Corciolli - Lightwalk (2009)

Though keyboardist and composer CORCIOLLI has been active on the music scene for an impressive number of years, releasing an equally impressive number of albums, it is rather unlikely that any of those discs would have found its way on the desk of a progressive rock reviewer such as myself. In fact, Corciolli is one of those musicians whose output falls under the heading of ambient/New Age (a very accurate description for albums based on the likes of Feng Shui, Reiki and aromatherapy), a genre that is only very tangentially related to prog, and that often encounters the outright hostility of those who take the world ‘progressive’ seriously.

The main reason why “Lightwalk” is being reviewed on a prog site is the presence of a number of musicians associated with the genre, though belonging to different ramifications. Fellow Brazilians Nana Vasconcelos (a percussionist known for his work with Pat Metheny, as well as Don Cherry in the short-lived band project Codona) and Marcus Vieira (involved with quite a few Brazilian prog bands such as O Ter?o and Sagrado Cora?ao Da Terra) are probably familiar to a more restricted audience, while Matos is well-known to prog metal fans as the former vocalist of Angra and Shaaman. The biggest attraction, legendary bassist Tony Levin, has contributed to too many albums and projects to count. However, anyone who was expecting the individual curriculum of those musicians to influence, even minimally, the sound of this album is in for a big disappointment, since – to put it very bluntly – “Lightwalk” is nothing more than a sophisticated slice of glorified elevator music. One of the distinctive features of this particular genre is the basically homogenous nature of the tracks on any given album, and “Lightwalk” does not deviate from this mould. In spite of the not inconsiderable running time (almost 55 minutes), most listeners would be hard put to name the title of any of the 11 numbers.

The only somewhat more memorable items are Star and Dreams, both performed by Andre Matos, his powerful voice almost unrecognizable in this soothing, highly melodic context. The rest of the tracks share the same structure – Corciolli’s liquid piano emoting over an assortment of mostly soft, unobtrusive electronic effects, avoiding anything that might be construed as jarring or hard-edged. Nana Vasconcelos’ percussion and Tony Levin’s bass are to all intents and purposes unnoticeable, while Marcus Viana’s violin adds some interest to the otherwise undistinguished Pegasus. At times the music might suggest Jean-Michel Jarre or the more commercial, New-Agey ventures of Mike Oldfield, as in the case of Firefly, while River possesses an almost tango-like pace – the only reference to South American music that can be detected on the album. To wrap up my review with a pun, “Lightwalk” might as well have been titled “Lightweight” – at least if seen from the point of view of a dedicated prog fan. Though the formal aspect (including the colourful, romantic packaging that reminded me of Venice’s carnival) cannot really be faulted, the musical content of the album is not very likely to attract the attention of those who like creativity, variety and edginess from their music of choice. Well-performed and well-produced indeed, but ultimately nothing more than sonic wallpaper.

Tracklist:

01. Miragea
02. Amethysios
03. Star
04. Pegasus
05. Lightwalk
06. Firefly
07. River
08. Talisman
09. Dreams
10. Supernova
11. Air