Odessa - The Final Day - Il Giorno Del Giudizio

Year of Release: 2009
Label: Lizard Records / Andromeda Relix
Catalog Number: Lizard CD0058/And 21
Format: CD
Total Time: 48:52:00

I've been following the career of Odessa since 2006, when I saw them turn a crowd at BajaProg into a screaming, sweating mob. The Saturday afternoon outdoor concert had been rained out and the only alternative was for Odessa to play in a conference room with a planned seating arrangement for about 150 people. Everything that wasn't nailed down was removed from the room and about half of the crowd of close to 800 to 900 that had showed up packed the room like sardines. Odessa's scheduled fifty minute set turned into a nearly three hour marathon as the mostly young audience refused to let Odessa leave the stage.

Hailing from Pesaro on the eastern coast of Italy, Odessa plays a virtually indefinable style of rock music. They are clearly disciples of the heavy rock tradition, though sometimes they seem to be channeling the 70's style of Deep Purple and at other times it's Dream Theater. They are obviously carrying on the classic Italian tradition, though sometimes it's old school style like Rovescio Della Medaglia and sometimes it's like 21st century PFM. They also seem to have been influenced by American style southern rock, sometimes like the Allman Brothers Band, at other times it's The Dixie Dregs. They love to throw in instrumental interludes steeped in jazzy blues, sometimes like Robben Ford, sometimes like Brian Auger. Odessa has cast their net far and wide vocally as well as musically and the songs on their second album The Final Day feature lyrics in English, French and Greek as well as their native Italian.

Far from a schizophrenic jumble, the songs on Odessa's new disc display a quite pleasing blend of some widely disparate styles and sounds. Lorenzo Giovagnoli, the band's keyboardist and vocalist has written nine new tunes for the disc, which also includes a longtime staple from the band's live set list, the Area cover "Cometa Rossa." Giovagnoli is the owner of a remarkable set of pipes, with a powerful voice and an impressive vocal range. Odessa has also been blessed with the acquisition of two new members since the 1999 release of their debut disc, Stazione Getsemani, guitarist Giulio Vampa and drummer Marco Fabbri. When it comes to ensemble playing, Vampa is a chameleon, easily adapting to any style and as a soloist, he is a dangerous string bender, able to compete with anyone. Fabbri is an especially powerful and inspired drummer. Much in demand in Italy, he is currently on tour with The Watch. Though Giovagnoli is Odessa's only composer, the band as a whole creates all the arrangements and it is the stylistic consistency of these arrangements that ties the divergent elements of the band's many influences together into one very palatable taste.

Hoping to appeal to a wider audience than just the hard core prog lovers, Giovagnoli has purposely kept the songs on The Final Day short and to the point. Most of the discs tunes are just under five minutes with the albums title track, at seven and a half minutes, the longest. Make no mistake though, there is no lack of thematic development here, and fear not, "proggy" moments abound despite the compactness of the songs.

The Final Day begins and ends with driving rockers, the title track first, and "Going South" which concludes the disc. Both of these tunes feature vocals in English and the title track begins with a great fuzz bass intro by founding member Valerio De Angelis. In between comes two more heavy duty works, "Compra" a rocking indictment of our runaway consumer culture, and "Depeche Toi," with its French lyrics decrying the fog that blinds us to our dreams as life hurtles by. One thing that won't hurtle by is the excellent song craft and fine musicianship displayed in "Depeche Toi." This is what Dream Theater would sound like, were they capable of writing music with melody.

Anyone who thinks that a fully developed, ever changing prog tune can't be produced in less than 5 minutes needs to listen to these tunes.

"Viene La Sera" and "Piccolo Mio Sole" both reflect more of the band's Italian heritage with gentler tones and spectacular vocal performances. They both contain symphonic instrumental passages with fine ensemble playing juxtaposed with quiet keyboard centered verses.

"Leila" has definite crossover appeal and is perfectly suited for radio, well, that is if they programmed good music on the radio anymore. This song sounds like a vocal oriented southern roots rock number with a center instrumental section that reminds me of the Dixie Dregs in a full on jam mode.

Odessa throws caution to the wind and really lets loose with a brilliant and exciting instrumental track, "Senza Fiato." This is the one moment on The Final Day when I really, really wish the band had lengthened a song. I can't overemphasize how good the tune is. It hits the spot and I just don't want it to end.

So??? have I forgotten anything? Band: unique and powerful, songwriting: inspired and sophisticated, recording quality: clean, with an excellent final mix. In today's world, with everything seemingly on the verge of total collapse, it's comforting to know that the Italian prog scene continues as it has for nearly forty years now, producing exciting bands and outstanding albums. The Final Day is well worth acquiring and I will recommend it highly to any fan of Italian prog or to anyone with an ear for good music. Let us all hope that it doesn't take another ten years before we can expect to hear from Odessa again.

Tracklisting:
The Final Day (7:28) / Viene La Sera (5:42) / Taxi (4:27) / Compra (4:34) / Cometa Rossa (3:59) / Senza Fiato (4:40) / Piccolo Mio Sole (4:22) / Depeche Toi (3:55) / Leila (5:38) / Going South (4:04)

Musicians:
Lorenzo Giovagnoli - vocals, keyboards
Valerio "Vallo" De Angelis - bass guitar
Giulio Vampa - electric and acoustic guitars
Marco Fabbri - drums

Discography:
Stazione Getsemani (1999)
The Final Day - Il Giorno Del Giudizio (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: February 26th 2009
Reviewer: Tom Karr
Score:
Artist website: odessazone.com
Hits: 7132
Language: english