Album review: ACQUA FRAGILE – A New Chant
Share the post "Album review: ACQUA FRAGILE – A New Chant"
Esoteric Antenna [Release date: 13.10.17]
Italy does progressive rock very well even if the indigenous talent struggled to broach export markets until front-runners Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) got picked up in 1973 by Emerson Lake & Palmer’s vanity label Manticore with ‘Photos of Ghosts’.
Bernardo Lanzetti worked vocal duties with the band between 1975 and ’77 prior to which he had fronted this, albeit second-tier, highly effective prog peer. Acqua Fragile’s back catalogue has been doing the rounds of late and for many genre fans the resurrection has constituted their initial introduction to its music.
Clearly, they are sufficient in number to prompt the band’s original members out of their lairs to record this set a mere 44 years later. So … sharp intake of breath – does it all work? Most resoundingly Si! it works very well. The fact is the trio has done a great job of generating an entirely new album that dovetails with its predecessors without being self-reverencing or lazily borrowing from the past.
Catchy guitar/keyboard-driven compositions are sprightly in form, rich in disposition (even if Lanzetti’s tremolo can veer to the operatic on occasion), enhanced by swathes of synth and strings and glockenspiel (even!).
The pace varies most satisfactorily, ‘Wear Your Car Proudly’ chopping up time signatures befitting the best of the Shulman Brothers, a foreboding ‘The Drowning’, bookended by opener and closers, respectively the sweeping ‘My Forte’ and the title track, excitedly exhorting us to “Join With Us – All Rise! All Rise” – and we do: because this is a rewarding return to the world stage of progressive music that is truly molto grande! ****
Review by Peter Muir
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Latest session: Sunday 14 April
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
To see our Tweets you need to be logged in to a Twitter account
Popular (last 10 days)
Share the post "Album review: ACQUA FRAGILE – A New Chant"
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections