pier_paolo_farina

Well, the annoyingly rhetorical opening of your comment (with the classic paralipsis of stating that you don't want to do something and then doing it) doesn't set a positive tone, but then you charmingly pin yourself down by not managing to focus on the word "unesthetic," so that's fine.
You are absolutely right about the first point; I should have read the review one more time before sending it and found a synonym for the first of the two "indulgere" (for example, "to fall into") and replaced the second with the more appropriate "self-indulgences."
As for the second point, I think it stands well as it is: "evoluire" is used improperly, again employing a rhetorical figure of "flourishing."
Let me point out "fare il maestro": it's a poor and crude use of the Italian language. A more elegant phrasing would be "atteggiarsi a maestro," etc., but it actually works well as it is because yours is a comment, not a written piece (like reviews are), and thus the use of very generic verbs is also useful for quickly conveying the concept. Best regards.

The trick that I occasionally apply is to start reviewing singles, as the site allows for it. They are classics, but at the same time still never reviewed, unless you consider their possible portions within the albums they belong to... No one has yet reviewed, for example, "Paranoid" (the song), Child In Time, I'm Not In Love, Penny Lane, Sympathy for the Devil, etc. etc.

Beautiful words Blue.

The Saga are already mentioned in reviews, for a somewhat similar way of using synthesizers by John Beck, who must have listened carefully to the Canadian star Jim Gilmour. An absolute excellence of the pop-progressive blend, in my personal ranking of musical gratitude and admiration, they stand among the top five names. I fully agree on "Once Around the World" as the artistic peak of the group and on the five stars awarded to Blue. Lastly, I would add that this album is produced and mixed by a god (while, for example, the third "Eat Me in St. Louis" is harsh and much less rich and balanced)... in particular, the environment where the bass operates is wonderful, so deep and pleasing...

I love "On the Line," great arpeggio, Argentine voice, skilled backing vocals... I don't agree with your judgment on Souther: he wrote some really good songs, it's just that... he passed them to the Eagles! In the end, it even worked out for him, that way he has guaranteed royalties for life.

The sound of Blackmore in those golden years 1971-73 was characterized by the use of Marshall Major 200 Watt heads, which provided a cleaner and more hi-fi tone compared to the more classic and commonly used Marshall 100 Watt. No compressors... the sound went through a little box, a treble booster from Hornby-Skewes with germanium transistors. Later on, he would move on to even more unique things, like an AIWA tape recorder used specifically and simply as a preamplifier. Of course, in the studio albums, he still made massive use of the Vox AC30, his "historic" amp.

My favorite by O'Sullivan is Nothing Rhymed. From time to time, I put on the anthology CD that I own that features him. He deserved more in his career, but I must also say that his catalog doesn’t contain dozens of gems on par with those we are mentioning on this Debaser page. Alone Again is a masterpiece, nonetheless... equipped with an abnormal number of chords, a progression that for some reason I've never found the time to learn.

The miserable existence surrounded by ghosts must have been what that cool guy (according to many) Kurt Cobain experienced. Maybe Fraser had a good life, not having to struggle to pay the bills and perhaps feeling privileged for the luck he had as a young man to hit a timeless single and a few albums of historical importance, thus enjoying slow but steady sales. The world is full of great musicians who never had the "day in the sun" (actually a nice shine of years) that he had. Your convictions about the Free, while sacred though not shareable, are understandable, except for the hyperboles about Mozart and Beethoven, which are just exaggerations (I hope).

I find comfort in what you say about Frontiers. Many years ago I had a brief contact with them, completely disappointing. As for the fact that they "produce" American AOR albums, this term must be limited to the concept of executive production... they provide the money for pressing and distributing records (and regarding where they find this money and how they manage to survive distributing a genre so out of fashion in a suffocating market, it’s easy to speculate and maybe keep those thoughts to yourself, as you have done). The musical production, meaning what gets played and what doesn’t, the choice of songs, the direction, the sounds, etc., I really don’t think people like Lukather and Paich would hand that over to Italians. Not to mention Scholtz from Boston, who was producing his music even when he was a complete unknown. Regarding the progressive nuances associated with Toto, I think there have been some (primarily Hydra and Home of the Brave), but there are many more digressions into other musical genres compared to the strict AOR they cultivated, first and foremost the fusion with many tracks, often instrumental, scattered throughout their albums, followed by the California metal reminiscent of Van Halen, the rhythm & blues mainly conveyed by vocalist Kimball, etc. etc.

Mmmh, there are two ways to describe "Free at Last". One is to calmly talk about the album, the decent songs it contains, and frame it within the Free repertoire, as good but not exceptional, always enjoyable since they are, the Free.
The other is to start discussing Koss, about how he had deteriorated at the time, how much his bandmates were suffering, just as much as he was, seeing him in that condition, how during the promotional concerts for the album people would remain stunned, saddened, weeping in his presence... and it could go on forever.
For now, I don’t feel inspired; if for you it’s just a matter of revising and editing your review, I urge you to do so. I would gladly read it.