The history of Delirium, International Progressive Group goes back to 1971. During this time there were a few changes in the line-up. In 2014 Alessandro Corvaglia (Maschera Di Cera, Real Dream, Mr. Punch) joined the band on vocals together with Michele Cusato on guitars and Alfredo Vandresi (Alberto Radius Band) on drums. With the original members Ettore Vigo (keyboards), Martin Grice (flute, saxophone) and Fabio Chighini on bass guitar it's the band that recorded this new album L'Era Della Menzogna. I didn't know the band and had no clue what to expect. After the first listening I thought it was a bit of everything. Opera, circus, jazz, camp. Typical Italian. But in a strange way I started to like it. The album starts with L'Inganno Del Potere. Not the best start of an album. The production isn't very good, the drums sound horrible and the bass guitar 'booms' a lot. They use a lot of old fashioned keyboard sounds and the singer shouts a bit too much. But then, Martin Grice gets his flute and brings in a lot of pleasant melodies. So I kept listening and this album opened up for me. It's really nice. I gave it multiple spins and it grows. The musicianship of the band members is absolutely great. The songs are very musical and yes, the Italian drama is there full time. The song Fuorleggio starts like a Jethro Tull song, but switches to a Angelo Branduardi tune. Last track, Il Castello Del Mago Merlino (Come Un Tempo) clocks 11:29 and is a good example of what this band is capable of. It is useless to go through all the songs, the whole album is a pleasant experience, but nothing more than that. It's old fashioned Italian prog of old guys that master their instruments. I have to mention Martin Grice on flute and saxophones especially; he is the star of this album. I wish they would ask a good producer and mixer to do their next album, because the recording quality is far below average and that's a shame. It's certainly strange that the drum sound is very poor, because drummer Alfredo Vandretti produced, recorded and mixed the album. Nevertheless, Delirium, International Progressive Group, has made a really nice album, but like I mentioned already, nothing really special. *** Arne van Os van den Abeelen (edited by Astrid de Ronde) Where to buy? |
