Italian prog formation Cervello was founded in 1970, featuring musicians from Naples. Corrado Rustici, then 17 years old, was the younger brother of Danilo Rustici, who was the guitarist of another popular rock band from Naples of those years, Osanna. After playing at several festivals (including the Palermo Pop Festival) Cervello released their first (and unfortunately last) album Melos in 1973 that contained a lot of variety and adventure. Flutes and saxophones were often used to replace the keyboards and Mellotron of many progressive works from this era. Despite critical praise the band broke up in 1974. In 2017 three of the original members (Antonio Spagnolo, Giulio D'Ambrosio and Corrado Rustici) performed a concert in Tokyo, with new band members Virginio Simonelli (lead vocals), Sasą Priore (keyboards) and Davide De Vito (drums). This was released as a live CD and DVD Cervello - Live in Tokyo 2017. This CD entitled Chaire is produced by Corrado Rustici and built from material written between 1974 and 1983. The surviving original members spent the last four years arranging and recording the songs. These include Corrado Rustici on guitar, keyboards, vocals, Antonio Spagnolo on bass, acoustic guitar, recorder, vocals, Giulio D'Ambrosio on flute, saxophone, vocals, Gianluigi Di Franco on lead vocals and Roberto Porta performed on drums. Di Franco, who died in 2005, is featured through restored archival recordings. Advances in audio restoration made it possible to integrate his vocals from original reels and cassettes. This release also includes a live recording from 1973, featuring performances of material from Melos plus an unreleased instrumental. Corrado Rustici shared: "Over the past fifty years, these songs, written by me together with Gianluigi Di Franco between 1974 and 1982, had remained frozen in Cervello's second album. After the band broke up, they fell into a kind of hibernation that, paradoxically, preserved the purity of their original spirit. Chaire: This should have been the bands second album, well, it sounds good, very tastefully arranged songs with a lot of variety and strong musical ideas. From the dreamy first composition Chaire with a whispering male - and celestial female voice to La Seduzione Di Chiaro Ulivo featuring a mid-tempo beat, embellished with inspired vocals, a break with screamy saxophone and a heavy guitar - and funky bass solo, backed by propulsive drums. It sounds like powerful jazzrock, performed by good musicians. From a slow rhythm with fiery saxophone and dreamy vocals in Reina De Roca to mellow with flute and acoustic guitar, vibraphone and a second, instrumental part in Movalaide incl. Trasfigurazione. From folky with twanging acoustic guitar, flute and dreamy vocals to halfway an accellaration with saxophone and fiery guitar in La Danza Dei Guardiani. And a whispering voice, high pitched flute and soaring strings in a dreamy atmosphere in the final track Chaire - Farewell. The most captivating and dynamic composition is Templi Acherontei. It starts folky with twanging acoustic guitar, flute and vocals. Gradually the sound shifts to lush with some synthesizer drops. Then an obviously King Crimson inspired break featuring fiery guitar riffs, in a slow and bombastic rhythm with powerful vocals. Next sparkling flute work and a distorted guitar, turning again in a bombastic climate. And finally, a short part with the distinctive sound of the vibraphone, what a variety and musical ideas. Live At Pomigliano D'Arco - 1973: Live At Pomigliano D'Arco is another story than Chaire, it sounds like a bootleg and most tracks (Canto Del Capro, Scinsione T.R.M., Euterpe and Melos) alternate between folky with flute and acoustic guitar and avant-garde/experimental sound collages and jams, featuring screamy saxophone and fiery guitar, a propulsive rhythm-section and some fine work on the unsurpassed Mellotron (a brassy section). The final track Progressivo Remoto is an instrumental, it contains a catchy beat, in a mid-tempo, based upon a long duel between a wild saxophone and harder-edged electric guitar. Ratings: Chaire ***+ Live At Pomigliano D'Arco- 1973 ** Erik Neuteboom (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
