CoC : Paolo di Cioccio - Images : Review

Paolo di Cioccio - _Images_
(Musica Maxima Magnetica, 1997)
by: Andrew Lewandowski (7 out of 10)

If only music possessed enough power to invert a mood exenterated from the innards of a tortured soul languishing in the pits of hell, I would be drifting through the air with each listen of this CD. As each stirring synth passage (think early Tangerine Dream) and repetitive pulsation (think Steve Reich) floated through the aural labyrinths, beyond the obtrusive waves of commercial radio stations, and into my ear canals, my body, freed of its cumbersome emotions and intellect, would, with each passing nanosecond, explode in an undulating menagerie of iridescent - hold your horsey-worsey! These goddamned beats! Argh, such linear patterns resemble the monotonous pounding of the minuscule feet of the enslaved blue guys of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! My body immured in a cocoon of chains and brain expunged of its very brain (neurons leading to a yellow sponge shaped like a feeble brontosaurus waiting, nay, hoping, for the eradication of its servility at the teeth of a merciless carnivore) - only at this point can I feel joy? Does this not appear to be yet another communist plot - or at least a McDonalds' billboard heralding the arrival of a new 99 cent cheeseburger replete with pickles, lettuce, and a godforsaken tomato - designed to promote the infestation of a tyrannical volition into my skull? Without introspection I may enjoy life without reserve as I exude levity, but, since this is a music magazine and all, do I want to listen to a CD devoid of depth? Nope, but the chaotic movements of a schizophrenic guide di Cioccio's pieces which, although repulsive amidst an otherwise tranquil whole, add substance to stop the free fall, and, more importantly, he occasionally pulls an enthralling and even intricate track such as "Trance Lovers" out of his belt to make it all worthwhile... Although you will always get a point deducted for any track which promotes booty-shaking as overtly as the techno-y (why, Paolo, why?) "Surya Dwara" does...

(article published 1/1/1998)