•
Rating:
Travel in Italy Part Two
It seems that the Belpaese is quite appealing to Billy Cobham: 4 years after the first installment, the renowned Panamanian drummer returns to Italian soil to record the follow-up to his project "Drum N' Voice". Besides him, the list of guests invited to participate in these recordings is, of course, mind-blowing: from Buddy Miles to Airto Moreira, from Jan Hammer (an old acquaintance of our Billy; they had already recorded the historic "Spectrum" in 1973) to John Patitucci. Unfortunately, despite such a splendid list of "invitees", the result does not quite come through. Or rather, not completely. Let's be clear: all the tracks are pleasant and played with class and mastery, and the production is clean, although a bit too muffled; however, the album lacks an element of originality. We might say that the CD in question belongs to the group of "already heard, but with taste"
"Waweform", the opening track, immediately hits the listener's ear: Billy's precise and funky drumming "converses" with Brian Auger's Hammond organ, creating a very interesting effect and highlighting, if there was any need, the great class of these musicians. "Final Destination" and "Running" are dominated by the drumming of the acrobatic drummer, always attentive to the pursuit of a clean and precise groove, perfectly supported by the excellent bass lines of Rossana Nicolosi, as "Take Seven" is a good rhythmic cue supported by John Patitucci's bass, who also ventures into a very beautiful and intense solo.
Of course, within "Drum n' voice" there are also vocal tracks. In this album, we have three. The first, "Real Funk", as the title suggests, is an interesting composition imbued with funky nuances, listen to Cobham's work to believe it, valuable and convincing (really, listening to it, you can't help but tap your foot to the rhythm!). On the instrumental base stands the deep voice of Buddy Miles: a good test for the singer who also collaborated with Santana and Hendrix. However, "One More Day To Live" sung by Mike Lindrup does not fully convince, as it seems to too closely mimic the structure of "Real Funk" without reaching its qualitative levels. The song unfolds on a slow and elegant rhythm, which suddenly opens up in the chorus: nonetheless, in my opinion, the vocal lines tend too much towards Pop, thus causing the song to end without too much flair. A different case for "Let Me Breathe": opened by Pepe Ragonese's trumpet, the track is sly and elegant. Dora Nicolosi's excellent performance behind the microphone convinces, as she manages to create dreamy and delicate melodies with her voice. In conclusion, another instrumental is included. Although it lasts a minute and a half, "Amazon" turns out to be one of the best tracks on the album. Here Cobham's drumming and the fantastic percussion by Airto Moreira meet, intertwine, and blend, creating a frantic rhythm and a very suggestive effect; if the intent of these two musicians with this piece was to evoke the origins of percussion creating a "tribal" atmosphere, well, what can I say, they succeeded!
Ultimately, still a good album for Billy Cobham, but, upon finishing the CD, the feeling that the "winning cue" is missing does not leave us, notwithstanding that the album is still worth a listen.
Loading comments slowly
