Osanna released their latest Prog Family album in April 2008 in collaboration with Van Der Graaf Generator saxophonist David Jackson.
A new season is born for the Neapolitan group of Osanna which, in a path that has lasted for 40 years, sees them reunited in a Prog Family. Usual retrospective or projection to the future from the awareness of a consolidated maturity present?
by L. Bacalov is the opening song, whose classical value, with a nostalgic flavor, gives depth and consistency to the concept of progressive rock, that is, an art rock, an active and interactive listening rock and therefore of communicative and intellectual.
Topic on
With Breathless Animal, the rhythmic patterns in a fusion-psychedelic sound and a voice that makes the difference highlight the interesting and current lyrics that rise with swing lines on jazz-rock structures with insistent and driving obstinate bass and targeted interventions by the horns of David Jackson and electric guitar by Fabrizio Fedele.
It continues with Mirror train where the Middle Eastern elements present in the pentatonic melodic lines implicit in the Neapolitan eclectic culture are used, between sinth and electric guitar in unison filigree by winds, English texts that compete with international prog and rhythmic designs that refer to the best experiments dating back to Salisbury by Uriah Heep. Mirror Train is confirmed as the most varied piece of the Osanna style, confirming the search for new optics highlighted by the new arrangements of the Prog Family.
The 4th song, The man, is a splendid fresco that highlights the beauty of the text in the ballad style and concentrates distinctly virtuosic sounds of the guitars moderated by the touches of the winds and studded with the rap structures of the singing in a process of actualization that makes sense precisely in the desire not to replicate the old sounds of the originals.
'A Zingara (5th song) mixes the melodic lyricism of the guitars and the rhythmic touches of the wind instruments with the typical Neapolitan cantability made up of vocalic accents and extensions, in the organized chorality with the clear and dynamic voice of Sophia Baccini, and the expressive verbiage of those who express he denounces by expressing his own inner desperation in believing in the illusion of being able to change one's reality.
Ce Vulesse Ce Vulesse (6th piece) begins with elements with a trunk rhythm and odd metric. Here too there are jazz-rock contaminations typical of prog and sudden metric changes and vocal intersections of intense involvement.
The 7th song, Fuje 'A Chistu Country, very driving, draws strength from the popular reiteration of the Neapolitan Tarantella - remember that this dance has very ancient origins from Greek-Turkish-Egyptian traditions whose mythological divinities originated the concept of Dionysian and Dave Brubeck uses its rhythmic components in 1959 with Blue Rondò a la Turk and later Keith Emerson with Nice revisits the style with the song Rondò. The thematic lines alternate and follow each other with Arab influences mixing in the rhythmic fluidity of the guitars punctuated by the voices and sounds of the winds.
Track 8, The Castle of Es, expresses a slightly dreamy environment between the will to express a desire and its concrete manifestation in the rhythmic externalization that unravels from the initial verbosity of the text to the fusion of effects of Mellotron and flute in the doubling of the song as evidence of the relationship existing between the his own being and his own person.
With Formentera Medley in which we find Warm Gold(9) My Mind Flies(10) Love Will Win Again(11), we have an initial section - Oro Caldo - among the most intimate with chromatic passages, in the descending harmonies, full of lyricism between the singing of Lino Vairetti and the transverse flute of David Jackson counterpointed by the acoustic guitar of Roberto Petrella, to which they follow the expressive power of Sasà Priore's sinth and the English text (My Mind Flies) and finally the solo flute that clings to the piano and the voice (L'Amore Vincerà di Nuovo).
Everybody's Gonna See You Die(12) is the most determined piece for the incisiveness of the voice and choirs as well as the elegant touches of Gianni Leone at the Hammond, by Lino Vairetti at the blues harp and the creative guitar by Fabrizio Fedele.
In Blue Sky Medley: with the songs In un Old Blind (13) I am going towards a goal (14) Unit onlyi (15) the sounds unfold fluidly giving opportunities to the violin touches of Gianluca Falasco to characterize the cantability of In un Vecchio Cieco, the rhythmic expressiveness that from the singing is transferred to the various solo interventions of the instrumental parts of Vado Verso una Meta, or the instrumental and vocal chorality of Solo Uniti.
With Theme One (16) you can breathe the celebratory atmosphere of the Van Der Graaf Generator in George Martin's version of the harmonic contrapuntal style that gradually passes from the instrumental to the vocalic chorus enriched by the presence of Sophya Baccini in the convincing performance of the Prog Family.
At the end of the disc we have the song There Will Be Time which sees among its authors L. Bacalov and the sonority of the Solis String Quartet in which the voice of Lino Vairetti, for some parts accompanied in parallel by Irvin Vairetti in perfect Osanna style, takes on a warm and persuasive color.
Although Mirror train for the organizational variety of the structure, the man for the freshness of a sound that is sweet and aggressive at the same time between feeling and anger e 'A Zingara for the melodic beauty, are the songs that most imply the identity of the group, Formentera Medley the true nucleus and the authentic heart of this work is revealed for that timeless and communicative dimension that also unites heterogeneous generations.
ProgFamily - already the result of a selection of the most significant production of Hosanna it is an enjoyable and interesting work for the convincing fusion of acoustics and electronics in a sound that does not give space to a nostalgic perception, but takes the listener on a journey through the history of a group that is already history projected towards the future.
Next to Lino Vairetti (lead vocals)) we find the son Irvin Vairetti (voices and keyboard programming), Fabrizio Faithful (Guitars), Sasà Prior (piano and keyboards), Nello D'Anna (low) e Gennaro Beard (drums). Among the special guests and featuring we have Lello Brandi (leadbass), David Cross former member of King Crimson (electric violin), Gianni Leone former member of the "Bronze Ballet" (acoustic piano), T. M. Stevens, bassist of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc. (electric bass), the eclectic group of strings Solis String Quartet, Sophia Baccini founder of Presence (female vocals), Mariano Barba (drums), Gabriel Borrelli (percussion), Oderigi Lusi (Synth, Fender Rhodes)), Alfonso La Verghetta (Hammond organ), Gianluca Falasca (violin) e Robert Petrella (acoustic guitar) and finally the fundamental collaboration of David Jackson, historical saxophone by Van Der Graaf Generator, which led him to be an element of the group rather than a special guest.
THE BOARD:
ProgFamily
Hosanna & David Jackson
Label: Distribution BTF www.btf.it
1. Theme (1:14)
2. Breathless Animal (5:33)
3. Mirror Train (7:14)
4. Man (3:53)
5. 'A Gypsy (5:37)
6. Ce Vulesse Ce Vulesse (5:52)
7. Fuje 'A Chistu Paese (6:37)
8. The Es Castle (7:06)
Formentera Medleys:
9. Warm Gold (2:34)
10. My Mind Flies (1:26)
11. Love Will Win Again (1:47)
12. Everybody's Gonna See You Die (4:23)
Blue Sky Medley:
13. In an Old Blind (1:56)
14. I'm Going Towards a Goal (3:07)
15. United only (3:31)
16. Theme One (3:58)
17. There Will Be Time (3:55)
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In April 2008 “Osanna” released their latest work “Prog family” in collaboration with David Jackson, former saxophone player in “Van Der Graaf Generator”.
The Neapolitan band “Osanna” embraces a new season, in a journey of 40 years, that got them together in a “Prog Family”. Same old retrospective look or future projection from a mature updated awareness?
"Topic on” (Theme) by L. Bacalov is the opening track whose classical value, with its nostalgic taste, grants depth and substance to the progressive rock concept, id est an art rock, a rock music which requires an active and interactive listening so to establish a communicative and intellectual participation.
"Animal without breath” (Breathless animal) splurges rhythmical patterns flowing into a fusion-psychedelic sound marked by peculiar vocals that make the difference: lyrics are interesting and current, rising from swing lines sustained by jazz-rock structures built by a thorough and driving bass line and targeted interventions of David Jackson's wind instruments as well as Fabrizio Fedele's electric guitar.
Middle eastern elements with pentatonic shape harmonic lines typical from the eclectic neapolitan culture, used in “Mirror train”, with english lyrics to match and compete with the international progressive archive and rhythmic drawings to recall the best experimental sounds dating back to “Salisbury” by “Uriah Heep”.
“Mirror Train” stands up as the most variant track in pure Osanna's style, confirming the need to find new views from Prog Family's process in highlighting new arrangements.
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The 4th track, “The man” (The man), is a beautiful fresco that points out its beauty through ballad-style lyrics and through virtuously played guitars curbed by wind instruments hints and studded with a rap structured singing which finds its up-to-date sense willing not to emulate old sounds such as the original ones.
"'A Gypsy” (The Gypsy), the 5th track, blends the guitar lyricism with rhythmic touch of the wind instruments and the typical Parthenopean tunefulness recognizable through accents and lengthening of syllables, throughout the dynamic and clear Sophya Baccini's voice, with the expressive prolixity of who claims and declares an inner despair believing the illusion to be able to change his own reality.
"Ce vulesse Ce vulesse"(It would be nice), the 6th track, opening with some cut off rhythmic elements and an odd metrics. Still shows typical prog music jazz-rock contaminations with unexpected metrical shifts and intense vocally intersected sections.
The 7th track, “Fuje 'A Chistu Country” (Run Away From This Country), highly driving, draws strength from the popular recurrence of the Parthenopean Tarantella – we must remember that this dance has very ancient roots throughout greek-turkish-egyptian traditions whose mythological deities have given rise to the dionysiac concept and Dave Brubeck in 1959 uses its rhythmical structure in “Blue Rondò a la Turk” and afterwards Keith Emerson resumes its style in the track “Rondò” with the Nice. Thematic fields alternating and chasing one another with arabian influences stretching themselves amidst the rhythmic fluidity of the guitars, punctuated by voices, and by horn section resonant sonority.
The 8th track, “The Castle of Es” (The “Es” Castle) conveys a slightly moony environment amid the will to make a wish and its concrete manifestation in outsourced rhythmic structures which disentangles itself from the initial wordiness of its lyrics flowing into a melted combination of Mellotron and flute effects in singing dissociation to witness the relationship between one's being and one's persona.
In "Formentera Medley”, where we find “Warm Gold, My Mind Flies, Love Will Win Again”, one of the most intimate section, the initial “Oro Caldo” (Hot Gold), wrapped in chromatic steps in its descendant harmonic scales, full of lyricism within Lino Vairetti's singing and David Jackson's flute, both counterpointed by Roberto Petrella's acoustic guitar, which are followed by the powerful expressive strength of Sasà Priore's synth and finally through the english lyric (My Mind Flies) and through the flute solo which wraps up and clings to piano and voice in “L'Amore Vincerà di Nuovo” (Love Will Win Again).
"Everybody's Gonna See You Die" is the most powerful track with its sharp lead and backing vocals as well as an elegant Hammond touch provided by Gianni Leone, a blues harp by Lino Vairetti and a creative guitar by Fabrizio Fedele.
In "Blue Sky Medley”: within “In an Old Blind (In a Blind Old Man)(13), I am going towards a goal (Going to a destination)(14) United only (Only Together)(15)” sound is fluently unfold, giving Gianluca Falasco's violin touch a chance to highlight the vocal suitability in “Un Vecchio Cieco”, rhythmical expressivity starting from the singing lines flows to several instrumental solos in “Vado Verso una Meta”, likewise the instrumental and vocal chorality in “Solo Unity”.
In "Theme One” (Theme One) we can feel the praising atmosphere of “Van Deer Graaf Generator” across a counterpointed harmonic style as in George Martin's rendition, which is gradually rising from instrumental lines growing into a choral ensemble, enriched by Sophya Baccini's presence within the convincing Prog Family's performance.
Wrapping up the album there is “There Will Be Time” signed by L Bacalov and the “Solis String Quartet” sound, in which still Lino Vairetti's voice takes on a warm and persuasive color, parallelly counterpointed here and there by Irvin Vairetti's one in typical Osanna's style.
Though “Mirror Train” for its variegate structure, “L'Uomo” for its fresh sound which emerges as sweet and aggressive at the same time amid feeling and anger and “'A Zingara” for its beautiful melody, are the band's most representative tracks, “Formentera Medley” proves to be the real core and the true heart of the entire work for its communicative and timeless dimension which connects motley generations.
ProgFamily – already a product of an Osanna's work selection – is an enjoyable and interesting work because of its convincing fusion between acoustic and electronic sound which doesn't lead to a nostalgic perception, but brings the listener to a journey through a band's history which is already history in the making.
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Along with Lino Vairetti (lead vocals) is his son Irvin Vairetti (vocals and keyboard programming), Fabrizio Faithful (guitars), Sasà Priore (piano and keyboards), Nello D'Anna (bass guitar)e Gennaro Beard (drums). Among special guests: Lello Brandi (lead bass guitar), David Cross, former member of “King Crimson” (electric violin), Gianni Leone, former member of “Balletto di Bronzo” (acoustic piano), T. M. Stevens, bassist with Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc (electric bass guitar), the eclectic “Solis String Quartet", Sophia Baccini, founder of “Presence” (female vocals), Mariano Barba (drums), Gabriel Borrelli (percussion), Oderigi Lusi (Synth, Fender Rhodes), Alfonso La Verghetta (Hammond organ), Gianluca Falasca (violin) and Robert Petrella (acoustic guitar) and finally David Jackson's collaboration, historical sax player in “Van Der Graaf Generator”, which brought him to be a band's member instead of a special guest.
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Translation by Umberto Del Giudice
Identikit:
ProgFamily
Hosanna & David Jackson
Label: Distribution BTF www.btf.it
1. Theme (1:14)
2. Breathless Animal (5:33)
3. Mirror Train (7:14)
4. Man (3:53)
5. 'A Gypsy (5:37)
6. Ce Vulesse Ce Vulesse (5:52)
7. Fuje 'A Chistu Paese (6:37)
8. The Es Castle (7:06)
Formentera Medleys:
9. Hot Gold (2:34)
10. My Mind Flies (1:26)
11. Love Will Win Again (1:47)
12. Everybody's Gonna See You Die (4:23)
Blue Sky Medley:
13. In an Old Blind (1:56)
14. I'm Going Towards a Goal (3:07)
15. United only (3:31)
16. Theme One (3:58)
17. There Will Be Time (3:55)
