Pandora

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Dec 20 13:11:03 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит Pandora/(2013)AlibiFilosofico

Очень неплохая современная итальянская группа, яркие представители олд-скульного РПИ.
Разнообразная музыка - от металла до джаза, как полагается - весьма сильный вокал, как мужской, так и женский. Объёные композиции, концептуальный альом. В общем - "классик РПИ".
Мне понравилось, хотя текста много, а итальянского я не знаю.
ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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Pandora biography
Founded in Bra, Italy in 2005

"The band was born in September 2005, when Claudio Colombo (drummer) decided to start a musical project with keyboardists Beppe Colombo and Corrado Grappeggia. At first, their main inspiration came from the progressive rock of the 1970s - they wrote their own music drawing from groups such as Genesis, Yes, P. F. M, New Trolls, Dream Theater, etc....

So, Pandora began as a group dedicated to the composition of progressive pieces - giving life first to large pieces that espouse fantasy and research sounds and melodies. They show the harmony of a group that combines the emergance of Beppe's experience, the musical culture and composition of Corrado, and the talent of Claudio.

The band is open to cooperation with many musicians to ensure that their musical project reaches a good conclusion. In the first years, these collaborations will not lead mainly positive results for the inconsistencies of the musical ideas, but the project of Pandora will live on. The band has done some acoustic concerts that were pretty successful, maintaining the desire for the group to continue.

So begins the recent history of the band: in February 2008 after several concerts, Pandora signed their first recording contract with the record label Milanese AMS-BTF, specializing in the production and distribution of progressive rock. In the same month Pandora welcomed the young, talented guitar player Christian Dimasi into its lineup.

In 2008, the group registered their first CD entitled "Dramma di un Poeta Ubriaco "; it contains original songs that represent the path of Pandora's project. It does not contain "simple songs," but, through accourate research and attention to detail, the group wanted to explore various expressions of progressive rock: from hard rock to medieval compositions, jazz and symphonic melodies. The stories therein weave between personal problems and fantasy stories inspired by the symbol of Pandora's box.

The objective of the group has been to create music with an harmonic and original sound leaving the schemes that most of the music today has, avoiding the trivial and the foreseeable. The band has tried to reproduce a sound of the past in a modern key, trying to highlight the importance of music that is set aside today many times in favour of commerce.

(c) Claudio, PA
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(c) Review by andrea, PA

"Alibi filosofico" is the third studio album by Pandora and it was released in 2013 on the independent label AMS/BTF Records. After the release of their previous work, "Sempre e ovunque oltre il sogno" (2011), guitarist Christian Dimasi left the band and wasn't replaced, so Pandora went on as a trio with a line up featuring Corrado Grappegia (vocals, keyboards), Beppe Colombo (keyboards) and Claudio Colombo (drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, flute, cuatro, backing vocals) but during the recording sessions they were helped by many prestigious guests such as Arjen Lucassen (Minimoog, guitar), David Jackson (saxophones, flute, tin whistle), Dino Fiore (bass), Leonardo Gallizio (bass), Emoni Viruet (vocals, percussion) and others. The result of their efforts is a brilliant mix of vintage atmospheres and modern sounds. The art cover by Emoni Viruet reflects the musical content and in the rich booklet every track is described with a painting and a short story by Claudio Colombo...

The long, complex opener "Il Necromante, Khurastos e la prossima vittima" (The Necromancer, Khurastos and the next victim) is a sequel to the fantasy story of the druid Chad-Bat, protagonist of some pieces on Pandora's previous album where he helped a king and his army to defeat their enemies. Anyway, his final enchantment consumed almost all his energies and here Chad-Bat's adversary, the Necromancer, takes his revenge: he breaths new life in the bodies of his dying soldiers and awakes an ominous monster called Khurastos that storms upon the king's army. The theatrical vocals interpret the Necromancer's fury while the music evokes the battle and the bloodshed...

The epic instrumental "Ne titolo ne parole" (No title nor words) is also linked to Chad-Bat's saga. According to the short story in the booklet, a female elf with a magical voice and her faithful knight called Lord Jon perceive the approaching sound of evil forces and set off to the rescue defeating the Necromancer's army with the charming power of their music. Every now and again the atmosphere could recall the score of an old spaghetti western... By the way, this piece is dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Douglas Lord (1941-2012).

The piano driven instrumental "La risalita" (The ascent) describes a difficult escape from the treacherous waters of the Styx river where Pandora, the protagonist, is trapped after her meeting with Нades, the god of the dead and the king of the underworld. The story continues in the following "Apollo" where Pandora goes through a kind of psychedelic dream and gets lost in a labyrinth of sounds and melodies after ran into Apollo, the god of music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more... Eventually she awakes in the middle of a village where there's a celebration going on and she begins to dance. The narrative vocals express, through the dialogue between Apollo and Pandora, some reflections about the ever changing concept of art and its capability to mislead who tries to understand it...

The colourful, jazzy "Tony il matto" (Mad Tony) is dedicated to the memory of Antonio Ligabue, an Italian painter and one of the most important Naïve artists of the 20th century, a peculiar character that emerges from superimposed layers of silence with his madness, his genius and the memories of his troubled life spent as a loner, wondering along the banks of the river Po, near the town of Guastalla, Emilia.

"Sempre con me" (Always with me) starts softly, the mood is dreamy. It's a piece about a love stronger than time. The music and lyrics depict a man and a woman that have been together for a lifetime and keep on walking side by side, overcoming every obstacle, until they're in front of a celestial orchestra. Their love generated other lives and more love, their image is a true celebration of happiness... The long final track, "Alibi filosofico" (Philosophical alibi), on the contrary, describes the crises of a relationship where the love between a man and a woman can't stand up against the difficulties of life. The man is trying to find a reason to leave his partner, making up an alibi to hide his plans, searching for the right words to break free. It's just a matter of different point of views, a philosophical topic about time passing by and the need of new goals...

An excellent album!
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Line-up / Musicians

- Corrado Grappegia / lead & backing vocals, keyboards
- Beppe Colombo / keyboards
- Claudio Colombo / drums, percussion, bass, electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, orchestra flute & Puerto Rican cuatro (6) backing vocals

With:
- Emoni Viruet / lead (2) & backing vocals, voice of Pandora (4), percussions (6)
- Arjen Lucassen / Minimoog & guitar solo (2)
- David Jackson / saxophones, orchestra flute, & tin whistle (4,5)
- Dino Fiore / bass (2)
- Leonardo Gallizio / bass (4-6), fretless bass (5)
- Nami / vibes (4)
- Duilio Mongittu / voice of Apollo (4)
- Meldreth Manor School children (Jamie Arif, TJ Forman, Matthew Betts) / "soundbeam & switches" (4)
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido