“Wish You Could Hear” by Lucas Biela

“Andres Guazzelli is a talented composer who recently performed on Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 acclaimed first album ‘Return To Mingulay’. Besides his collaboration with Oceans 5, he also leads a solo career.

The recently recorded “Wish You Could Hear” is a prime example of his musical skills, blending classical music in the shape of the lush orchestrations of Andres and rock music played by members of Corvus Stone (Colin Tench on guitar, Robert Wolff on drums and Petri Lindström on bass), a blend that very few rock bands were able to achieve in the past.

The first band that sprang to mind when listening to this epic 12-min track is The Enid, lead by keyboardist extraordinaire Robert John Godfrey.

On to Andres Guazzelli music: It starts off in a bombastic way, with timpani, piano, acoustic guitar and some Wakemanesque keyboards, together with tasty orchestrations. Colin and Robert then take the lead for some complex and intricate playing, Colin making his guitar weep, alternating between southern rock attacks and gentle bluegrass picking, while Robert is executing some acrobatic drum patterns. Orchestrations ensure the background all along. Colin concludes the guitar-drum duet with some Zappa-inspired solos, before the orchestrations take the lead while Colin carries on with gentle guitar playing and Robert leaves his “skins” for his cymbals.

The music then becomes “anthemic” when all Corvus Stone musicians play in unison with orchestral background. A violin takes the lead and the music then really sound as if Robert was left with classical musicians, similarly to Dave Lombardo having recorded Vivaldi compositions with conductor Lorenzo Arruga and a bunch of classical musicians. Keyboard and guitar then join the “party”. A short bass solo tempers the musicians’ ardor, before the anthemic music carries on again, this time more straightforward, as if Iron Maiden played with an orchestra, and with a short snippet echoing Jethro Tull’s “To Cry You A Song” at 7:17.

The “party” stops and some eerie music follows with a softer feeling, some distant vocals, cymbals, keyboards, acoustic guitar and aerial guitar solos. But then, it orientates towards a short funk-rock passage developing into a latine rock music à la Santana, lead by percussions, piano and Hammond organ.

When the latine party stops, the music softens again with Robert caressing his cymbals and Colin making his guitar weep, the both of them are soon followed by piano and acoustic guitar, then all other musicians join for a festival of cheerful sounds before a flute and a sad guitar conclude the track.”

LUCAS BIELA, PROGARCHIVES COLLABORATOR. REVIEW ON AMAZON.