The productive prog rock musician Marco Ragni already has a lot of albums to his name. ‘The wanderings caravan’ came out last month. In short, the texts are about memories and life. So about love, suffering and the search for your own self.
‘What we have done in the past we’ll be in the future’ starts with the sound of footsteps in the gravel. Followed by calm folklore sounds of the oed (a kind of lute). This creates a special opening. The turn to rock is a big contrast. This is only of short duration, because it switches back to calmer music, but in layers over each other. This means that you can hear many instruments ‘mixed’. Nevertheless, the flow remains quiet. The turn to the quickly played keys is suddenly clear. This could just be part two of the opening track, but ‘on paper’ there are no two parts. That’s how it feels. Although I have to get used to this twist, I keep listening to the end of this epic opening track fascinated.
I am now extra curious about what else will come. ‘Waiting on the threshold’ is very different, but also interesting. The beginning is calm. Marco’s voice is so beautiful here! Some very high notes are played on the piano. Again there are beautiful layers in the music. Slowly but surely the pace is considerably increased. In the small piece, emotion is heard in Marco’s voice again. The multiple voices are a nice match. The ringing bell sounds exactly at the right time, in addition, perfectly dosed. When Marco sings harder, his emotion changes from tender to tender. This track dies nicely.
‘It’s only fantasy’ has an experimental character from time to time. This is mysterious and dreamy, but fantastic. The mysterious flows over to rock, but there remains a hint of experiment.
‘Keep dreaming’ starts fairly calmly, and is sang sensitive. Although tempo and volume are not very high, there are quite a few layers. These are just as well balanced as in a colorfully styled bouquet. Some twists go smoothly, others more unexpectedly. Rocking elements alternate with smaller and / or acoustically played parts. The number of layers also changes. Last but not least, there is also played with the distribution in the headphones. This song has a cool build-up towards the end.
The first sentences of ‘Back home again’ are tender, and sung with warmth, matching the memories. The background vocals melt together with the music. The drum rhythm is wonderfully quiet. The strings add an excellent melancholic atmosphere. Actually, this beautiful song has ended too soon.
This is a real listen album, both in terms of text and in terms of music. Through the multi-instrumentalists and guest musicians you can hear many different instruments, whether or not layered. The many details are very well added. By the layers, the details, and not to forget by sampling of a giggling child, for example, you have a lot to listen to. ‘The wandering caravan’ connects with the enthusiast of the complex, but not too heavy prog rock. (82/100 Melodic Revolution Records)
| 14 March 2018 |
Translated by Google
Original review Here http://rockmuzine.nl/2018/03/14/marco-ragni-the-wandering-caravan/