I don’t understand Italian, and I didn’t realize there was an English version – and I don’t really want to listen to that – so whatever this grand concept is, I don’t really know or care. Sometimes it’s better to listen to “High Concept” rock music in another language, that way you’re not confronted with the inevitable embarrassing lyrics. (Maybe these guys are different. I don’t know! That’s probably why my rating is so high.)
Imagine Emerson, Lake and Palmer with less virtuosity and a lot less bombast, and without their stupid formula – i.e. no sappy ballad, no comedy rock number, no “classical” adaptation, no side-long opus with a million overdubs – singing in Italian, and you get some idea of what Le Orme sounds like. It’s the same “keyboard power trio” thing, but Tony Pagliuca is no Keith Emerson, which is both a bad thing and a good thing – less awe-inspiring keyboard runs and solos, fewer overdubs – and everything else is, well, more consistent. Though this album contains two brief acoustic guitar -based pieces, most of the rest of the record is pretty musically consistent, in terms of what we’re presented.
And it’s the consistency of the sound and the performance that I find appealing. I don’t know what they’re singing about, but the musicianship is good, and the performances are good. The songs are catchy enough. Whether or not it’s fair to compare them to that other keyboard trio, this record is way more consistent than most ELP albums.
8/10
All tracks by Le Orme
- “Sospesi nell’incredibile” (“In between”) – 8:43
- “Felona” – 1:58
- “La solitudine di chi protegge il mondo” (“The loneliness of those who protect the world”) – 1:57
- “L’equilibrio” (“The Balance”) – 3:47
- “Sorona” – 2:28
- “Attesa inerte” – 3:25
- “Ritratto di un mattino” (“Portrait of a morning”) – 3:29
- “All’infuori del tempo” – 4:08
- “Ritorno al nulla” (“Return to Naught”) – 3:34
- Tony Pagliuca – keyboards
- Aldo Tagliapietra – voice, bass, guitars
- Michi Dei Rossi – drums, percussions