mj64

Dear Puni, this self-quote of yours sounds rather tiresome to me, even though there’s some truth in it. However, I don’t believe I belong to the circle of blind die-hards. Meanwhile, PG has - in my opinion - created enough masterpieces in these 40 years to deserve my everlasting gratitude. As for Scratch My Back, I’m not praising it uncritically (I gave 3 stars to a work of the Archangel, for heaven’s sake, not 5), I just wanted to highlight that not everything that smokes is manure; sometimes there’s roast as well. Today Uncle Pietro turns 60, he deserves something more than the ungrateful jeers he’s been receiving. Yet, I won't deny that this album is a crafty operation and not artistically exceptional, of course.

I will never dismiss a work from the greatest deity of my personal musical Olympus. Sure, the cover album project annoyed me quite a bit, and while the sonic presentation of the tracks, theoretically fascinating and meticulously crafted, risks becoming a rather effective sleeping pill. More than anything, by the end of the first listen, I had the sensation of having listened to an endless track for an hour, where even the things I already knew were inserted and blended into a homogeneous but boring whole.
Now I’m trying with the second listen (do I deserve a prize?) and I must say that I’m catching some glimmers here and there. First of all, the voice, in my opinion, is not tired at all, perhaps a bit monotonous, but it has moments of pure magic. Then I begin to catch some flashes here and there, like in the hypnotic progression of "the body is a cage" (and those strings that even echo in the wilderness, from the old "from genesis to revelation." Deliberate assonance? I don't think so). In short, it manages to scrape a passing grade; maybe in two days I will definitively put it at the back of the closet, but for god's sake, Peter remains Peter. The fact that that insufferable little man Bowie refused to be part of the compilation of Gabrielian tracks does not speak well of him. Personally, I do not change my opinion of the deity for a cover disc, nor do I alter my view of him, who has been artistically dead and buried for 20 years. PG forever, forgive me!

The review is good, I missed the concert also because, frankly, this lineup doesn’t really excite me. Of the three historical members left, Glover and Paice can still be worth it, Gillan was great but his instrument is no longer what it used to be. Honestly, I've always preferred MKIII: Glenn Hughes is better than Glover (and fantastic on vocals), Coverdale better than Ian. It’s normal that they don’t play "Burn" and "Mistreated" (masterpieces from an album that, for me, is unsurpassable); those are pieces that Gillan probably despises. Nonetheless, hats off to them; among the sixty-somethings still (more or less) active, they are definitely the ones more capable of taking the stage with dignity. And even so, the setlist is far from bad. They have a place in history. I won’t comment on Morse and Airey; for sure, Jon Lord is not easy to replace (as for Blackmore, who knows, compared to the current one, Morse is definitely better).

Just today on the radio I heard "Hold Me Now" and I was hit with an unbelievable wave of nostalgia for that album and those years. Not that the years were anything special musically (I mean, the years), but I remember listening to this album a lot; I also associate it with reading a total masterpiece – "The Stand" by Stefano Re – and sometimes music and reading create a stratospheric combination. I completely agree in every way; surely Tears for Fears and Talk Talk are a step higher, but this album truly has its own worth. Well done!

great review, I won't comment on the album. I've somewhat lost track of the Pendragons' (excellent) beginnings. They are good, Barrett is a great guitarist, but they are a bit too much the same as themselves. Better than IQ (I also liked the latest one), I have greater doubts about this album exactly for those qualities you define: the comparison with PT, Riverside, and DT gives me chills of urticaria. I can't stand the so-called "prog-metal" trend. But if I get the chance, I'll listen to it. I still recommend to all of you "The Jewel," an unfortunately old album from 24 years ago but goosebump-inducing in many parts.

The review would be perfect if it didn't start from a point of view I do not share: I don’t consider The Darkest Hour a masterpiece, and I certainly don’t consider it the best of IQ. Moreover, I don't see much of a departure from the sounds of previous albums. In my opinion, it’s a good album (personally, I even prefer the latest, Frequency) but not a masterpiece. The average level of IQ's production is certainly high, but they don't shine for inventiveness, except for the pop-oriented interlude of the two albums from the late 80s (Nomzamo and Are You Sitting Comfortably) with a different singer and a record label trying to replicate the Marillion miracle with them. It, of course, went terribly; those albums (which I happen to like very much, by the way) sold very poorly, and Orford and the others were dropped. They had to get back the original singer (Nicholls, still in the band) and return to making excellent prog music for the usual "insiders." Nevertheless, they are a more than decent band.

I fully agree, almost entirely. As a Bobby Kimball fan, I've never been able to stand those who replaced him, not even the good Fergie (who is quite talented, by the way) or this son of John Williams with his high and, in his own way, powerful voice but way too much of a pretty boy and, above all, a son of... Actually, it was a preconception due to my excessive love for the first singer (seen in '82, during the - for him - fateful IV tour, delivering an extraordinary vocal performance in one of the two or three best concerts of my life). Over time, I have somewhat changed my mind, although undoubtedly better than this album, with Williams on vocals, one can mention Seventh One and the same Home of the Brave.
As for Toto, what can I say? Never fully accepted by critics, they may not be the authors of rock milestones, but they remain a band of superior quality. I saw them in the 90s and they were still extraordinary (unfortunately, in the meantime, the great Jeff had passed away, but that doesn’t mean the one who took his place was mediocre).
Among their productions, I consider Hydra by far the best, but what can you do? I'm an old, rusty progster, and that album (especially in the titular suite) is the one that most embodies echoes of progressive music.

You're right, it wasn't about tearing it down. Sorry. Anyway, I guess I'll wait for paradise and then I'll take all three of them.

The Roman Davide Guidoni, in addition to being an excellent graphic designer, should definitely be featured as a drummer at least in the track by Nuova Era. Great suggestion; I haven't listened to this yet, nor to L'inferno, but I will sooner or later. I'm sorry about your harsh critique of the Tenmidnight, whom I actually quite like, maybe a bit closer to AOR than symphonic prog, but technically valid. Well done!

undoubtedly a song that gets under your skin. I will never fully love Battisti, whom I consider a genius in terms of musical ideas. Even less do I love Mogol, who has written a few nice lyrics (uber alles I would include "Impressioni di settembre") and a lot of crap, yet he is regarded as a Poet with a capital P (but shall we compare him to a De André, a Guccini, the same De Gregori? please). It's not my favorite, but it's not even "La Canzone del Sole" (I would smash the guitar over anyone who performs it).