mj64

The review is excellent, I share your enthusiasm for the singing abilities of the good Grammatico; I dare to give him 4 (low) stars because it’s an album that I literally devoured back in the day. Urgent is a masterpiece, Juke Box Hero and others are of the highest level. My only doubt regarding the AOR's "poker of aces" is that, in my opinion, the Survivor don’t fit; I would definitely add Styx, Boston, and maybe REO Speedwagon, all of much greater depth. So the poker becomes a sextet. De gustibus, of course.

After extensive gut-wrenching, I managed to give a 5 to the album of a band that I honestly hate. But this is a masterpiece: a groundbreaking album, incredibly important, it has spawned a ton of miserably low-level clone bands. Yorke's voice disgusts me, their cold, formally perfect sound fills me with doubt, but in the end, I take my hat off. Sufficient review.

Good job. It's not my favorite zuff, but we can’t complain...

3 out of 5, but a rather poor review. And the albums by Bennato that are better than this one are at least 4, starting from the debut (don’t be discouraged, which includes the title track, the wonderful "Campi Flegrei," "Un giorno credi," and more), continuing with "I buoni e i cattivi," "Io che non sono l'imperatore," "La torre di Babele," and "Burattino senza fili." Almost all of these albums are between 4.5 and 5. Not this one, because it tries to replicate the miracle of "Burattino," has some very fitting lyrics, but musically it falls a bit short. The real sadness is that since then (1980), our Edo hasn’t released an album that even comes close to passing.

I strongly disagree with the judgment expressed, but I believe the 4 stars are warranted: yes, the track by track is a bit of a drag, the album was just reviewed (and it’s an album from 1986), but in the end, who cares. The review is well written, the enthusiasm is genuine, some analyses are even well done, and if you’re 14 years old like I think, further compliments!
Now let’s get to my rating: I grew up with Queen, I adored them, I cried on November 24, 1991 like few other times in my life (I was there, of course; 64 is my birth date, unfortunately). However, today I believe that no Queen album can be worth 5 stars, because the band had a stratospheric lead singer, a good guitarist (not great), a decent bassist (but the author of a few beautiful pieces, from "You're My Best Friend" to "You and I" to "Spread Your Wings"), and a rather mediocre drummer with a terrible voice. But above all, in terms of composition, they never reached levels of excellence, wavering between light rock and the desire to do something epic that never resulted in true masterpieces. This one certainly doesn’t deserve a 5, in my opinion. In my ranking, I would perhaps place II (4.6), Sheer Heart Attack (4.5), I, News of the World, Night, and Day (the last two with stunning moments but also some junk). I don’t think this is the best album of the '80s: it competes with The Miracle for the second spot; in my view, the best is The Works, which I value higher (almost 4 stars) because it's the successor to that crap, Hot Space (1). And even The Game (the turning point album, after declaring proudly that they had never used a synth, embraced electronics, but in what way? with bursts of disco effects), which I also loved, isn’t that great (2.5). This one, let’s say, is a solid 3. And still, well done. Ah, Innuendo? Almost 4, because among the crap and beautiful pieces, it’s the testament album of Farrokh Bulsara, an album that oozes pain and tears from every single note. Long live the Queen, anyway. And good job, Fede!

In my opinion, this album deserves a 4.5. My favorite is Houses of the Holy (oh my), the first five tracks are all 5s, although I do sense some moments of fatigue within the double album. For the subsequent ones, I’d give Presence a low 4 and In Through the Out Door (but this one gets a 5 out of respect because it was the first I bought new when I was 15).

errata corrige: it breaks my heart to say it, but due to the organizers' probable oversight, the concert on November 16 will not be at the Aracoeli, but at the x-roads, a new venue located near Lake Bracciano (so not exactly in the heart of Rome). and of course not free.

MkIII forever! It's a masterpiece, from the title track to Mistreated, a band in top form. And Coverdale is the best.

Let's say one thing: I wouldn't want to come off as the hogarthian idiot who looks down on Fish's albums. I just want to say that I (who saw Marillion three times with the lumberjack in the mid-eighties, had all the vinyl, including the most ridiculous 12”), after buying Seasons End (which I liked) and Holidays in Eden (a disaster), abandoned Marillion for 18 years. But if the first four albums had magic, power, and poetry (Fish's lyrics), I find the claim "they've aged poorly, they lack hunger" to be borderline blasphemous. How is that possible? A band that sold millions of records and now has to pop champagne if they reach 15,000 pre-orders (and I doubt the total exceeds 100,000)? And then, honestly, on the compositional ability, I believe everyone has improved, aside from the fact that Hogarth is a much better musician than Fish. Also, excuse me, but have you seen Fish live lately? Huge charisma, almost zero voice, and an embarrassing band. Even today, if I have to point out the masterpiece of Marillion, I oscillate between Script and Clutching (with Brave ready to make its case), but for sure, your criticisms seem excessive to me.