http://www.corradorustici.com/cervello/cd.html

  23. #48
    ^ And where else but in Tokyo could you hope to perform something like Melos to a reasonable crowd of listeners?

    I mean, it's so - uhm - "obscure".
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  24. #49
    Member jefftiger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
    Posts
    392
    Quote Originally Posted by interbellum View Post
    Cool! I have the CD, but it's cool to see the live-images as well (just as was done with Corrado's trio-album). I've ordered it directly from him: http://www.corradorustici.com/cervello/cd.html
    Thanks for turning me on to Corrado's Trio. I hadn't followed any of Rustici's post-Cervello work. He's an impressive guitarist and writer.

    I also did some research on the guest singer for the Cervello concert. His name is Virginio Simonelli (aka Virginio). If Wikipedia is to be believed, he's pretty well known on the Italian pop scene as a singer/songwriter. I was very impressed with his singing of the old Cervello pieces. And, Rustici had produced at least one of his pop albums.

    And, yes, it's a bit weird how Tokyo has served as a venue for these obscure bands. PFM played there in the early 2000s (yielding a CD and DVD) and there have been other prog rock events and mini-festivals over the past 20 years. I wish that there were other venues besides Tokyo that could support these one-off (probably never to be repeated) concerts. Sadly, Wilmington, Delaware (Farfest) wasn't able to pull it off.

  25. #50
    Member TheH's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    3,231
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post

    Canzionere del Lazio.

    The two older gems I'm really looking for nowadays are the debut Mamma Non Piangere and the sole Gramigna album. I've got those 200+ others.
    Canzionere del Lazio - Spirito Bono will be out this month for the first time on CD. PROG Italy is behind the release (obviously Fone Records backed out).

    http://www.musicalnews.com/articolo....WFNXsfwj8Nx9WM

    Fo the first two Mamma Non Piangere and the sole Gramigna album one can only hope...

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •