Gianni Nicola
Oh No, It's Prog!

"Oh no! It's prog!"

A project that goes by the name of a solo artist, yet one hopes the group that accompanied Gianni Nicola will always stay together. Oh No, It's Prog! (an intelligently self-ironic title) is a pleasant and never banal album. A sincere homage to artistic, progressive, and cultured rock.

It starts with a pumping, panting organ (reminiscent of "Strawberry Fields Forever") and moves forward in a Beatles-like manner until about the 3-minute mark, when it shifts to rock closer to today's stylistic norms. We're dealing with symphonic prog or symphonic rock, often in 'midtempo' and with not overly intricate harmonizations. But the electric instrumentation heats up perfectly when a 'speeder' arrives, galvanizing and intoxicating, and the rhythm - which turns from binary to more complex - and along with the rhythm the emotional roller coaster, serve as a unifying principle of the tonal structures. Oh, no! It's definitely prog!

Especially in the guitar parts, there are echoes of Pink Floyd, but ultimately the work maintains its own identity. The idea of the flute on the central track, the long suite "The Dream", is winning, and its use also on the next piece... an obligatory use, this latter, as it involves "taking a stroll with Jethro" ("Taking A Stroll With Jethro").

The ensemble? A top-notch group of musicians, masters, and teachers of their respective instruments. Besides Gianni Nicola (on guitars), we have Emanuele Bosco on drums, Luca Pisu on bass, Paolo Gambino on keyboards, and Ariel Verosto on flute.

Special mention for Alessandra Turri, the singer. Tireless! She is expressively adequate in the airy sections, thrilling where the music touches on lyricism... and her voice can become powerful where the rock gets heavy.

In short: Oh No, It's Prog! is the first true surprise of 2020. A venture with a happy outcome. An album that brings joy to those who love the progressive rock of Genesis (and later Marillion), but also the neo-prog of IQ and Riverside.

Here is a presentation on HamelinProg

A small observation about the cover, as spartan as that of Duke, an album by Genesis. It depicts a caricature of The Scream, the famous painting by Edvard Munch. Well, that little man with the gaping mouth underscores the reaction many young people had in the Eighties - and beyond - when someone showed up with a cassette tape loaded with progressive rock. "Oh no! It's prog!"

Exactly...

>> To best record the tracks, I collaborated with some professional musicians living in the province of Turin. The bassist, Luca Pisu, alternates his teaching and session work with being the bassist and frontman of the rock band i Fiori and bassist in Fratelli di Soledad. Paolo Gambino, the keyboardist, boasts a decade-long collaboration with the well-known songwriter Eugenio Finardi. He has played in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, is a keyboardist for Funk It and 60/70 (a Deep Purple cover band), and for some years has accompanied the Sunshine Gospel Choir. Alessandra Turri is a well-prepared singer and teacher who has worked with Disco Inferno, House of Noises, Eva Jeans and the Cats, Rockstar the Rock Tribute. She has been combining her singer/teacher career with session work for high-level productions in the Italian pop scene for years. On drums, I called Emanuele Bosco who, although not making music his primary livelihood, has a very solid groove and a very deep knowledge of Progressive Rock. An occasional guest appears on two tracks. He is Ariel Verosto, a flutist and session musician of Argentine origins living in Turin. << (Gianni Nicola)

The album can be ordered at: gianninicola@alice.it