Comoglio, Nik - Tarot - La Spirale Del Tempo

Year of Release: 2006
Label: independent
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 72:14:00

Ah, the good old Italians and their (mostly) reliable sense of pretty lyricism. When something related to progressive rock is around the corner, it rarely fails. Now, combine that with the musical theater approach of Nik Comoglio's ambitious Tarot - La Spirale Del Tempo, and you have yourself an album chock-full of gentle melodies and other sorts of musical pleasantries that stands halfway between Finisterre and Broadway. Sound dubious? Well, it isn't. Not only is the album recorded with a pristinely clear production, but also Comoglio went ahead and got himself a small orchestra, a baritone, and a soprano to deliver the goods. So, as far as regards instrumentation and sound, this Italian composer has everything down pat. But what about the end result?

Well, musical theater has never really been yours truly's thing, to be perfectly honest, but nevertheless, we can manage. Comoglio can, too. Too bad that the same can't be said for baritone Paolo Servidei and soprano Cristina Lo Russo all the time, although Servidei does provide some very meaty and convincing singing at certain points, especially on the sad and solemn "Il Papa" and the temptingly playful "Il Diavolo." As for Lo Russo, well, it isn't that she can't sing in tune or anything unforgivable like that, it's just that she pretty much sounds the same all the time regardless of the mood around her, which gets to be a bit bland after a while ? some variation would have been nice. But enough about the singers. Let's dive into the songs themselves and hope we don't splash into other realms, as yours truly is prone to do.

With Comoglio's progressive rock background, it comes as no surprise that the best music on Tarot is the one closer to that background than to musical theater, so stuff like the thrilling excitement of "Il Carro" and the previously mentioned comedical "Il Diavolo" (which is one hell of a song, by the way) is the best part of Comoglio's output here. The major/minor key switch between "L'imperatore" and "Il Papa" is another brilliant moment, and the string melancholy beginning of "La Luna" is quite achieved, although the track fumbles soon after that. However, the rest of the album is pretty much a give or take thing. Some of the sweeter moments are simply too much to handle, some songs are just uninspired and feel like filler, and a lot of it is simply nothing special. Well, ok, "Il Matto (apertura)" has its moments, but otherwise, there just isn't that much to write home about.

Now, it must be said that Comoglio does indeed know what he's doing. His choices of orchestration can rarely, if at any time, be faulted, and his harmonic language is obviously perfect for this type of music. There are even very brief piano flashes that recall some French impressionist work here and there, which, in case you were wondering, is a good thing. On a larger scale, however, Tarot has very little to offer in the way of brilliance or excitement, and instead is an able and listenable work that some people will definitely enjoy, but which won't be making major waves anytime soon.

Similar Artists: Finisterre, Broadway musicals, John Miner's Art Rock Circus

Tracklisting:
Il Matto (Apertura) (2:17) / Il Bagatto E La Papessa (2:19) / L'imperatrice (2:53) / L'imperatore (2:23) / Il Papa (3:10) / Gli Amanti (4:02) / Il Carro (4:39) / La Giustizia (3:44) / L'Eremita (3:33) / La Ruota Della Fortuna (3:11) / La Forza (4:32) / L'Appeso (3:05) / La Morte (4:45) / La Temperanza (4:14) / Il Diavolo (3:21) / La Torre (3:04) / Le Stelle (2:35) / La Luna (4:05) / Il Sole (3:08) / Il Giudizio (2:58) / Il Mondo (3:19) / Il Matto (Chiusura) (0:56)

Musicians:
Paolo Servidei - baritone
Cristina LoRusso - soprano
Rossella Cangini, Mariarosa Congia, others - additional voices
Fulvio Raduano - piano
Nik Comoglio - piano, Hammond, keyboards
Paolo Rigotto - drums and percussion
Luis Casih - percussion
Federico Marchesano - bass
Pino Russo - guitars
Marco Tardito - saxophones
Ramon Moro - trumpet
Marco Robino - recorder
Mauro Quasso - digeridoo
Roberto Grosso - fisarmonica
Fabrizio Dindo, Gianluca Scipioni, Marco Rigoletti - brass trio
Luigi Finetto, Andrea Manco, Luigi Picatto - woodwind trio
Cecilia Bacci, Valentina Busso, Paola Perardi, Umberto Clerici - string quartet
Federica Mancini - harp
Rrok Jakaj - violin
Gianluca Calonghi - clarinet

Discography:
Syndone - Spleen (1992)
Syndone - Inca (1993)
Il Sogno Di Itaca (blanca) (2005)
Il Sogno Di Itaca (versione teatrale) (2005)
Tarot - La Spirale Del Tempo (2005)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: April 23rd 2006
Reviewer: Marcelo Silveyra
Score:
Artist website: www.nikcomoglio.it
Hits: 2704
Language: english