This album has been on my list for quite some time, based on the reviews I'd read on the progarchives website. But can you really trust progheads? They're into some pretty weird stuff. Last months' Prog magazine had a "100 greatest artists of all time" feature and who do you think was number 1? Yes... as in the band Yes, not as in yes you guessed it right. If you were thinking the Beatles, they barely sneaked in the list at No.80: Nice little band, catchy melodies, just not complex enough for the fans of "Prog". Anyway I was in the Vecchia Locanda's hometown last week (Rome, of course) holding a handful of Italian prog CD's, and listening to song samples on Discoteca Laziale's listening stations. I scanned the barcode for "Il Tempo Della Gioia" and, even judging from those limited samples, my mind was blown! I hadn't heard such a marriage of rock and classical music from the days of The Moody Blues - only these guys are more complex and progressive, closer to King Crimson."Villa Doria Pamphili" opens with a minute of classical piano, followed by mournful violin and melodic Italian singing. I've said it before, English is the best language for rock but damn if those ballads don't sound better in Italian. I don't understand the language but the translation of the lyrics goes like this "Going down on the ground when it's soaked of dew/then offering her the hands/Waiting for the wind to take here all the stars...Sweet the harmony plays with the nature/it rises and then slips over the lawns/The joy for the matchless moment vibrates inside us/in that roar there is all its glory". I figured it'd be something all poetic like that. Probably makes more sense in Italian, too. After a couple of grandiose symphonic fanfare moments, the song segues into the exquisite baroque instrumental "A Forma Di" with its cascading pianos and choral arrangements taking us back a couple of centuries. Until now the guitars have been very discreet, letting the keyboards and violin take the spotlight. "Il Tempo Della Gioia" is more modern, keeping the classical elements but incorporating them into a more free-form jazz rock frame. Drums and electric guitar make their appearance. "Un Giorno, un Amico" is another, almost 10-minute long, jazzy track with many shifts and different tempos. It's distinguished by some absolutely fiendish violin playing, among the best I've ever heard on a rock album. Near the end, the violin is almost matched by a frantic saxophone, but then it abruptly stops. "È Accaduto una Notte" starts off with choral vocals before returning to baroque territory with some gentle acoustic guitar and flute. From the 6th minute onwards, it keeps gathering speed and intensity and ends with a big bang 2,5 minutes later. Quella Vecchia Locanda gave their best with this album, but it was met with lukewarm response and they disbanded soon after. Too bad - only 5 tracks (34 minutes) of this excellent music just isn't enough. Well, there's still their debut album from '72, somewhat less classical-minded yet also revered by prog fans. I've put it in my amazon basket and will probably order it as soon as I'm finished listening to the huge pile of yet-unlistened CD's I've got in front of me...
***** for Villa Doria Pamphili, A Forma Di
**** for Il Tempo Della Gioia, Un Giorno, un Amico, È Accaduto una Notte
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