|
| |
|
Band/Artist:
Franco
Title:
Cydonia Mensae
Release Date:
2000
Label:
Magnifico records
|
 |
Track List:
1. Raising Caine
2. Cydonia Mensae
3. Twisted Fusion
4. Red Blood
5. Diamond Dust
6. Godz
7. With You Again
8. Save It
9. Tornado Dreams |
|
Personnel:
Franco La Magna
Guitar, Lead Vocals, Keyboards
Sascha Tukatsch
Drums, Percussion
Tim Langan
Bass
Amanda La Magna
Backing Vox
Brittany La Magna
Flute
John La Magna
"Low and heavy" guitars and Classical guitar |
Additional Musicians:
Julie Sparks, Leah Salmaa
&
Jane Miller
Backing vox
The Metro String Quartet
Aisslin Noski
First Violin
Daniel Bard
Second violin
Max Mandel
Viola
Felicity Deak
Cello
Jordan Vogel
Synth pads, French horns
Harry Forbes
Didjeridu, Tibetan horns, Synth pads
Randy Infuso
Drums
Chris McRohan
Backing vox |
Franco :: Cydonia Mensae
Well, this certainly seems to be quite a family affair for
Franco! To his credit, he has gathered a talented group of musicians and has
carefully put together a well-produced, impeccably recorded album. Unfortunately,
(and I realize I may espouse a minority view), the music offered here frankly did
nothing for me. It didn't move me, in either a positive or negative way.
It started off on a heavy groove with "Raising Cane" which reminded me a bit of
Tony Iommi's "The Seventh Star" album, but soon after it began to grow ponderous and
tedious. The album picks up on the mid-tempo rockers, but then free falls on the
cheesy, mellow power ballad type tunes. It's really a case of having all the top
ingredients but
somehow failing to bake a succulent cake. Given the songs and arrangements here, to
my ears having a string quartet was simply overkill. And besides, lets be honest
here: how many people can a single project need to record synth pads?
In his comments Franco alludes to the fact that the songs here are "a reflection of
the influence the cinema has played in my writing". I probably haven't seen any of
these movies, except maybe "Raising Caine". The one I saw had John Lithgow as a
psychotic, multi-personality madman trained by some doctor, though I don't really
remember much about it except the very end, where Lithgow makes a masterful escape
from a police ambush disguised as a woman. I don't mean to imply that I think he'd
make a similar exit after hearing this album. But this just adds to my confusion,
because if indeed this is the film that inspired the song, I see no connection.
Many people rave about this release, and some are well known on the internet
scribbling circles, most notably John "BoBo" Bollenberg, the crazy Belgian soccer
and prog-rock fan. All I can say is "Bobo, did we actually listen to the same
album?"
Bottom line: go to Fossil Records, listen to the samples, and maybe you'll discover
that I'm full of crap and that this album is just as killer as Bobo said it was. I
just wish he'd share some of that lambic beer though. Man, those Belgians sure know
how to make a fine brew.
Rating: 4 Keyboards
Reviewed by Luis Nasser
Review Date: 03/27/02
Visit the artist website
Franco
Visit Our Official affiliate's website to purchase this
CD
 |
|
