Doracor is the pseudonym for keyboard player Corrado Sardella. It's an anagram of his first name. La Vita Che Cade is already Sardella's ninth album! The previous albums primarily contained instrumental symphonic music on a cinematic base. On the new album Doracor is supported by Riccardo Mastantuono (guitars, electric violin), Milton Damia (vocals, guitars), Claudio Paglireini (bass), Vincenzo Antonicelli (sax) and Nicola Di Gia (noise, ambient guitars). Moreover, he asked six guests musicians to play the drums among others, and for some extra guitar and vocal parts. The first song Settimo Cielo is a twelve-minute epic. In this piece you can enjoy chanting monks, a dramatic arranged guitar solo, a traditional classical orchestra, a short piano recital in the vein of Tony Banks, a jazz guitar that sounds like late-night music for a diner by candle light, a fast played IQ-like synth solo and finally elements of the final part of Genesis's Wind And Wuthering including a brilliant guitar solo in the vein of Steve Hackett. How varied will you have your prog rock albums? And this is just the first track of La Vita Che Cade ! The title track is a mixture of the music of bands like Japan and King Crimson, a short but rather irritating violin, Italian voices singing in the classical opera style and fast played synth solos. Dentro Il Tuo Mondo is a typical Italian ballad also sung in Italian; in fact it's more pop music than prog rock, so you have to think of artists like Eros Ramazotti or Claudio Baglioni. However, the final part of the song contains an outstanding guitar solo. In the short instrumental Cosi Lontani Quei Giorni'romantic' is the keyword. Uno Goccia D'Aqcua starts with the soundscape of a circus coming to town followed by modern up-tempo prog in the vein of Dutch For Absent Friends and British Credo with great piano and guitar playing in the middle-section. Even the two saxophone solos perfectly fit in this song. Another traditional Italian ballad is Ritnami Il Respiro. Since I love Italian music, culture and food I have no problem at all with this one. However, I think not all prog devotees will enjoy it, but try to imagine yourself lying on a sunny beach with a glass of wine in your hand and a beautiful girl just next to you! Again the combination of synths, guitar, sax and drums is of a high level. Inanna, one of longest tracks, is an up-tempo instrumental that reminds me of the Genesis And Then There Were Three / Duke era and Porcupine Tree. The individual skills of the musicians provide for a wonderful musical painting. The last part is cinematic with lots of piano and accompanied by Antonicelli's sax. Nel Silenzio Del Tempo is romantic with some dramatic church organ parts, modern synth and guitar solos and a Floydish sax solo. It seems a strange combination, but it's very well played and arranged. Lentamente is again a typical Italian prog song containing dramatic voices and beautifully arranged orchestrations. It's like watching a romantic movie or the beautiful Italian landscape. An outstanding guitar solo is the cherry on this excellent baked Italian cake! The last two minutes have been reserved for the epilogue with a piano and the sound of thunder and rain. Doracor is one of the biggest musical surprises of 2011 that made it more difficult to put together my personal top ten. ****+ Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
