Periferia Del Mondo - Un Milione Di Voci (A Million Voices)

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Akarma Records
Catalog Number: AK3002
Format: CD
Total Time: 58:02:00

You kind of have to feel sorry for the Italians. Even despite having a pretty killer prog scene in the seventies, they are more often than not relegated way behind progressive rock cornerstone country England. I mean, sure, it's not like prog is exactly very big nowadays, but jeez, couldn't these guys get a little more credit? There's even a subcategory of prog bearing their country's name, which, granted, is not as impressive as having one named after a city (hint hint: Geoffrey Chaucer), but damn it, it's not like many other countries have one! The people over at Periferia Del Mondo realized this as well, and, as their corporate mission statement clearly lets the world know, they are out to honor their ancestors' golden tradition. Thus, Un Milione Di Voci.

And while the Roman ensemble's sophomore effort does include a taste or two or maybe three of what its predecessors would have chosen as a musical path, it is clearly obvious that multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Papotto and company are not interested in being a mere shadow of time past. There's an obvious dash of Brazilian music influence in "Un Borghese Piccolo Piccolo" and the martini-smooth "Can Stop." There's a motherload of funk, especially in the addictive horn grooves of "Percezioni Della Memoria." A somewhat uptempo sensitive pop stamp can be found splattered across the record. Yet, when all is said and done, these all become obstacles. Big obstacles. Make that gargantuan obstacles and keep the change.

While Periferia del Mondo is clearly interested in opening avenues to other, more contemporary influences, the group is, well, kind of uninspiring. Papotto's vocals are okay, the production is pretty clear and solid, the band is pretty tight, and the actual songs are well-structured and sort of catchy, but they just never set off any fires. Alright, so the awesome cosmically heavy groove of "Espresso (Parte 2)" is a taker after a pretty appallingly kitschy Baroque intro, and the main theme of "Percezioni Della Memoria" is persistent like a mosquito on a hot summer afternoon right alongside the river. Moreover, the minor key section of the solo guitar piece "Two As One" is pretty awe-inspiring, even if the thing in its entirety comes across as a second-class attempt at having a "Mood For A Day" in Un milione di voci. But, ahem, that's pretty much it.

And interestingly enough, the best parts of the record are those that unashamedly go for the treasures of tradition. Even the ELP-like "Di Foglie E Di Acqua" could have been a killer progressive rock instrumental if these guys had put the whole band behind it instead of leaving it as a stand-alone synthesizer piece. But such parts are few and far between, leaving the listener with nothing but an abundance of the well-known-in-the-circles-of-prog "been there, done that" syndrome. Sure, at least it's not the "been there, done that" of many bands that simply rehash the old symphonic rock clich?s at every corner, but the fact is that Un Milione Di Voci remains as uneventful as they do, if only in a different way.

Similar artists: Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, ELP, Flower Kings

Tracklisting:
Luci A Un Universo Neonato (Lights From A Baby Universe) (1:29) / Percezioni Della Memoria (Perceptions Of The Memory) (1:50) / Un Borghese Piccolo Piccolo (A Small Small Bourgeois) (9:10) - A. Cion Azione (Cion Action) - B. Un Nado Al Pettine (A Nado To The Comb) - C. Chiarezza (Clarity) / Icanti E Perplessita (Spells And Perplexity) (5:03) / Two As One (3:21) / Eva Luna (Eva Moon) (4:19) / Cercando La Via (Trying The Way) (3:38) / Can Stop (4:18) / Espresso (Parte 2) (Expressed (Part 2)) (4:13) / Immagine 1 (Image 1) (0:39) / Di Fogile E Di Acqua (Of Leaves And Water) (3:51) / Un Millione Di Voci (A Million Voices) (6:58) / Monologo (1:06) / Lo Brucio (I Burn) (8:16) *please note that I have provided English translations of each track - KH

Musicians:
Claudio Braico - bass
Alessandro Papotto - alto & tenor saxophone, clarinet, keyboards, flute, synthesizers, berimbau, percussion & effects
Alberto D'Annibale - violin
Max G. B. Tomassi -electric, acoustic & classical guitars, effects
Bruno Vegliante - piano, keyboards, synthesizers, synth programming
Tony Zito - drums

Special guests:

Vittorio Nocenzi - keyboards
Mauro Pagani -

Discography:
In Ogni Luogo, In Ogni Tempo (2000)
Omaggio A Demetrio Stratos (2001)
Un Millone Di Voci (2002)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: November 19th 2006
Reviewer: Marcelo Silveyra
Score:
Artist website: www.periferiadelmondo.it
Hits: 2285
Language: english