|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Luca Turilli's Dreamquest: Lost Horizons
Before Luca Turilli formed Rhapsody with keyboardist Alex Staropoli, he actually studied piano. However, after the tremendous success of Rhapsody, he focused on guitar (which he had also mastered before), still retaining his love for classical music, dynamic arrangements, and huge orchestral sections. As years passed with lots of Rhapsody and solo albums, Turilli finally decided to go back to his roots, and form a new band where he'd fully immerse himself in piano and keyboard. He put together a new band which he called Luca Turilli's Dreamquest and also wants to take his music on Lost Horizons to a live setting as well.
The album's first single "Virus" kicks off with a very electronic keyboard sequencing by Turilli before the semi-operatic female vocals kick in. The song is quite fast-paced compared to the subsequent pieces, but it does feature enough space for Turilli to experiment with electronic soundscapes. "Dreamquest" is a more laidback number, with a huge symphonic backdrop, and while the singer does a good job, she seems a bit inadequate for this type of singing. I wonder what it'd be like if Tarja Turunen would guest on a future Dreamquest project now that she is no longer in Nightwish. Some of these songs would have worked much better with a more capable singer. That said, the track is still satisfactory, and the blues-tinged guitar solo is pretty cool. On "Lost Horizons", you'll hear a good dose of Arabic chanting, a modern production, weird sound effects, and melodic vocal lines; while "Sospiro Divino" features Italian operatic vocals atop classical piano that then turn into meticulously arranged symphonic sections. Oddly, the vocals on "Shades of Eternity" are highly processed for reasons I can't understand. If Turilli meant to make this song more experimental by that, I doubt it helped much.
Actually much of the album is a bit too flat and falls behind Turilli's solo work and Rhapsody too. It's great that he wants to explore a new field, but I feel these songs could use more depth and developed ideas, and definitely better written vocal parts. Still, my guess is that Lost Horizons will sit well with most Rhapsody fans. I just happen to think The Infinite Wonders of Creation is much better than this.
Track Listing
- Introspection
- Virus
- Dreamquest
- Black Rose
- Lost Horizons
- Sospiro Divino
- Shades of Eternity
- Energy
- Frozen Star
- Too Late
- Dolphin's Heart
- Gothic Vision
Added: August 3rd 2006 Reviewer: Murat Batmaz Score: Related Link: Luca Turilli's Dreamquest website Hits: 4969 Language: english
[ Printer Friendly Page ] [ Send to a Friend ] |
|
[ Back to the Reviews Index ]
|
|
» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews: |
Luca Turilli's Dreamquest: Lost Horizons Posted by John Larocque, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-08-03 06:13:20 My Score:
If ever there were a band that could give Nightwish a run for its money, this could very well be it. While Luca Turilli's main project Rhapsody is increasingly long in the tooth, this release is fresh and interesting. Turilli's ego and genius seems to know no boundaries - and like a certain Swedish guitar master, you won't find any pictures of band members in the promotionals. However, the unsung hero of the piece is German opera soprano Bridget Fogle, whose range and depth are perfect for the material. Gone is much of the Rhapsody synth in favor of keyboards. The album starts out with "Virus", a heavy metal dance floor electronica. "Dreamquest" is a kind of Andrew Lloyd Webber meets Hans Zimmer "Hollywood Metal", and contains one of the few out and out Turilli solos on the album. "Black Rose" is overtly operatic, and "Lost Horizons" (the album title) features a particularly catchy chorus. "Sospiro Divino" is simply beautiful, spotlighting Fogle's upper register, with the piano and orchestra taking a back seat. "Shades of Eternity" is a kind of Abba/Nightwish hybrid with a memorable descending chromatic section in the refrain. "Energy" is exactly as it's title - a pounding heavy metal Abba dance number, one you'll want to crank up loud. "Frozen Star" could have been a Nightwish outtake, and "Too Late" had this heavy, spooky 1980s New Wave synthesiser feel to it. "Dolphin's Heart" is another soprano ballad, with an soft, authentic opera touch and one of the highlights of the album. "Gothic Vision" is a full-ass orchestral blast and another big fat Turilli solo with a cascade of "Dies Iraes" from Fogle and a full choir, closing out on what sounded like a harpsichord. This album came as a welcome surprise, with a sublety not usually found on Turilli's other projects.
|
|
|
|
© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility | For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.
|
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility
SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com
|
|