Customer Reviews

Collage

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As i am listening to this after more than 15 years of not playing this Lp (i have the vinyl edition) i would like to say that this is still pretty good if you love 70's prog rock. I am sure the other works that followed Collage are great too as many reviewers have stated, but this has a nice , raw appeal. And even though many have said this is only drums, keys and bass there are a couple of nice tracks which include 'orchestral' arrangement.There is also some guitar here and there. But is the melodies that of course grab you after a few spins . Very nice surprise after not really giving them much thought over the years. Looking foward to listening to the other 3 cds that followed!

Le Orme is an example of a band drastically changing their sound, this time for the better. A good comparison would be Genesis with From Genesis to Revelation, which was basically psychedelic pop, and Trespass, which was their first truly progressive album. Likewise with Le Orme. In 1969 they released Ad Gloriam, which was psychedelic pop, and then in 1971 they followed it with Collage, which was their first truly progressive album (although the album Orme released in '70, L'aurora Della Orme was basically a collection of early recordings, stretching as far back as 1967). Both Genesis and Le Orme knew that psychedelic pop was reaching a dead end and thanks to King Crimson releasing In the Court of the Crimson King, and a year later, ELP with their debut, it was time to move on to prog rock. With Le Orme's case, the band switched from a label called Car Juke Box, to Philips, with two band members leaving, Claudio Galieti and Nino Smeraldi, leaving the band down to a three piece, with bassist/guitarist/vocalist Aldo Tagliapietra, keyboardist Toni Pagliuca, and drummer Michi dei Rossi. The result is being Collage, an often unjustly underrated album. This album is not as highly regarded as their next three albums, Uomo di Pezza, Felona e Sorona, and Contrappunti, which I can't figure out why. This album is more aggressive and unpolished than what's typical from them. The album has a live "in the studio" feel, making me think some of this was recorded in one take (although the album did take about four weeks to complete, recorded from May 17 to June 3, 1971 according to the album liner notes). The title track is an instrumental piece that makes me think of The Nice, although there's some classical themes played on a clavinet. "Era Inverno" reminds me something Franco Battiato did on his album Fetus (1972), but without the bizarre electronic effects. "Cemento Armato" mainly consists of a lengthy organ solo. The organ here is heavily fuzzed, Pagliuca's organ work here reminds me of Vincent Crane or Jon Lord! "Evasione Totale" is a bizarre experiment, often reminding me of those Krautrock bands at the same time. Toni Pagliuca gives us some really nice spacy organ. I just love the bass work Aldo Tagliapietra gives us here, and there's nice jazzy passages. "Immagini" is dominated by organ, and synthesizer (although the album doesn't mention one), with that late '60s gimmick of Aldo Tagliapietra electronically modifying his voice. The one thing totally missing on Collage is the romantic balladry you find on Uomo di Pezza, you won't find anything like "Gioco di Bimba" or "Una Dolcezza Nuova" here. This album really deserves more credit. Yes, it's often acknowledged that this album helped launch the Italian prog scene (much like In the Court of the Crimson King did with prog in general some two years before), but in light of their following three albums, it's often overlooked and underrated. A wonderful album that I highly recommend.

This recording marked Le Orme's entry into the world of prog-rock. Where they had recorded prior to this they tended to be more pop or psychedelia rooted. This is a less refined effort than subsequent efforts but a good one none the less. Cemento Armanti cleverly borrows the melody line from Aqualung. Solos can get a little lost on occassion but overall the playing is solid. Primarily an organ trio on this date, they would more fully develop there sound later on. This one is still worth obtaining but you'd be better off starting with Felona e Sorona, Uomo di Pezza and Contrapunti...Simon

Do you want to listen to a XX Century Domenico Scarlatti? You just have to dive into one of the greatest progressive bands of all times. Begin with "Collage", their first masterpiece, and keep going on. Avoid "Smogmagica".

This is one of the greatest album of 70's progressive rock. This is really good chance to develop your pop music knowledge. They were one of the best Italian band ever with P.F.M., Osana, New Trolls and Latte E Miele.

Move over ELP. Le Orme e' qui. This Italian tresome is the Italian answer to ELP. But, this is not just a "copy" band -- like the Beatle clones Badfinger and Grapefruit were back in the late 60's early 70's. Le Orme has their own distinct sound and style. "Cemento Armato" (reinforced concrete) is my favorite piece. This song addresses the problems of city living -- pollution, overcrowding, etc. This song is presented with such passion that you can literally feel the anger and frustration.

There are those that say Collage is not Le Orme's best work. I disagree. And, I am sure you will too once you give this CD a listen. I strongly recommend this CD -- especially if you like music from such acts as PFM, the New Trolls, and ELP.

This is my favorite italian progressive cd, I see in my life 3 times this band on stage, and everytime people wants to listen songs like cemento armato, sguardo verso il cielo and the instrumental collage, they usually opens the concerts with this songs, is because is one of the best work of the band ever and not only because I say this!
The other is felona and sorona.
I'm proud to be italian for one another good reason!

This was one of my first introductions to Le Orme (I got the LP decades ago). It is still among my favorites. Sure, it is not as grandly conceptual "F+S" or as precious as "Florian", but I feel that it is all-too-often underappreciated. If you are a fan, then this is an essential album, as you can hear the dramatic transistion from the lovely pop psychadelia of "Ad Gloriam" to the grand progressive sound for which they are best known. From the opeining number - the cleverly titled "Collage" - largely assembled from bits of pieces by Scarlatti and other great Italian composers of the Baroque era - the album combines strong classical references, heavy-keyboard laden prog, beautiful acoustic pieces such in a gorgeous tenor (sounds like a description for early ELP, yes?). Though many compare Le Orme with ELP, and I am one of them, this is not a negative comment on the Italian band. They are not derivative of ELP, they are contemporary practitioners of the same musica direction. "Collage" is from 1971, so just after the first ELP release. In my opinion, the early albums by Le Orme stand up as equals to the early ELP albums (and I am a huge fan of both). So rather than reading all those reviewers who pick nits about what is better, etc - my advice is simple - if you love the very early ELP albums (especially the first), then Le Orme's "Collage" will probably appeal to you very much. It's that simple - this is not a case of someone saying that a band sounds like old Yes and you discover that they sound more like Foreigner (I just had that unpleasant experience with the band Aelian). Le Orme is a contemporary band to ELP and equal in musical and vocal stature (sorry to all exclusively anglophile proggers, but Italian prog is essential too!). "Collage" is an essential album not only in Italian Prog, but as an early (and fantastic) example of Progressive rock's majestic blending of classical influence and mind-expanding daring. Plus, the singing is truly beautiful - Aldo Tagliapietra counts as one of the great prog singers from the era when good singing actually mattered (think Lake, Anderson, Gabriel, di Giacomo). I must disagree with the earlier reviewer who said that there are no memorable songs on the album - some of my favorite pieces by Le Orme are contained herein, melodies that I hum, songs that I sing. It is all here - get this one - it is to Italian prog what "The Yes Album" is to English prog (and you wouldn't even DREAM of not having "the Yes Album" now would you?)

Get the following Le Orme albums (in this order): "Felona E Sorona", "Uomo Di Pezza", "Contrappunti", "Storia O Leggenda", "Florian" and skip the rest. "Collage" is forgettable and there's no song on the album that is a keeper. Not a terrible album. Just not that good.