Return-Path: crispen <@ada3.ca.boeing.com:crispen@efftoo>
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Date:         Mon, 14 Dec 1992 08:21:05 CST
From:         crispen <crispen@EFFTOO.BOEING.COM>
Subject:      Re: Mr. Bungle, TNR Chessboard

Thanks for the compliments on the Phil(l)ip Glass .sig.  I think I
should point out that it's a variant of something I saw printed
on CLASSM-L.  I think Bob Haskins is the real culprit.  Does anybody
know the source of my .sig (mis)quote below?  I'm sure it's not
original, but I'm damned if I can find a source for it.

REVIEW OF _THE CHESSBOARD_ BY THE NOISY ROOM

This is an astonishingly good album by one of our own (Marco
Olivotto).  Astonishing because musicians aren't supposed to be
able to write as literately and amusingly as Marco has done over
the months I've seen him on this list.

TNR consists of Marco (alias Ohm, unless I've completely screwed
up here) on keyboards, bass, and guitar and Fabrizio Daicampi on
guitar.  Sidemen are Rick Eight on drums (all tracks) and
Donatella Pedrotti (vocals), Ciro Franzoi (sax), and Stefano Oss
(Piano), each on a few tracks.

_The Chessboard_ falls under the general heading of "progressive
rock", if one has to pigeonhole it, though the prog rock label
wouldn't lead the listener necessarily to expect Daicampi's soaring
guitar solos which add so much to this album.

Influences here (all my opinion, of course) are David Bowie, Donald
Fagen, and ELP (though don't expect Emersonesque keyboards, since
the focus here is on presenting the songs as simply and effectively
as possible).

Best song: choose any of these three: "The Runner", "The Path", and
most of "The Chessboard" (an extended work in five parts).  Worst song:
"Where Are You (When I Need You)" which sounds like an earlier work, or
at any rate, a work in which Olivotto's songwriting skills are not
as evident.

Chief among the faults of this album (and they are few) is its
production.  If there are masters for this album, Marco, you should
seriously consider getting this re-produced by an actual engineer on
actual recording equipment.  The album is many times spoiled by dreadful
production.  To give two examples, the sax is way too far front in "The
Runner" and "The Path" is nearly (thank God only nearly) marred by what
might be called "Italian porno film reverb".  In fact, the mixes are
way too wet throughout the album, and the lack of presence is
frustrating as the music certainly encourages the listener to get
closer.

One structural gripe and one small bitch.  "March of Pawns" is IMHO
the wrong kind of piece for the fourth movement of "The Chessboard".
I would have liked to have seen a kind of ELP gallop as a fourth
movement.  The soft tinkle of the keyboards just doesn't work here,
and as a result the guitar which comes in halfway though "March"
seems merely loud.

The bitch is with the bell sounds on the second chorus of "Nightlife".
I would have played the first phrase of bells, then lost the bells
until the end of the chorus.  Just a personal preference.  Incidentally,
"Nightlife" seems to show the heaviest Fagen influence on the album,
while the rest of "The Chessboard" (the song) seems to bow more in the
direction of ELP.

Marco's voice (when it can be heard in the mix) reminds me of
Greg Lake, but it's distinctively his own.  Daicampi's guitar
playing concentrates on tone, rather than 64th notes, and is a
good complement to Marco's solid but similarly un-show-offy
keyboard playing.  The other musicians are definitely not of the
first rank, but generally do not detract from the album (a possible
exception is Franzoi's sax on "The Runner" which sounds flat on its
first entrance).  As the years go by, I hope Marco and Fabrizio
take a few more chances (hiring a piano player for "The Beat of
A Different Drummer" was chicken, Marco).

I heartily recommend _The Chessboard_ and hope to see some alternative
reviews here, since I'm sure I got a lot wrong.
+-------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Rev. Bob "Bob" Crispen        | Music should not be held responsible |
| crispen@foxy.boeing.com       |   for the people who listen to it.   |
+-------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
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