The Symphony X keyboardist finally breaks out on his own: he's taken the trolley down to where Jens Johansson, Jordan Rudess, Vitalij Kuprij and Tomas Bodin have each long since staked their claims as solo artists. Naturally, I feared the worst: wanking!
I donned my crash helmet, prepared for new, perchance lethal sojourns into reckless diatonic noodling on surface streets. As a fan of electronic and keyboard-centered music since the mid-1980's, and of vintage fusion for almost as long, I'm not exactly keen on "shred" keyboarding — though many of my heroes like Rick Wakeman, Jan Hammer, and Jens Johansson can slice through a mix with the ease of skinning an orange. It's all about the approach, which is why Kuprij doesn't do much for me: leaving out notes can be just as important as playing all of the notes. And there I was, with my helmet and cold 20oz. Pepsi, ready to be run over by volleys of ascending chromatic scales with no safe harbor between the pavement and slavish semitones consigned to one purpose, and one purpose only: to do me in like cheap roadkill.
{Later, that same evening…}
Boy, was I wrong. On Enter By The Twelfth Gate, Pinnella's done anything but that of which he'd been prejudged, and now I sit, humbled. While it won't be an endcap, an end-all, to keyboard albums in terms of content & execution, it doesn't have to be. Even the most energetic tracks don't get too near shameless wailin' terrain: "The White Room," the title track, "Live For The Day," and "Cross The Bridge" are moderately high on ambition, but nil on pretense. These are upbeat compositions with quieter sections and as much piano action as synth. Bass lines are left-hand parts, the drumming is very natural (and may or may not be programmed), and sequencer backup isn't prevalent — a very "live" affair, indeed. The kicker: a few of the monophonic solos on the aforementioned tracks echo Gerard keyboardist Toshio Egawa's soloing style, and it's highly unlikely that either of these two gents is familiar with the other's repertoire! Take a listen to the last Gerard release, Power Of Infinity, and you'll hear what I mean (this is no bad thing, either). What Pinnella does do that Egawa does not, is perform in classical mode: three movements from his "Piano Concerto" (taking into consideration they're his), and one of Alexander Scriabin's etudes — "Étude: Opus 42, no. 5" — bank on the renderer's precision and sound fabulous.
Dare I say it? Considering the nature of the work presented here, Wakeman buffs are going to like Enter By The Twelfth Gate quite a bit! Pinnella's "virtual analog" sounds are also more than adequate. If there's a minus to counter any one plus or two, it's that the album's forty-five minutes are fleeting ones. The artist will no doubt realize there's an audience for this sort of music, and compose a follow-up.
Tracklist:
1. The White Room (5:23)
2. Edge Of Insanity (4:24)
3. Piano Concerto #1 mvt. 1 (5:11)
4. Enter By The 12th Gate (4:30)
5. Falling From The Sky (2:55)
6. Welcome To My Daydream (3:22)
7. Piano Concerto #1 mvt. 2 (2:26)
8. Piano Concerto #1 mvt. 3 (2:19)
9. Live For The Day (3:36)
10. *Scriabin Etude Op.42 no5 (1:50)
11. Moracan Lullaby (1:50)
12. Departing For Eternity (1:24)
13. Cross The Bridge (4:55)
Total time – 44:23
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