TEPROBAN - OUTSIDE NOWHERE - 2004

I agree fully with my alien colleague "klingonian" ,who enjoyed this record probably more because of him being spaced out (not a bad thing ,by the way!) and the theme being of a crashing russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov in Soyuz 1 . But this is no Hawkwind clone , but really quite daringly in the trio format a la ELP, Triumvirat Ars Nova etc... This is a prog style I often find lacking as it has a tendency of becoming a showcase for a virtuoso keyboard dazzler's rather multi-level ego. When adding guitars and woodwinds or strings, the vanity is spread thinner. But to my utter surprise, this new offering by Taproban knocked me for a loop , as I did not like their debut disc all that much. But "Outside Nowhere" is another kettle of fish alltogether. Yes, GianLuca DeRossi's keys dominate the grooves with a vast array of delicious runs on organ, synth and piano, but with a less flashy demeanor , looking for substance rather than talent display. Its Guglielmo Mariotti's wicked Rickenbacker bass that steals the show here , with an exhilarating display of bass technique, at times fat and trebbly a la Squire and then propulsive in the fine tradition of Wetton, Howlett, Geelani, Kollen & Reeves. Together with the exotic drumming of Davide Guidoni , this trio positively cooks throughout this diversely interesting set of pieces. The only little caveat is the same old/new Italian Prog School habit of making records in the 40 minutes range or less (Le Orme: can you please, just once, release a 60 minute set of tunes, per favore?). Definitely the big surprise record of recent times. 4 Rickenbackers
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