review by thomas

Italian trio consisting of Michi Dei Rossi (drums), Toni Pagliuca (keyboards) and Aldo Tagliapietra (bass, vocals, guitar) often compared to E.L.P.. Besides the line-up I cannot understand the comparison. I mean Le Orme could very well be (and they actually were) influenced by E.L.P. but this is not something you can make out or point to in their sound; on the other hand you can really hear some reminiscent of E.L.P. on the track "Alienazione" so the comparison is not that wrong for reference as long as one keep in mind that they don't share the same sound. This is something one should always remember when it's comes to references; it doesn't mean the bands in question are one hundred per cent alike. Well I strayed off quite a bit there, but with things sorted out (I hope), we can move on. "La Porta Chiusa" and the instrumental "Alienazione" are the best songs on the album. "Breve Immagine" is also very good highlighted by Tagliapietra's sad, almost melancholic voice. This is how his voice sound like all the time and this can be held against him, it's not very changeable; I mean it's always in the same pitch. "Figure di Cartone" features some acoustic guitar and fine keyboard work from Pagliuca. The same is also true about the song "Aspettando L'Alba". "Alienazione" are a frenzy fusion thing with especially good drumming from Dei Rossi. So what you get is keyboard dominated classical rock done with both power and passion and very Italian sounding, Very well done. A very good album but lasting only 32-minutes.