At this point, you know what you're going to get from Sonor Music Editions — lovingly assembled reissues of long-lost grails from Italy's incredibly vast worlds of soundtrack and library music. But predicting what each release is going to sound like is no easy feat, with Sonor branching off into everything from cinematic jazz, abstract funk, lounge-tinted exotica, left-field electronic experimentation and everything in between. And once again, Nello Ciangherotti & Silvano Chimenti's Sonorita' Nel Lavoro is another Sonor curveball, emerging as the label's most full-on rock album yet.
Yes, Sonorita' Nel Lavoro is a library effort, and yes, it's by a pair of Italians, but compared to many past Sonor efforts, the album's in-your-face rock stance often throws it into a different realm entirely. In fact, it's more the sort of thing you would expect out of maybe Nuggets or some garage/psych-obsessed label run by a pair of longhairs — but in a good way.
Originally released in 1971 on Globe Records, Sonorita' Nel Lavoro was recorded by the duo of Nello Ciangherotti and Silvano Chimenti, the latter of whom played guitar with such Italian library legends as I Gres, Piero Umiliani and Pulsar Music Ltd. The results are an album heavy on the fuzz, wah wah, organ and unapologetically psychedelic vibes. And while this leads to some real scorchers — such as "Distorsore Impazzito," "Il Cuore Degli Operai" and "Folle Idea" — the album never plays it too straight to make this all sound psych-by-numbers.
While Chimenti's searing rock licks often lead the way, there are some serious moments of tripped-out weirdness on Sonorita' Nel Lavoro and surprisingly some industrial-geared sonics as well. The white-knuckled album opener "Transistor" and the blisteringly "Metalmeccanici," for example, both sound more nuclear winter than summer of love. And making sure things never get too heady, Ciangherotti and Chimenti throw in a tender moment or two, such as during the calming organ number "Un Pianoforte Folk" or the whistling closing track "Fischiando E Lavorando."
While you should judge neither books nor albums by their covers, it's definitely appropriate in the case of Sonorita' Nel Lavoro, with the jacket's brazen trippiness actually encapsulating all the wild sonic complexities within. Rarely does a hardline rock album come at you from so many angles — but Ciangherotti and Chimenti have done just that.
(Sonor Music Editions)Yes, Sonorita' Nel Lavoro is a library effort, and yes, it's by a pair of Italians, but compared to many past Sonor efforts, the album's in-your-face rock stance often throws it into a different realm entirely. In fact, it's more the sort of thing you would expect out of maybe Nuggets or some garage/psych-obsessed label run by a pair of longhairs — but in a good way.
Originally released in 1971 on Globe Records, Sonorita' Nel Lavoro was recorded by the duo of Nello Ciangherotti and Silvano Chimenti, the latter of whom played guitar with such Italian library legends as I Gres, Piero Umiliani and Pulsar Music Ltd. The results are an album heavy on the fuzz, wah wah, organ and unapologetically psychedelic vibes. And while this leads to some real scorchers — such as "Distorsore Impazzito," "Il Cuore Degli Operai" and "Folle Idea" — the album never plays it too straight to make this all sound psych-by-numbers.
While Chimenti's searing rock licks often lead the way, there are some serious moments of tripped-out weirdness on Sonorita' Nel Lavoro and surprisingly some industrial-geared sonics as well. The white-knuckled album opener "Transistor" and the blisteringly "Metalmeccanici," for example, both sound more nuclear winter than summer of love. And making sure things never get too heady, Ciangherotti and Chimenti throw in a tender moment or two, such as during the calming organ number "Un Pianoforte Folk" or the whistling closing track "Fischiando E Lavorando."
While you should judge neither books nor albums by their covers, it's definitely appropriate in the case of Sonorita' Nel Lavoro, with the jacket's brazen trippiness actually encapsulating all the wild sonic complexities within. Rarely does a hardline rock album come at you from so many angles — but Ciangherotti and Chimenti have done just that.
