Bernardo Lanzetti al lavoro per il suo prossimo album solista

Sessioni di registrazione vocale per il nuovo album solo? A breve qualche novità!

Le news di Bernardo Lanzetti...

 Bernardo e Tony Levin

Qualche novità da parte di Bernardo Lanzetti che racconta…

“Oggi, bella esperienza nello studio della vocalist Kim Chandler. Ho potuto cantare con un microfono specialissimo "su misura".

L’album "solo" procede. Ecco gli ospiti già sicuri:

David Jackson, David Cross, Kim Chandler, Jonathan Mover e Tony Levin”.

Si preannuncia l'arrivo di un grande disco!

Acqua Fragile sul TELEVIDEO

Fa un certo effetto vedere pubblicizzato l'ultimo album degli Acqua Fragile sul Televideo!

Review: Acqua Fragile – "A New Chant", by James R. Turner

They may be a new name to you, they certainly were to me, but Italy’s Acqua Fragile were originally active between 1971 & 1975, and vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti joined PFM for their ‘Chocolate Kings’ and ‘Jet Lag’ albums, leaving in 1977.

The catalyst for this reunion record came when Bernardo celebrated his career with his Vox 40 concert, and the revived band consists of Bernardo Lanzetti (vocals, animoog, guitars) Pierro Canavera (drums/percussion/backing vocals) and Franz Dondi (electric bass), as well as guest musicians like Jonathon Mover (on opener My Forte) drummer Alessandro Mori (son of original keyboard player Maurizio Mori) as well as members of the Acqua Fragile Project, a collaboration put together by Franz Dondi of younger musicians playing the original music of Acqua Fragile.

You wait a while for some bands to get on with the ‘difficult’ third album, but it’s taken these guys over 40 years!

Joking aside, the musicians have worked hard in Italy, and Bernardo is a well known name on the progressive scene, having worked with Mangala Vallis amongst others, and with new blood in the group like collaborator Alex Giallombardo, who provides guitars, vocals and keyboards this blends the best of traditional Acqua Fragile with new sounds and contemporary production values.

This blending of old and new is probably exemplified by the track Wear Your Car Proudly, which was a track the band used to perform in the 70’s, which had never been recorded. The music was intact, with some driving guitar and bass, and wonderfully squelchy mid 70’s synth sounds, (it’s also reminiscent of the neo-prog sound of the early 80’s) yet the lyrics had gone, no trace, so Bernardo’s friend came up with some new lyrics, and hey presto, a wonderfully eclectic song all about motor racing. It’s in the Italian blood, and the passion comes across in this song.

They have even recorded a track in Italian, Tu Per Lei (You for Her) with some wonderfully emotive vocals from Bernardo, and a great electric guitar solo, and it’s true that Italian is a beautiful and emotive language, I don’t know exactly what’s being sung about, but it sounds fantastic.

In fact that’s a good word to use to describe this album, fantastic, I always admire musicians who can write in their second language, and their English is probably better than mine (I am also probably a little jealous as I am no linguist, cunning or otherwise) and to flit between their native tongue and English, is wonderful.

The Drowning meanwhile utilises the lyric skills of Nick Clabburn, who paints a wonderful picture, for Bernardo to fill with his rich vocals.

Meanwhile Rain Drops is a poem, by the legendary Pete Sinfield, that Bernardo loved so much he wanted to adapt, he even explained how he got permission from the elusive Mr Sinfield to include this on the album (in the interview elsewhere on Progradar that I did with him) and the orchestral, almost Oldfieldesque accompaniment works perfectly in drawing the nuances out of the lyrics, and Sinfield’s imagery is both wonderful and very emotive, again showing Bernardo’s voice off to the full.

The core band here sound relaxed and enjoying each others company, whilst the self-explanatory All Rise is a fab rockier number, showing the band kicking up a storm, in a nod to the live arena, a self confessed first encore track, utilising the traditional courtroom phrase to great effect, and providing the energy and power that every good encore needs.

The mood slows a little, with the lovely acoustic How Come, where Bernardo’s vocals continue to shine, and his personal and moving lyrics work in this stripped back environment, providing a brief period of reflection prior to the closing power of the albums title track.

A New Chant see’s Bernardo projecting his voice in an operatic finale, the music and lyrics working together, a beautiful merging of sound, topping off what is, to these ears an excellent record.

It’s great to see that bands can reform after a long period of time, pull together in the studio and rediscover the old magic, this is Acqua Fragile reborn for the 21st century, and is worth a listen. I really enjoyed it.

Released 13th October 2017

ORIGINAL POST

From Progarchives: Acqua Fragile-"A New Chant"

The modern era has seen all things `retro' embraced, so there's been no shortage of vintage Seventies Italian Prog-rock bands making long-belated comebacks in this modern day. One of the more unexpected ones has been Acqua Fragile, most known for their association with (then) future Premiata Forneria Marconi vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti on a few of their albums from 1975's `Chocolate Kings' onwards. Adored by some, completely dismissed by others perhaps because of the reason that they performed in English and their music didn't have a lot of the purer theatrical and classical characteristics that often are part of the identity of the Italian prog groups, Acqua Fragile were a tricky one to navigate. Their two studio albums, a self-titled work and `Mass Media Stars' between 1973-74 were hardly poor, but perhaps not quite special enough to compete with the truly important names of Italian rock music at the time.

Fast forward over forty years later, and three of the core original members - drummer/percussionist Piero Canavera, bassist Franz Dondi and singer/guitarist Bernardo Lanzetti - have surprised Italian prog fans with a brand new work, 2017's `A New Chant'. Some things remain the same - it's still mostly sung in English, so more traditional Italian prog-snobs (yours truly included!) should be warned! - but it's everywhere else that counts where the band step up in a big way. With help from some other musical contributors, the trio offer a confident album jammed full of so many rich little instrumental details that twist the tunes in all sorts of interesting directions (and parts of which are probably the most genuinely `Italian' sounding of their music to date). The disc avoids drifting constantly into lazy `old man' pleasant AOR, it welcomely isn't afraid to make a bit of rumble and noise here and there, and is ultimately the most lavish and sophisticated Acqua Fragile work overall.

Right from opener `My Forte's Mediterranean-flavoured ringing acoustic guitar notes around lively drumming, sparkling piano and teasing slivers of handsome orchestration, it's clear that this is the fanciest Acqua Fragile has ever sounded. Best of all, vocalist Bernardo, once rather grating with a Family/Roger Chapman-esque bleating harshness on the Seventies AF and PFM discs, is now so much more subtle, full of colourful personality and deeply charismatic, meaning he's never sounded better as a singer, and it instantly helps make this rich and evocative opener an even lovelier surprise.

Acqua Fragile here happily embrace how Bernardo's voice has often been compared to the Peter Gabriel-fronted era of Genesis in the past, so a few pieces throughout the album drift closer to those years of that wildly influential group, if sometimes offering a kind of sound that suggest where they might have headed if that frontman had hung around after their ambitious double `...Lamb' album. The first of these, `The Drowning', broods with murmuring bass ruminations, careful veils of Mellotron-like majesty and plenty of slow-burn guitar soloing, perhaps taking the piece closer to the spectral gothic pantomimes that current Steve Hackett Band vocalist Nad Sylvan offers on his ravishing solo albums. It also calls to mind the fondly remembered The Night Watch `Twilight' album and band from the late Nineties that would morph into The Watch years later.

`Wear Your Car Proudly' is surprisingly heavy with endless twisting ragged guitar turns, delirious synth soloing and an overall frenetic driving wildness, and `Tu per Lei' is a sole piece that is performed in Italian (despite constantly singing in English throughout much of his career, it's always a wonderful when Bernardo performs in his native language!) and holds a rousing singalong group chorus that culminates in grandiose fanfare pomp (and dig that drowsy Moog wafting around the final seconds!).

`Rain Drops' is an elegantly haunting ballad carried by accordion, piano, careful orchestration and Bernardo's overly emotional romantic crooning full of longing, and the punchier up-tempo `All Rise' races with a boisterous repeating refrain that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the early I.Q and Neo-Prog albums (and listen for that teasing thick bass solo in the middle that's not nearly long enough!). `How Come' is an impossibly pretty and exquisite little acoustic ballad interlude, and the deceptively lyrically dark and surreal title track `A New Chant' lifts dreamily into the heavens with a rousing chorus delivered with all the deliciously histrionic passion constantly found on so many Italian progressive works!

There's so much to recommend about `A New Chant'. It's hardly the most challenging of Italian prog collections, but, like Maxophone's recent and very worthwhile `La Fabbrica Delle Nuvole', it's full of gorgeous playing, captivating vocals and adventurous, energetic rock pieces full of variety and rife with the most luxurious of instrumental flourishes. It also proves that many of these so- called `oldies acts' still have very vital and exciting music to offer when they put the effort in, so whisper it (chant it?!) - `A New Chant' just might be the best Acqua Fragile album so far, but it is absolutely one of the most genuinely unexpected yet welcome surprises in Italian prog music for the year.

Three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

Acqua Fragile – "A New Chant", di Stefano Tognoni

Acqua Fragile – A New Chant

di Stefano Tognoni (Il Popolo del Blues)

ARTICOLO ORIGINALE

Il mai sopito interesse per il progressive rock, genere che ha saputo rinnovarsi, pur nel rispetto delle strutture e sonorità delle origini, ha tenuto desta l’attenzione non solo per le band più celebri e celebrate, ma anche per quelle che, malgrado l’esigua discografia, sono comunque diventate oggetto di culto, in Italia e all’estero, anche per le nuove generazioni. Tra queste vanno annoverati i parmensi Acqua Fragile che, nel biennio 1973/74, pubblicarono l’omonimo esordio e Mass Media Stars, sciogliendosi però nel 1975, complice la fuoriuscita di Bernardo Lanzetti, divenuto nel frattempo il vocalist della Premiata Forneria Marconi. Dopo oltre 40 anni, i componenti storici Piero Canavera (batteria, percussioni, cori), Franz Dondi (basso) e Bernardo Lanzetti (voce, animoog, chitarra acustica) hanno sorpreso i loro fan, riunendosi per registrare del nuovo materiale. A New Chant è il frutto di queste sessioni e contiene otto tracce che ci riportano emotivamente al passato, riuscendo però al contempo, a rinnovarsi. Dal punto di vista compositivo, predomina la firma di Lanzetti, ad eccezione di The drowning, il cui testo è stato scritto da Nick Clabburn, già collaboratore di John Hackett, Wear your car proudly, composta dal “trio” Canavera/Lanzetti/Anzaldi e Rain drops il cui testo è stato scritto da Pete Sinfield, storico autore e componente dei King Crimson. Rispetto al passato le composizioni sono meno dilatate e più costrette nella forma canzone, ma senza per questo perdere le prerogative che caratterizzano la loro natura. Alla registrazione del cd hanno collaborato altri validi musicisti come il batterista Johnatan Mover (Joe Satriani, GTR), Alessandro Giallombardo e Michelangelo Ferilli alle chitarre, Alessandro Sgobbio alle tastiere e il batterista Alessandro Mori, figlio di Maurizio, storico tastierista dell’Acqua Fragile. A New Chant è buon progetto, non anacronistico ma vivo e vitale, che si inserisce nel panorama progressive attuale, e che auspichiamo possa avere un seguito anche dal vivo.

Tracce:

My forte

The drowning

Wear your car proudly

Tu per lei

Rain drops

All rise

How come
A new chant

Acqua Fragile – A New Chant: review by Ananth Krishnan

Acqua Fragile – A New Chant

Article by: Ananth Krishnan

A New Chant is that perfect excuse to take a little walk down memory lane, an unmissable excuse to wipe the dust off those old CDs that represented the golden era of Italian Progressive rock, to take them out for another spin. Acqua Fragile was quite at the forefront, being on the scene in the early half of the 1970s and they are probably more fondly remembered for giving PFM Bernardo Lanzetti, the Italian Peter Gabriel. For a reunion to happen four decades later – well, in my head, that in itself is a phenomenal achievement.

And four decades later – nothing has changed. Blindfolded and hearing this CD, it is quite difficult to pin down the fact that this is a 2017 album performed by some of the fore runners of the ’70s era progressive rock (maybe the song lengths would seed some doubts!?!). Sprawling in its instrumentation (bombastic is always the Italian trait right?!) and aided by a host of guest musicians, it is hard to imagine the trio not having enormous amounts of fun making this album. There is enough variety in terms of song structure and timbres to keep you interested for the 40 odd minutes the album lasts – a very pleasant length indeed!

Lanzetti’s vocals have audibly matured, but I say this in the nicest of ways. He is in complete control of what he has set out to achieve in terms of the dynamic range he delivers in the different tracks, from the lilting timbre of the opener My Forte to the almost-operatic All Rise. Primarily keyboard and guitar driven, the album has a strong presence of strings and synths that lend the grandiose feel – something that harks back to the heyday of the genre. The best part about this album, which immediately grabbed me, is that there is no lack of technical virtuosity and instrumental craftsmanship – Alex Giallombardo’s guitar deserves special mention here as he delivers a vast array of sounds that fit wonderfully well into each theme on display.

The first three tracks are easily the highlights, a fantastic representation of all the musical ideas that permeate this album, and all of this in around 15 minutes! The album opener is a gentle yet arresting piano driven acoustic delight and in direct contrast is the driving high octane Wear Your Car Proudly – relentless in energy it showcases a lot of the technical wizardry that the band display. Neatly sandwiched between the two is The Drowning which serves as a perfect bridge between the musical ideas that segue beautifully into one another. A track by track breakdown would only end up serving up more clichés and hyberbole – this small sample is testimony enough! 

The sleeve notes show the trio looking back at photos and reminiscing about the good old days with broad smiles on their faces. Without a doubt the smiles would have been broader while they were recording this outing, for this is one hell of a reunion album, especially considering it was made after a break of 44 years!! A jaw dropping effort that unequivocally announces the return of Acqua Fragile to the stage of progressive rock.

Recommended? An overwhelming ‘Si Signore!!’

TRACK LISTING
01. My Forte (5:08)
02. The Drowning (6:26)
03. Wear Your Car Proudly (6:58)
04. Tu Per Lei (5:25)
05. Rain Drops (3:25)
06. All Rise (5:39)
07. How Come (2:34)
08. A New Chant (5:20)

Total Time – 40:55

MUSICIANS
Piero Canavera – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Franz Dondi – Bass
Bernardo Lanzetti – Vocals, Animoog, Guitar (tracks 1,6 & 7)
~ with:
Michelangelo Ferilli – Acoustic Guitar (track 2)
Alex Giallombardo – Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals, Keyboards (tracks 2,4 & 8)
Alessandro Mori – Drums (track 6)
Alessandro Sgobbi – Synth Solo (track 3)
Marino Speranza – Piano
Jonathan Mover – Drums & Glockenspiel (track 1)
Tango Spleen Orchestra (tracks 1 & 5)
– Elena Luppi – Viola
– Andrea Marras – Violin
– Franacesco Bruno – Bandoneon
– Gian Luca Ravaglia – Upright Bass
– Yalcia Fo Gazan – Cello

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Esoteric Antenna
Catalogue#: EANTCD 1069
Country of Origin: Italy
Date of Release: 13^th October 2017

ORIGINAL POST