My, my, my...now this is a perfect example of what you get when a record label and band put a lot of love into releasing a product that not only they can be proud of, but the fans can as well. Osanna are a classic '70s Italian progressive rock band that has a rich & cherished history among fans, but they only released a handful of albums that decade before breaking up. In the early 2000s the band reunited with one original member & all new musicians, and in 2012 recorded this wonderful live concert in Naples, Italy at the Trion Theater. Vocalist/acoustic guitarist Lino Vairetti is joined by Irvin Vairetti on keyboards & vocals, the amazing guitarist Pasquale Capobianco, drummer Gennaro Barba, keyboard player Sasa Priore, and bassist Nello D'Anna. Some notable guests also participate in the fun, including Van Der Graaf Generator sax/flute player David Jackson, Il Balletto Di Bronzo's Gianni Leone on keyboards, and a host of others. Black Widow Records has not only included the whole concert on DVD, but there is a bonus DVD filled with live & video footage from throughout the bands career, including a wealth of clips from the '70s, which will be an absolute treat for longtime fans of the band. It's all housed in a gorgeous digibook complete with a lovely booklet containing photos, essays (in both Italian & English), and full information on the concert & musicians who appear.
It's just a lovely presentation every way you look at it. The main concert is wonderfully shot, the colors bright and the sound spectacular. Osanna is as much a visual band as they are musical, still wearing the colorful make-up like they used to back in the day (like a mix of Peter Gabriel era Genesis, Alex Harvey, KISS, and modern day black metal acts like Immortal or Dimmu Borgir), but it doesn't take away from their spectacular songs, which hint at Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Genesis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, and of course fellow Italian prog greats PFM and Banco. Plenty of classic Osanna tracks are played from their albums L'Uomo, Milano Calibro 9, and of course Palepoli, as well as more recent albums Taka Boom and Prog Family. Jackson lends his amazing talents on sax & flute to many of these songs, and I can't stress enough the outstanding guitar skills of Capobianco, who is just an amazing player. Great to see Leone come out and fire off some amazing keyboard passages, though the way he was dressed I almost didn't know it was him at first. The second half of the concert sees the Rosso Rock Orchestra join the band, which adds some strings to the already lovely & bombastic sound. Once you take a deep breath after all that, over on DVD2 you get all the vintage footage, which is just a treasure trove of goodies for any Italian prog fan. Most are live and TV appearances, as well as some promo videos, with the band in full make-up, often shot in black & white, showing how heavy they could get at times, as well as dramatic & complex. Some interviews are woven in, but unless you speak Italian it will be hard to understand. All great stuff as you can imagine, and there are even more recent clips from the modern version of the band, which are also quite excellent.
I can't say enough of this DVD set-to be honest, I haven't listened to Osanna in quite a few years, but after enjoying this, I'm going to dig out my old CDs and get reacquainted. Kudos to Black Widow and the band for delivering big time on this live package.
Track Listing
DVD 1 - Live in Naples. Special guest David Jackson. Napoli - Teatro Trianon - 24 ottobre 2012
Primo tempo - side 1
1. Rosso Rock
2. Pazzariello / Piergiorgio (Brano tradizionale con la banda CMS)
3. Fuje 'a chistu paese
4. Intro Animale
5. Mirror Train
6. Taka Boom
7. L'Uomo (con Purple Haze di Jimi Hendrix)
8. Ce vulesse ce vulesse
9. 'A Zingara (Special guest Sophya Baccini)
10. Oro caldo
11. L'amore vincera' di nuovo
12. Introduzione (dall' LP "YS" - Il Balletto di Bronzo, Special guest Gianni Leone)
13. Everybody's Gonna See You Die (Special guest Gianni Leone)
14. In un vecchio cieco (Special guest Gianni Leone)
15. Vado verso una meta (Special guest Gianni Leone)
16. Theme One (Dalla discografia dei Van Der Graaf Generator)
Secondo tempo - side 2 - dal film "Milano Calibro 9" con l'Orchestra Rosso Rock Ensemble diretta da Gianluca Falasca
17. Preludio
18. Tema
Variazioni
19. Tempo / Dianalogo (Special guest Giampiero Ingrassia)
20. Spunti dallo spartito N.1472 Del Prof Imolo Meninge
21. To Plinius
22. My Mind Flies
23. 13° Cortile / Tempo
24. Posizione raggiunta
25. There Will Be Time - Preludio ripresa finale (Special guest Giampiero Ingrassia)
26. Per la strada (From "Orfeo 9" by Tito Schipa Jr., Special guest Tito Schipa Jr.)
27. Fiume (Special guest Tito Schipa Jr.)
28. Fuje 'A chistu paese
29. 'O culore 'e Napule (Special guests Antonella Morea, Elio Eco, Maurizio Capone)
30. FUJE 'A CHIUSTU PAESE (gran finale con tutti gli ospiti)
Extras:
1. Back stage (Con interviste e altro)
2. Rosso rock (Special Track - Clip Osanna - Sito Romano " Piscina Mirabilis" di Bacoli - Napoli)
DVD 2 - Osanna Story - 20 video clips (1971 - 2009)
1. L'Uomo (from "Speciale Pop" - TV Koper, 1971)
2. Money (from "Speciale tre Milioni" - RAI, 1971)
3. L'Uomo (from "Speciale tre Milioni" - RAI, 1971)
4. L'Uomo (from "Stasera Si" - RAI, 1971)
5. L'Uomo (from "Domenica Insieme" - RAI, 1971)
6. Non Sei Vissuto Mai (from "Amico Flauto" - RAI, 1972)
7. Animale Senza Respiro (live in Rome - RAI, 1972)
8. Variazioni 1 / 2 (from "Tutto è Pop" - RAI, 1972)
9. Oro Caldo (from "Adesso Musica" - RAI, 1973)
10. Be - In / Naples (from "Adesso Musica" - RAI, 1973)
11. 'A Zingara (from "Domenica In" - RAI, 1978)
12. L'Uomo (from CD "Taka Boom" - 2000)
13. Ce Vulesse Ce Vulesse (from DVD live "Uomini e Miti" - 2001)
14. Oro Caldo - Fuje 'a chistu Paese (from DVD live "Uomini e Miti" - 2001)
15. There Will Be Time (from "Concerto per l'Epifania" RAI Naples - 2009)
16. L'Uomo (from live in Savona - 2009)
17. Landscape of Life (from live in Savona - 2009)
18. Everybody's Gonna See You Die (from live in Savona - 2009)
19. Solo Uniti (from live in Savona - 2009)
20. Sogni d'Oro (from live in Savona - 2009)
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
