Carmine Capasso is a young and ultra-talented guitarist, making quite a name for himself not only in the Italian prog community with The Trip and solo work but also globally. He teams up with the legendary early bassist of PFM. This is a live recording of a pan-Italian 2-year tour and features tracks from the above-mentioned bands as well as other pieces from Lucio Battisti, Ivan Graziani, Ennio Morricone, The Shadows, I Quelli, ELP and King Crimson. Piero Chifa handles bass and rhythm guitar, the drums handled by Jacopo Casadio and Guiseppe Sarno on keyboards. As a counterbalance to AI as well as over-produced sterile manufacture, the band chooses a raw, organic and no overdub presentation, capturing the true essence of live, and verifiable expression. The sugar is in the material and not in the coating. The set-list has three distinctive sections, the more personal material first, a slew of Italian oldies and then a stunning series of legendary covers that features a few tracks we all know and adore.
The mood is set right from the onset with a couple of pieces from his solo album, Carmine getting to shine on the terrific “Neve Nera” (Black Snow), a mid-tempo romantic shuffle, with glittering e-piano and subdued rhythm guitar strokes, carving a mini-solo to install the sizzle. A feelgood tune is next , the highly personal “Una Valigia di Perche”, (a suitcase of why) dealing with trials and tribulations of a travelling musician, not always an easy task when one has a family as well. “Enigma” is a track from the Trip catalog and its a more expansive adventure, a harsher climate where the keys and guitar settle into more progressive realm. The bass and drum configuration is on it like a car bonnet, an extended instrumental foundation painstakingly elaborated, shining some deserved light on Capasso considerable capabilities. The keyboard contributions are also most worthy of applause.
The Ivan Graziani-penned “Monnalisa” is the proverbial epic here, clocking in at 8 and a half minutes, an arch-typical Italian language progressive rock canzone, with plenty of theatrical vocals, wrapped up in a semi boogie-woogie soundscape, an ideal moment with a live concert sequence. The grungy guitar is all brawn and muscle, almost a ZZ Top feel to the solo, the just oozes a wide variety of emotions, including oodles of perspiration. It also fulfills the ritual of introducing the band members with mini-spotlights, so as to show off their considerable talents. Its hot stuff!
Keeping those traditions is crucial and a little Morricone reminder will never hurt, especially when its instantly recognizable as vintage cowboy pasta. When The Shadows classic “Apache” follows suite, images of dusty tumbleweeds and towering mesas take the journey not just to the other side of the Atlantic but also back in time. Now, I am not familiar with the I Quelli piece (the band that spawned PFM), yet “Una Bambolina che fa no no no” is a commemoration of the very early days of prog, especially in Italy, with unconcealed pop tendencies, muddied with some gritty guitar shavings, with a discernable the Kinks feel, in my opinion. The Lucio Battisti -composed “Il Tempo di Morire” (A Time to Die) keeps the good times rolling, another rock-blues exercise in restraint and homage to the influences. Carmine’ fretboard chugging like a train on twisted tracks, smoky audience sing-along to boot and a sense of emotional synchronicity with concert-goers to shed the inhibitions and rock out. The saloon-like atmosphere is led by the rambling Sarno piano work , and the screeching lead guitar solo that had all the whiskey bottles rattling. In essence, this is what a true and blue live experience recording should transmit and this one shines ever so brightly. Remembering when music was fun.
Five monster tracks to slay whatever hesitations one may have held in advance, blown to bits within the very first notes on “21st Century Schizoid Man”, a mainstay of sonic brutalism in its infancy at the time (still the heaviest track ever composed, when taken into analytical context), and these seasoned musicians pull it off without any hint of weakness. “Lucky Man” is initially unrecognizable from the ELP original, a clever twist that comes to fruition only when Carmine starts singing the famous lyrics, and the magical chorus elicits smiles of recognition. The guitar-centric sections in such a live setting give this piece a much admirable kick in the back side, the delicate piano and rolling bass in full gear. The mythical Moog synthesizer solo is reproduced toa tee, as it would be a crime to even dare to alter such a bejewelled moment.
The three PFM tracks are outright classics, the always impressive and elaborate “La Carrozza di Hans”, a demanding labour of technical prowess, concentration and emotive expression, very obviously inspired by the previous KC track. The Sarno/Capasso tandem weave quite the web of sonic capture, the vocals intimately alluring, while the rhythm engine alternate expertly between cruise control and maximum acceleration. What really stirs the imagination is how the audience is fooled thrice into precocious applause. “Impressioni di Settembre” and “E’Festa” are monuments to eternity, the kind of musical rekindling that never caters to ennui, always a wonderful experience, after thousands of spins over half a century, much like “Firth of Fifth”, incrusted with timeless melodies that continuously provide goosebumps for both the body and the mind.
And that my friends, is what music is all about, and this recording is the second-best thing to having been in the audience. I was there.
4.5 dreamy stories