“IL
CIELO A ZIG ZAG” era l’idea dell’artista per il titolo di
quell’album e infatti due bozzetti erano stati presentati su quel tema.
I responsabili della CBS bocciarono,
senza valido motivo, quel titolo e quell’idea e, forti delle regole
contrattuali dell’epoca, imposero il titolo “Bernardo Lanzetti”,
pur a conoscenza del fatto che, solo due anni prima, già la Ciao Records aveva
pubblicato un album con lo stesso titolo malgrado il malumore, in proposito,
dell’artista/interprete.
Curioso il fatto che Bernardo, in
quei frangenti, si trovasse nello studio di Guido Harari, fotografo che aveva
fatto il salto di qualità con il tour De Andrè/PFM e che sembrava aver
dimenticato la sua primissima copertina del 1974 che immortalava il Lanzetti
con il gruppo Acqua Fragile per l’album “Mass Media Stars”.
Ridendo e scherzando, Guido fece
alcuni scatti con la polaroid e altri in bianco e nero, così per aggiornare il
suo book.
La CBS vide una di quelle foto e la
scelse per la copertina dell’album in oggetto senza neppure permettere al
fotografo di rivedere e ripulire il negativo.
Qui si mostrano gli scatti polaroid
inutilizzati che mostrano una certa poesia e un certo spessore artistico.
Compie gli anni oggi, 21
novembre, Bernardo Lanzetti, "The
Voice Impossible", del prog-rock italiano…
Acqua Fragile, Premiata Forneria
Marconi, Mangala Vallis... e molte produzioni soliste, sono il
"curriculum" di Bernardo.
Dopo 43 anni, torna ad incidere un
nuovo album con gli Acqua Fragile, "A New Chant", accolto molto bene
da pubblico e critica.
Happy Birthday Bernardo!
Wazza
Una rara foto dell'Acqua Fragile con
Joe Vescovi (ex The Trip)
Anno 1977 (JET LAG). Partendo da
sinistra: Premoli, Di Cioccio, Bloch, Lanzetti, Mussida e Dijvas.
Bernardo
Lanzetti and the Steam Band
Ok
L-R: John G Perry, Clive Bunker, Bernardo, YT and Jackie McCauley
Anno 1995: si forma per quella
stagione l'Equipe 84 Extra", con Victor Sogliani che esce
dall"Equipe, sostituito da Fulvio Monieri, e gli Extra di Bernardo
Lanzetti già vocalist della PFM. In senso orario, da sx in basso: Bernardo
Lanzetti voce, chitarra e glovox; Ronnie Jackson voce e chitarra; Andrea Lavelli
voce, chitarra, basso e tastiere; Vanni Comotti voce e batteria; Victor
Sogliani voce e basso; al centro Johnny Pozzi.
The Italian singer Bernardo
Lanzettiwas born in Casalmaggiore in
1948. In 1971 he formed the prog rock band Acqua Fragile, which released an
album in 1973 and 1974 respectively. He subsequently sang on three of the
albums with the band Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM).
The protagonist's solo phase then resulted in a number
of publications, and further participations in other productions until there
was a reunion of Acqua Fragile in 2017. And now another solo record with
"Horizontal Rain".
The first guest star introduces himself with
"Walk Away"! David Cross (King Crimson) convinces with a fine
virtuoso violin solo. And when Cross 'battles' with Derek Sherinian on the
keyboards, you almost think you've landed in rock jazz, here with the
Mahavishnu Orchestra = Jerry Goodman vs. Jan Hammer. But the main focus is
immediately drawn when Lanzettilifts up to sing. Yo, there is a lot of
theatricality in the expression, sometimes like an opera he powerfully performs
his own lyrics to his own music. And this moves, in the spirit and as an
expression of his past, in the Prog Rock area.
But the characteristics of this genre are not only
used as a basis, but extensions have been adhered to. This is what happened on
"Heck Jack", where the saxophonist Giancarlo Porro is responsible for
the arrangement of the horn section around him and the trumpeter Marco Brioschi
and the trombonist Carlo Napolitano. Speaking of the saxophone - yes, David
Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) also enriches the epic "Lanzhaiku"
with familiar sounds on his saxophone and flute, his typical sound.
On the last song, "Different", a whole choir
is brought up, the unusual arrangement brings a very beguiling-mystical mood to
the music. And so a not necessarily uniform direction has succeeded, but it is
precisely because of this that the already very lively music gains even more
liveliness. It is precisely this variety that leads to the fact that not only
pure proggies should feel addressed, but also all those who otherwise listen to
other music.
At first sight the harmonic songs rule, "Time Is
King" for example reminds a little of Genesis and other songs contain many
elements and passages of Art Rock. Of course, it is always the veteran's
musical past that flashes and has found its way. An absolutely formidable
achievement has been achieved, music with charm, with retro elements, sometimes
powerfully gripping ("Horizontal Rain"), but otherwise often floating
spherically with a dreamy expression. And above or above everything stands this
unmistakable voice, sometimes acting a little hectically, but extremely
individual.
Tracklist "Horizontal Rain"
Walk Away (5:51)
Heck Jack (3:48)
Lanzhaiku (3:36)
Time Is King (4:54)
Brilliant!
(3:04)
Conventional
(4:24)
Ero
Un Num Ero (4:57)
Horizontal Rain (5:13)
Different (4:32)
Total playing time: 40:28, year of publication: 2021
Line-up Bernardo Lanzetti
Bernardo Lanzetti (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, programming)
Alesia Baltach (cello - # 7)
Marco Brioschi (trumpet - # 2)
Andrea Cervetto (guitars, bass, keyboards, arrangements - # 2,4)