Customer Reviews

Felona E Sorona

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you don't speak Italian don't let that put you off, this is one hell of a great classic-era Prog masterpiece. The whole 33 minutes flow by like a symphony. Le Orme does here what they do best...write inspired melodies and dress them up in interesting arrangements, rather than going for the virtuoso technicality of other Proggers.

This one holds up extremely well to repeated listening and the keyboards are fantastic, so are the vocals and drums. But oh those Keys!!!

Highly recommended for fans of Prog's classic era.

This is my first experience of Le Orme, and I'm impressed. Though often compared to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, this band bears relatively little musical resemblance to the British supergroup, at least on this 1973 release. There is a drummer, a keyboardist who plays organ, piano, Moog (?) and string synths, and a bassist/guitarist who also is the singer, so in that sense, the two groups are similar. However, Le Orme is far and away much more melodic than ELP.

The first track is the most energetic, and at 8:43 is also the longest. The drummer gets a good workout, and as the instrumentation here is tastefully sparse, he can be heard very distinctly. The singer has a very mellow and pleasant voice that would be hard not to like. The tracks all flow together well, though one could argue that the overall pace slackens a bit too much towards the middle. Still, there's little to dislike here. Simple but tasteful production values put everything in its place.

Silly observation: track 8 (All'Infuori Del Tempo) has a dominant riff/melody line that sounds nearly identical to John Williams' Star Wars main theme... five years before the movie!

My only complaint is that this is too short - only 33 or so minutes. When I hear this kind of melodic progressive rock, I wish it would go on and on.

Felona E Sorona is highly recommended to anyone who likes melodic rock, and especially those who enjoy symphonic progressive rock. You can't go wrong with this one.

Just received the CD - I'm now listening to this album for the first time in . . . . oh . . . probably fifteen years and it's still amazingly enjoyable. Actually, my original vinyl LP was the english language variant with lyrics by Peter Hammill (is that version available anywhere?). And while I was a huge Hammill and VDGG fan I found the lyrics very clumsy and a detriment to the music. Hearing the original version now (even though I don't speak Italian)I realize what a good prog album this was. Moody and melodic, it reminds me more of the "Nursery Chryme / Foxtrot" era Genesis if I had to compare to any other prog cornerstone. Well worth picking up.

There is a passage towards the end of the first piece where the band is doing an impromptu jam and the Moog is going off with these trippy sounds with the drums keeping a marching beat. Everytime I hear this part I feel like I'm about to have an out of body exprience--it's that good!

Le Orme is like ELP but is not bombastic and less technical. But they make up for it by having a unique style of their own, whereas with ELP you never get the feeling that they really have a style, but rather a bundle of different styles. Because of this I think some like Le Orme better. And the moods of the typical Le Orme recording is quite melancholic(is that a word?), giving a more sophisticated feel.

I laugh when other fans call works like this dated...as if it's something bad. I mean just listen to a TOOL album next year and tell me it's not the lamest thing you've ever heard. Then listen to it in 30 years--you won't stop laughing. Le Orme on the other hand has aged very well, they've done nothing they to be ashamed of, compared to what some of the things ELP or Banco have done.

The first Le Orme album I got was Ad Gloriam (1969). That one is basically psychedelic pop (it's pretty fair to say that this was the From Genesis to Revelation of Le Orme, although Ad Gloriam was a better album than the aforementioned Genesis album). The next album I got was Felona e Sorona and I was totally amazed how different this album sounds (for the better). This album is nothing short of a prog rock masterpiece. Often gets compared to ELP, which I can't see why, as they don't remind me much of that band (except the occasional passage). If you're expecting this to sound like ELP, you're better off trying Triumvirat's Illusions on a Double Dimple, or L'Uovo di Colombo's self-entitled 1973 release (which really deserves to be called the Italian ELP). Felona e Sorona is apparently a concept album about two planets that are the complete opposite of each other, but since its all in Italian, I can't be exactly sure what it is all about. All the music flows real nicely into each other, often segued with string synths (people often state Mellotron is used on this album, but I don't notice any). There's two acoustic numbers, while the rest is wonderful keyboard-driven prog. The opener, "Sospesi Nell'Incredibile" is nothing short of amazing, I particularly love those synths near the end with the insane drumming at the end. "Sorona" is a gloomy, atmospheric number that oddly reminds me of how Pulsar (circa Halloween) might have sounded like if they were Italian. Whatever the case, if this album isn't in your collection and you like Italian prog, you need to buy this album without hesitation. It really does live up to the hype.

The real title of this LP is Felona e Sorona. An outstanding concept album based on a Science-fiction story (Felona and Sorona are two totally different planets around the same star). Great vocals by Aldo Tagliapietra, effective keyboards and solid-state drumming make this LP one of the best recorded by this trio. A weird and fascinating mix of the Italian vocal tradition and progressive rock.

Another brilliant recording from Le Orme, "Felona e Serona" is a 33-minute long concept album that is comprised of a series of shorter songs pasted together with brief instumental interludes, rather than a continuous piece of music. In spite of the fact that "Felona e Serona" is generally very somber (thanks to a Roland string synthesiser) and somewhat melodramatic (thanks to the mellotron), the songs are always highly melodic (thanks to the mini-moog). The musicianship on this recording is excellent, and although the emphasis is on intricate ensemble playing, the keyboard work must be singled out for exceptionally high praise. In addition, the vocalist is just wonderful and extremely emotive, perhaps even on a level with Jon Anderson in this respect. Interestingly, the impact of the vocals come across despite being in Italian. Highly recommended.

Just one the finest art-progrock to come out of Italy. Cover is good.Music here is the best Le Orme has done in this vein of prog-rock.An English lyric version exist (sung by Peter Hammill), but it is as a lp format and out-of-print. There also exists an website that has the lyrics also in English. Definitely enjoyable italian art-progrock.

being part of 1970's concept/progressive music. Le Orme was essentially unknown. Le Orme is one of the best Italian progressive groups. Felona e Sonora is probably the best. A style of Genesis (Gabriel), early Yes, Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), and Emerson Lake & Palmer. Gotten both versions (lp - Italian and English).

I like Le Orme a lot. Apparently, this record is one of people's favorites. There are some really cool moments. The keyboard player is exceptional. I can not get enough of him on this record. Much of the record has the standard art rock melodic flows, but an appropriate amount of punctuation. It leaves me wanton. Clearly in tune with the Art rock scene of it's day, it is still a very good spin.