Roman Massimo Pieretti should not need too many introductions to regular readers of this website and listeners to my radio show. His superb debut release, A New Beginning has deservedly won plaudits from across the progressive world, and, indeed, won a “debut album” award on this website. Look at my review by pressing the button below.
Since then, Pieretti has been busy building up a live presence, continuing to work with class outfit Noage, extending his collaborations musically in advance of a promised sophomore studio album in 2025.
To whet our appetite, we now have a live album, with songs recorded at Acme Studio, Rome last June. Sixteen tracks, including some from the forthcoming The Next Dream, and playing A New Beginning in its entirety and in the studio album order.
In addition to Pieretti on keyboards, backing vocals and samples, we have the lovely Germana Noage on lead vocals; Roberto Falcinelli & Simone Cozzetto on electric guitars; Michele Raspanti on bass; and Andres Gualco on drums and percussions.
The introduction takes its cue directly from that in A New Beginning, serving as an overture to the main menu, some lovely delicate keys work creating a lush live soundscape. This launches into Oh Father, such a personal song. Gualco opens the piece on his skins with gusto, some ghostly guitar work, and those familiar with Germana as a vocal artist will appreciate just how sympathetic she is to the work created by her friend. Critically, immediately here, you get a real sense of the musicianship required to create the live experience, as opposed to merely a copycat of the studio work, something I am always looking for in live music. If I want to experience the studio album, I’ll stay at home and plonk it on the turntable. This is a fine start and is embedded below for you to enjoy.
In November really highlights the guitar playing skills on offer at the show, this is a warm song about the transition of the seasons and love/life.
Growing Old was a favourite of mine from the album, and is still played regularly, a lovely reflective piece, the band fully understanding how to push across deep emotion without blasting out at its audience, and Noage is perfect for the song. It is embedded below.
Is That Girl Right? The studio version portrayed some anger lyrically and musically, and live Noage is the centre of attention with Pieretti providing for soundscapes above her voice, some nice jazz-tinged percussion alongside the thudding bass forming the core, the intensity building up nicely as matters progress.
In my original review, I said Out of This World was a very clever mixture of the classic into a modern societal and musical setting. It recreates the Chaplin voice, and as it ascends, Noage provides the plaintive voice above it, the band giving us another number dripping with jazz sensibilities. The irony here, of course, is that the film this narrative was taken from is just as relevant some eighty years later.
Pieretti treats us to his gorgeous Banks-inspired electric piano in the interlude including a ghostly guitar solo, and I think this could have been extended live. Things To Live and Die For is a thoughtful piece, has Noage as the sole vocalist as opposed to the co-voice duties on the original version. The live version carries with it some drama, cinematic in its output.
Family & Business on the studio album was a rollicking slab of classic rock, and the live version proves that the live band can pump up the volume, Pieretti taking a Lord position on the organ, the riffs crashing behind Noage belting out the words. A very satisfying noise.
The two-part title track and I Hope You Will Always Be Here close the live rendition of A New Beginning. The spoken vocals are retained, whilst Noage provides for a gorgeously delicate lead, the guitars moody, Pieretti and his piano/keys at the heart of setting the scene, the second part upping the tempo considerably. The guitar solo is very classy, and this continues into the final part of the trilogy of songs, a progressive rock ballad performed with some class and no little emotion on the part of the singer.
The set then moves forward with some new stuff, namely Creatures of the Night Parts One & Two from the forthcoming album, and have been trailed on this website, YouTube, and elsewhere. The first part is an interesting mix of the prog, rock, and those jazz sensibilities bubbling under as they do throughout this album. The second part is heavier, almost in the vein of a Sabbath, and, again, the collective present the harder music very well. It is embedded below.
The live album closes with a couple of acoustic pieces, first with the new I Dreamed of Flying, which is quite lovely, with the voice, piano and orchestration working well. It is the case that the live performance of the new material stands up extremely well and makes one look forward to the forthcoming release. The acoustic version of In November is a nice addition to the versions of that lovely song.
Live versions of whole albums can be difficult beasts to sell, but I do think there is enough on this album to warrant getting it as a companion piece to the studio albums. Importantly, though, it announces Pieretti and his collaborators as accomplished musicians in the moment and heat of the gig before an audience, and I think this very talented man’s output is only going to captivate larger audiences moving forward.