Search - New Trolls :: Ut

The album that brought the (temporary) end of New Trolls

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 04/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"UT was the fourth album by New Trolls (fifth, if you include their self-entitled 1970 album that collects early singles dating as far back as 1967). I stated that keyboardist Marizio Salvi had joined for this album, I was wrong. It turned out he already appeared on their previous album, Searching For a Land (he even gets partial songwriting credit on some of the songs). He played piano, Hammond organ, synths, and Eminent 310 organ (which is capable of string synth sounds, the same keyboard Jean Michel Jarre used for his albums Oxygene and Equinoxe, and was the basis for the Solina String Ensemble, which was available here in America through ARP). Vittorio De Scalzi's role in the band seemed to be quite diminished at this point, he was no longer credited to any songwriting duties, and he was simply credited to guitar (where on previous albums, it was also keyboards and flute). The Jethro Tull-like flutes as heard on Concerto Grosso Per 1 and Searching For A Land completely vanished, so obiously keyboards and guitar dominate. UT also polarized the band causing them to split right after the recording of the album, which occured in November 1972, from 6-9 that month, and once again 20-24. I find it amusing the trailoff on the original vinyl (Cetra Records) states 29-11-72. Did this album get released November 29, 1972? If so, they certainly got that out the door real fast, in fact, five days after completion! If so, they probably were already working on the cover and the artwork in the middle of recording it. The band was about to fall apart, so I'm certain they'd want it out as fast as possible before the legal wrangling started. Also I noticed some CD reissues that got the color scheme of the album cover wrong, like the Warner Fonit CD reissue (which I own), where the green band right next to the "New Trolls" logo is black, where the original LP (which I also own), it was green. Vittorio De Scazi wanted to continue on as a prog rock band, while guitarist/vocalist Nico Di Palo wanted a heavy rock direction. The other members of New Trolls, bassist Frank Laugelli and drummer Gianni Bellano decided to go with Di Palo and Salvi, and recorded an album under all four of their first names called Canti D'Innocenza, Canti D'Esperienza in 1973. That album had a big question mark on the cover because that group had yet to have a name. A contest was held, and the band became Ibis. With the departure of Gianni Bellano and the arrival of ex-Atomic Rooster drummer Ric Parnell, the group got to work and recorded Sun Surpreme, which came out in 1974, and a wonderful example of Italian prog, that brings to mind Yes, but heavier and more aggressive. They recorded one more album in 1975, a self-entitled album.



Meanwhile, Vittorio De Scalzi wanted to continue on as New Trolls, with ex-New Trolls bassist Giorgio D'Adamo (who was replaced by Frank Laugelli for the albums Searching For A Land and UT) and new musicians, but due to legal difficulties, this new group had to be called N.T. Atomic System. They recorded an album in 1973, which was obviously much more in the prog rock field, lacking any hard rock/heavy metal tendencies of UT. Some copies of the original LP features a sticker that says "New Trolls Atomic System", but some versions don't due to the legal matter at the time. One more album, Tempi Dispari (this time with the New Trolls name), a great and grossly underrated album (because they were going the fusion route for this one, and it totally blew me away) then the official return of New Trolls by 1975 (since De Scalzi and Di Palo decided to make up, and the resulting album, Concerto Grosso Nr. 2 avoided any kind of hard rock, and went for an eclectic dirction that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't). Of course, after 1976, they went mainstream, and from my understanding, the albums they did after Concerto Grosso Nr. 2 are of little interest to prog rock fans.



UT really has strong mixed reactions. Some call it one of the finest albums New Trolls did, others thing it's a mixed bag, ranging from fantastic to downright tedious. Well, I am of the former opinion, as I hadn't noticed anything really tedious here. Also worth noting is Vittorio De Scalzi's role in the band seemed to diminished greatly here, as he's not credited to any songwriting duty, and sticks strictly to guitar (he didn't play any flute here, and all the keyboard duties were left to Maurizio Salvi). The first two cuts, "Studio" and "XXIIa Strada" are Maurizio Salvi's time to shine. The former is a classically-influenced piece dominated by piano, but with organ and Eminent. What surprised me of this piece was there were some piano passages that bears a striking resemblance to the opening of Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", and this was late 1972, when the latest Genesis album was Foxtrot. "XXIIa Strada" has a jazzy feel, but with the classically-influenced piano. "I Cavalieri Del Lago Dell'ontario" is the first cut with vocals. A wonderful progressive piece with nice use of guitar and organ. There's also a passage that includes a classical theme as well. "Storia Di Una Foglia" is a short, acoustic number that reminds me a lot of what Le Orme did on their album Felona e Sorona. "Nato Adesso" is the one cut that people often refer to as being tedious. It starts off as a nice piano-oriented ballad, with Eminent, before going off on an extended guitar solo that many might find excessive. To me I didn't find it tedious. "C'è Troppa Guerra" is a totally mindblowing and aggressive number. This is without a doubt Nico Di Palo's show here, as the music is practically heavy metal. I remember many years ago someone comparing this album to Black Sabbath, and he was right. I'd go as far as saying New Trolls are better and tighter musicians than Sabbath (I have never been much of a Sabbath fan). There are times where Di Palo's guitar work here will remind you of Toni Iommi's! The only drawback of this piece is the mellow vocal passages are a bit on the cheesy side (making me wish they were more like PFM), but they don't last. After being blasted with a heavy metal cut like that, it's only natural the band would mellow out with the last two pieces, "Paolo e Francesca" and "Chi Mi Può Capire", these are, to me, perfectly pleasant pop-oriented ballads, but not entirely surprising, as New Trolls often had songs like these on almost any of their given albums. One thing I notice is this album is sung entirely in Italian, likely because not everyone took too well to the all-English vocals of Searching For A Land. To me, I think UT is a great album, despite the opinions of the ballads or the guitar solo on "Nato Adesso", this is still truly an album worth having, because it's full of great material."