One of the enfants terribles (or that in Italian) of the progressive/experimental scene(s) in crazy 1970's Italy, Claudio Rocchi, after leaving the highly politicized Stormy Six long before they hit their musical stride (with the perfectly accomplished masterpiece Un Biglietto del Tram), mostly turned to free-form electroacoustic ramblings as his aesthetic weapon of choice, with his voice front and center disregarding conventional musical considerations (thereby manifesting he was an artist), all of which tended to yield rather uneven results, and this album is no exception. Even if, on this occasion, he had more exotic timbral contributions from Italian musical globalists Aktuala going his way, things still start sounding a bit tiresome when not backed up by an extra dose of inspiration, talent, luck, guidance from the I Ching, or whatever explanatory device you find most convincing in these matters. Whatever it was, though, something did back him up on the opening track, because it is by far the best thing I ever heard from him; the true pantheist hymn he spent most of his career chasing, cowbells and all. Maybe he should have remembered what socks he wore that day: "fra il Tutto ed il Niente da sempre, per sempre", I'd say it's the thing he should rightfully be remembered for the most.
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