01	Sospesi Nell'incredibile						08:41
	02	Felona						01:58
	03	La Solitudine Di Chi Protegge Il Mondo						01:57
	04	L'equillibrio						03:47
	05	Sorona						02:28
	06	Attesa Inerte						03:25
	07	Ritratto Di Un Mattino						03:29
	08	All'infuori Del Tempo						04:08
	09	Ritorno Al Nulla						03:34

Felona e Sorona
Polygram International (842 507-2)
Italy 1973

Tony Pagliuca, keyboards;
Aldo Tagliapetra, vocals, bass, guitar;
Michi di Rossi, drums, percussion

Tracklist:
1. Sospesi nell'Incredible - 8:43
2. Felona - 1:58
3. La Solitudine Di Chi Protegge Il Mondo - 1:57
4. L'Equilbrio - 3:47
5. Sorona - 2:28
6. Attesa Inerte - 3:25
7. Ritratto Di Un Mattino - 3:29
8. All Нnfuori Del Tempo - 4:08
9. Ritorno Al Nulla - 3:34

total time 33:33


conrad

This album begins almost like an opera. A brilliant overture passage opens "Sospesi nell'Incredible". The overture is based on only three notes, but the tune is developed using classical techniques (eg canon) and is a joy to listen to. The overture completed you can almost see the curtain raising and we are left with Aldo Tagliapetra's voice, backed by a simple organ chord, to set the scene (two planets alike in valour).
The lyrics on this album are in Italian, but the Le Orme web site contains an English version by Peter Hammill of Van Der Graaf Generator. According to the Peter Hammill version, the concept concerns two planets made by one creator. Felona is attended to by the creator and is happy, but Sorona is a sad and bitter world. The creator turns his attention improve life on Sorona, but Felona suffers from his neglect. The Peter Hammill translations make for dreadful poetry and from what I can tell the Italian lyrics aren't quite as bad.

The music on this album maintains an extremely high standard throughout. Stylistically there are traces of Genesis and Vangelis, but the strongest comparison that can be made is to ELP. The voice of Aldo Tagliapetra is similar to Greg Lake's, though slightly stronger and applied more judiciously. Michi Dei Rossi's drumming is excellent and somewhere between that of Carl Palmer and John Bonham. Tony Pagliuca sounds a lot like Keith Emerson, but don't expect any of Emerson's ultra fast monster solos. Where Le Orme exceed ELP is in their ability to generate a good tune consistently.

Aside from the opening track, the other highlight of this album is "L'Equilibrio", a fast paced energetic number alternately using bass and syth. to create an air of expectation. For all that the concept of this album isn't very exciting, this album is absolutely essential for anybody who likes the early seventies progressive power trio.

1-22-03



Le Orme - Felona E Serona

Released: 1973
Label: Phillips
Cat. No.: 842 507-2
Total Time: 33:29


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, February 2000
The highlight for me on this excellent album is the percussion, especially in the first track "Sospesi Nell Incredibile", not to take anything away from rest of the instruments - or rather, the musicians who play them. But, based on the percussion alone I'd recommend Le Orme's Felona E Serona. Although not so much during the rest of the album, Aldo Tagliapietra sounds quite a bit like Peter Gabriel in tone and delivery.

There are moments when the music is Genesis-like - "La Solitudine Di Chi Protegge Il Mondo" for example, with its arrangement, which is sparse but for tinkling piano. This is involving and evolving stuff. It's epic and varied, say on the order of "Supper's Ready" - but don't expect their version of "Apocalypse in 7/8". The keys on "L'Equilbrio" are Emerson-esque - which means they are almost played as a percussive instrument, the with more melodic qualities (though that isn't to suggest that it is the only style Emerson plays in, but it is one of his most distinctive).

Felona E Serona is considered their masterpiece, at least by some. There's no questioning that it very well could be, but as they are still a going concern, their best may also be yet to come. It's certainly one of the best discs in my collection. A good mix between rock and folk elements. "La Solitudine:" also a very light and airy feel about it, a sing-a-long quality that shouldn't be viewed as a negative. And towards the middle, some beautifully swirling keyboards. I don't recall if Marillion (or other neo-progressives) were influenced at all by Le Orme, but a case certainly could be made, based on this disk alone. The transitions and contrasts between and within the tracks are similar to what Marillion later used on Misplaced Childhood. But, the case could also be made that Le Orme took those elements from Genesis, as did Marillion. Because I'm not familiar with the whole Le Orme oveure yet, that really is a hard judgement to make. Though again, if this were the only evidence, a case could be made.

Is that what makes this such a great disk? Of course not. What makes this a great disk is the trio of musicians here - Aldo Tagliapietra on vocals, bass, and guitar, Toni Pagliuca on keyboards, and Michi Dei Rossi on drums and percussion. It's the keys which give this a fuller sound, making you think there certainly must be more than three of them - but of course, like ELP before them, looks can be deceiving.

Lighten your wallet a little and seek out this classic disk - you'll thank yourself (probably by buying the others we've reviewed here).

By the way, Peter Hammill (Van Der Graff Generator) wrote English lyrics for a different edition, about which Al Gunnison said, "The Hammill lyrics are real dopey - stick with Italian version." (Progression, pg 10, Issue 10, Jan-Feb 1994)

More about Felona E Serona:

Track Listing: Sospesi Nell Incredibile (8:43) / Felona (1:58) / La Solitudine Di Chi Protegge Il Mondo (1:57) / L'Equilbrio (3:47) / Sorona (2:28) / Attesa Inerte (3:25) / Ritratto Di Un Mattino (3:29) / All Infuori Del Tempo (4:08) / Ritorno Al Nulla (3:34)

Musicians:
Aldo Tagliapietra - vocals, bass, and guitar
Toni Pagliuca - keyboards
Michi Dei Rossi - drums and percussion

Contact:


Website: leorme.alma.it
Note: will open new browser window

Email: reclaudio@alma.it

Discography

Ad Gloriam (1969)
L'Aurora Delle Orme (1970)
Collage (1971)
Uomo De Pezza (1972)
Felona E Sorona (1973)
Le Orme In Concerto (1974)
Contrappunti (1974)
Smogmagica (1975)
Beyond Leng (1975)
English version compilation
Verita' Nascoste (1976)
Canzone D'Amore (1976)
Storia O Leggenda (1977)
Le Orme Antologia 67-69 (1978)
Le Orme (1978)
Florian (1979)
Piccola Rapsodia Dell'ape (1980)
Venerdi' (1982)
Orme (1990)
Antologia 1970-80 (1993)
Il Fiume (1996)
Amico Di Ieri (1997)



FELONA & SORONA
A science - fiction story ... written by Peter Hammill recorded by italian band Le Orme, Venice 1973 http://www.juristin.de/hammill/felonasorona.html


In Between
Felona
The Maker
Web Of Time
Sorona
The Plan
The Balance



In Between
No changes outside of time:
two planets exist side by side
neither aware of the other,
though they are intertwined.
Like branches of a tree
they (have no thought) of what they belong to ...
what of the trunk in between,
what of the energy?
(that makes it all be ..)
Two planets in harmony
of opposition - the supposition
is that, when one is serene
then the other is sad.
What of the Man in between?
He smiles on one and its life is happy;
his back is turned on the other,
and a shadow is cast...
He is the man who makes the soap balls
creating magic happiness for all who touch them
they are good enough to eat, taste like marzipan;
give buoyancy to boats, and peace to man
before them, all neurosis meekly fails...
some even say that such a sacrament must be
the Holy Grail.


Felona
The people of Sorona are happy as can be;
every day`s a holiday with wine and levity ...
nothing really matters except their daily meals
and they are taken care of by the soap balls in the fields.
Living in round houses, the music of the Spheres
permeates their beings and echoes in their ears ...
nothing really matters except to be alive,
and that is taken care of by the soap balls from the sky ...
The house-spheres are so mobile, powered by the wind;
they move without discomfort to the families within.
Moving as the wind blows, over hill and vale,
bouncing through the countryside like elastic whales!
And finally, when evening comes and the winds die down
the spheres are left as villages and new neighbours are found ...
the wind creates communities, tomorrow they`ll be gone,
but the people just make holiday and join in happy songs.


The Maker
"I`ve watched this world, it seems, a long time;
the people here are joyous, and something calls me
far away ... "
He is the Man they call the Maker
he`s almost humanoid
but there is still a void
between Him and the men he sheltes
he brings them happiness ...
he tries, but nonetheless
has none to use himself, in private;
there are no friends for Him -
How very lonely to be God!
Or maybe more than this, for He is Life
He is the bond between worlds some call Time.
But, for all this, he receives no worship ...
no core of peace lies deep down in his mind.
So: demi-God for two planets at once
and when he just looks away, one decays ...
for energy runs from one to the other
and joy and pain interchange with his gaze.
Deus in Machina/saviour who only half perceives.
"I can do no more - I`ve made a heaven here...
I`ve given them my love and now must see my other world ...
what happens there?"


Web Of Time
Across the web of time a planet spins,
here, where the ending is, here it begins with life
of content, free as air ...
changes have come since the Maker was there!
He left them with his words but took their wind
The light of his teachings grew dimmer
till it had quite disappeared in the dark
They forgot everything and snuffed the spark of joy.
The soap-balls disappeared, the land was scarred
no longer spherical, the houses became hard
like the hearts of the men
who walk the streets
in despair ...


Sorona
Endless faces which wear the shadow of sadness as their masks;
nameless voices which rise in concert to welcome in the dark;
Huddled shoulders against the presence of Sorrow in the streets,
passing among the crowd and touching the sould of all he meets ...
and deep in their eyes you find
an anguish that clamours for release ...
if only to be blind.
Every evening they join together around their village squares,
hoping that the Messiah will come and banish their despair ...
they`re looking for a miracle;
there`s nothing left to look for, if you dare!
maybe now He comes!
Fingers tingling and bodies ringing in harmony with words
whose melodies and phrases are now forgotten,
though once heard ...
suddenly there`s a smile or two;
suddenly the tide begins to turn ...


The Plan
"This is the plan:
think of your fellow man ...
do what you can to make all life
a part of your own!"


The Balance
Two perfect worlds for a moment exist:
Felona of happiness, Sorona of bliss ...
It seems that the future holds untarnished joy
but whenever you build, you also destroy.
All things are equal while all things survive
life has no movement without turning of tides.
The Maker who moves them, he does his best,
but people always eat soap-balls and forget the rest.
In Felona the wind falls, the start of decline ..
the spheres cease to move, it will only take time
till the planet is static, its happiness dead,
and death is the feeling in the people`s heads.
For Sorona, a golden age has begun to dawn
and all words of caution are treated with scorn
As thought for tomorrow - indulgent today
What when the Maker once more goes away?
If there is an ending, it surely comes here:
Sorona in happiness, Felona in fear ...
but endings are circular, and life is the line ...
It goes on for ever -
No change outside Time!




http://www.hammill.com.ru/index_r.html