Le Orme
Live in Pennsylvania

"Boring old farts", or "boring old farts;" this is how the rotten punks of '77 Britain described the old prophets of progressive, romantic, or symphonic rock, only to secretly cultivate (does the name Van Der Graaf Generator mean anything to you, Mr. Johnny Rotten?) the most unspeakable passions.

No one was spared: everyone got thrown into the pot, from Pink Floyd to Genesis to Yes (THE YES, for God's sake!), and for at least 3 years, progressive rock was talked about only as a plague that was now cured, a malignant weed uprooted forever; then, as if by magic, between 1980 and 1981, Marillion and other apostles of the old glories emerged, and from there the so-called neo-progressive genre was born, which gave oxygen to a now underground but reasonably populated movement, as well as the way to rediscover the music of the origins, especially from the mid-'90s onwards, with the great "dinosaurs" coming out of hiding to show the world that inspiration (in many cases) is fleeting, but class is not.

In our country as well, the "progressive" movement went through more or less the same process: great success until '74, a desire for new air and great protests between '75 and '77, after which the revolution came, marking the definitive disappearance for many, and indefinite oblivion for all the others.

Among these others were Le Orme, who enjoyed great success until '75, then the desire for experimentation and the decline in inspiration caused a gradual lack of interest from the public, especially in the disastrous '80s; the desire to play and the renewed interest from a hard core of fans convinced the band to reform to propose both old tunes and new compositions.

The historic keyboardist Tony Pagliuca was finally replaced by Michele Bon and Andrea Bassato (the latter having recently defected), and from 1996 to today, the band's discography has been enriched with 3 new concept albums ("Il Fiume," "Elementi," and "L'infinito") more than decent, at times even good; today, "Live in Pennsylvania" arrives in our players, a luxurious box set documenting a concert held on the occasion of Nearfest 2005, a reference festival for old and new progressive rock.

A bit for promotion, a bit for recklessness, the concert begins with a suite of pieces from the CD "L'infinito," and the sound is certainly not the usual Orme; guitar solos blaring (simulated by a strap keyboard played by Bon!), drums properly pounded by the great Michi Dei Rossi, and here and there the sitar pops in, Aldo Tagliapietra's decades-long passion; it is clear to anyone who knows the repertoire that the band wants to renew its sound while maintaining its salient traits, with Tagliapietra's still magical voice and melodies acting as a glue between old and new.

It is mainly for the "old" that the audience, pleasantly stunned, has gathered in the theater, and welcomes the sequence of classics with joy; the nursery rhyme of "Gioco di Bimba," the haunting "La Porta Chiusa" (in my opinion a true masterpiece of world progressive), and the social denunciation of "Cemento Armato" (enriched with a new instrumental part with stunning violin and "keytar" solos) do not let the original versions be missed at all, and the enthusiasm shown by the audience is certainly justified and shared by myself.

However, it is in the second part of the concert that the band exceeds all expectations, proposing "Felona e Sorona" in its entirety; the emotions aroused by listening to the work are amplified by the opportunity to see the band at work, committed to reproducing what for many enthusiasts, not only Italian, is the pinnacle of world symphonic rock; sure, many will turn up their noses stating (rightly so) that the charming vintage sound of the original remains unsurpassed, but more than thirty years after the release of that record, it is almost a miracle (and a source of great satisfaction) to be able to witness a performance of such a level by these four gentlemen.

There are modern bands that present endless albums and suites much longer than "Felona e Sorona," but the melodic, harmonic, and poetic richness of this collection of songs remains THE benchmark for a certain way of making progressive rock; to be honest, I find that Le Orme have always been superior to the much-acclaimed Emerson, Lake & Palmer... I will probably be stoned for this statement, but so be it.

What else can be said about musicians who twenty years ago were considered artistically dead and buried, and today allow themselves the luxury of landing (invited, moreover) in America to teach the new generations how to play this type of music (a fate, among other things, shared also by the other great groups of the progressive epic, Banco del Muto Soccorso and Premiata Forneria Marconi)?

If they really are "boring old farts," they hide it very well.