Tracklist:
SEARCHING / PERCIVAL / IN ST PETER'S DAY / ONCE THAT I PRAYED / A LAND TO LIVE A LAND TO DIE / GIGA / TO EDITH / BRIGHT LIGHTS / MUDDY MADALENE / LYING HERE
Lineup:
Nico Di Palo - guitar, lead vocals; Gianni Belleno - drums, vocals; Frank Laugelli(Rhodes) - bass; Maurizio Salvi - piano, organ, synthesizer; Vittorio De Scalzi - guitar
After the European success of the "Concerto grosso," New Trolls attempted to break into the international market with a double album (now available on a single CD) recorded half in the studio and half live.
The studio album is somewhat of a concept, thematically tied to the theme of searching, whether personal ("Travelling, wish I knew where I was going / Every place now looks the same / Nothing new seems to come my way / All my life I've been searching for something…" sings the opening "Searching") or of an entire people seeking "a land to live and a land to die". Musically, the album presents an admirable stylistic cohesion. All the tracks indeed move along the textures woven by the acoustic guitar and piano, on which brilliant acoustic guitar ("Percival") or electric guitar ("Searching"), piano, and organ ("A land to live a land to die") solos are outlined.
The best tracks are the two with religious themes (a classic topos of Italian progressive rock, see Metamorfosi and Il Rovescio della Medaglia, among others) "Once that I prayed" and "In St. Peter's day": the latter, in particular, which deals with the torment of St. Peter ("For three times I heard the day bird cry, For three times your love I have denied now, I hear the beating of the hammers crucifying the soul of all summers") is one of New Trolls' best tracks, undoubtedly inspired, in the enchanting use of the mellotron and timpani, by early King Crimson.
The live album is a whole different beast, with a sound very close to the harder side of Deep Purple and Jethro Tull (but with Hendrix instead of Barre...). They are gutsy and often valuable tracks but, as the critics of the time noted, often fall into virtuosity for its own sake, as in the lengthy "LYING HERE" which struggles to combine the initial Gregorian chant with the final Hard rock.
In conclusion, the rating: 5 for the studio part + 3 for the live part = 8 : 2 = 4.
Tracklist and Videos
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Rock70
"Searching For A Land" was the first double album in the history of Italian rock.
The second LP presents a very avant-garde sound that has nothing to envy of English hard rock bands.