Melos

Artist: Cervello
Label: Bmg Japan
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988017617458
ASIN: B0000AZSS7

Release Date: 2005-12-29

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Listmania:

European progressive flavors from the 70's
Prog 2 - The ethernal mission
Italian Progressive Rock
Great prog and psych albums that should not be overlooked
Italian Prog Rock mini lp cd's Part 1

Tracks:

Canto del Capro
Trittico
Euterpe
Scinsione (T.R.M.)
Melos
Galassia
Affresco

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Customer Reviews:

Light and dark.......2006-11-17

Released in 1973 this album seems to generate very mixed reactions - people either love it or hate it. I happen to fall on the "I love it" end of the spectrum and feel that it is not only excellent Italian prog, but an important work unto itself. This album really is wonderful and blends aggressive, atonal passages with more delicate pastoral sections dominated by the flute and acoustic guitars. I like to think of it as a cross between the delicate side of PFM and the harshness of Van der graaf Generator (VDGG) (both incredible bands by the way).

The musicians on Melos include Antonio Spagnolo (bass guitar; 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar, flute voice); Giulio D'Ambrosio (alto and tenor electric saxophone; flute; and vocals); Corrado Rustici (lead guitar; flute; vibraphone; voice); and Remigio Esposito (drums; vibraphone). All of the musicians are superb and create an incredibly full and symphonic sound that alternates between the light (acoustic/pastoral) and the dark (heavy/atonal/avant-garde). Interestingly, there are no keyboards on this album and most of the lead parts are played primarily on heavily distorted electric guitars (he does use clean tones occasionally), although flute parts and jagged passages on the electric saxophone also fulfill the leads. Come to think of it, some of the sax work is vaguely reminiscent of David Jackson's playing (of VDGG). The vocals are also very good (in Italian) and the vocalist occasionally uses a falsetto. The vocal harmonies are also well done.

The dark passages on this album can take some getting used to - they are extremely intense, especially when the guitarist is flailing away on free form electric guitar solos (played with bone-crushing distortion and volume). This effect is magnified several orders of magnitude when the thunderous drummer is also smashing away on his drum kit. The light parts are extremely nice however, and provide nice contrast with the heavier sections. One other album comes to mind that deals with similar extremes in dynamics (perhaps to even greater degree actually) is King Crimson's Larks Tongues in Aspic (1973).

This remastered release is part of the Strange Days Paper Sleeve Collection and duplicates the original LP cover art which features a "gimmicky" cover of a soup can that folds back to reveal the musicians heads wrapped tightly in clear plastic - the image is very disturbing actually. Although liner notes are included, they are printed in both Japanese and Italian - unfortunately I don't have an even rudimentary understanding of either language. The sound quality is just fantastic though.

All in all, I regard this as another Italian gem that falls on the darker side of prog. Although I generally enjoyed this recording a lot, I did feel that it ended a bit too abruptly. This really is a minor complaint however, given the high quality of the music. This album would most likely appeal to fans of 1973-1974 King Crimson and 70-71 VDGG, although all proggers would definitely find something of interest here. Very highly recommended.

an obscure masterpiece.......2006-08-27

This release of a spectacular masterpiece of early seventies Italian progressive rock is yet another example of the wide gap between the producion of art and commercial success. This discrepency is demonstrated in the fact that this sole release by Cervello artistically rivals some of the very finest prog ever made: with soaring and complex melodies, compelling and angular instrumental passages culminating in some aggressive individual performances, all weaved together in a tapestry of beautiful and emotional musical syncopation. One of the few Italian prog releases without a prominent keyboard arsenal, the rich sound of this band is achieved with powerful drumming, multiple woodwinds, and intellegent scaler runs on guitar. But not least of all are the typically emotionally powerful vocals. Dynamic change-ups and exquisite group interaction complete another example of one of the finest Italian progressive albums you will ever hear. This is one of the more consistantly perfect albums in the progressive genre and comes with my highest reccomendation.

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