Maurizio ‘Angus’ Bidoli was encountered by Nick Saloman and The Frond at a gig in Rome in the early 90s, where Nick was given a cassette of his music. I believe it was also available in very limited quantities on CD and has never been reissued: until today!
It is all the more remarkable in that Maurizio plays all the instruments himself (that’s guitar, bass and drums)– it would have benefited from a dedicated drummer of course, but hey, Angus, as he was known, has done a brilliant job here. Opener’ Lost Planet Earth’ is 9:30 of HENDRIX heaven; ‘Space Dreaming’ is, as suggested, a ‘lazy day, dream away’ kind of Jimi invocation; the appropriately entitled ‘Rainbow Rider’ features a mind-blowing stereo guitar break. That would be side one of the vinyl. The question was: is side two going to be as good: an affirmative ‘YES!’ largely due to there being something a bit different, and certainly more experimental, as ‘the insistent driving guitar chord’ chugs along, and the reflective arpeggios provide a neat ending. ‘Moonstone’ is the shortest piece at four minutes and is more of a straightforward blues, while ‘Rainy Days’ is another nice Hendrix ‘tip of the hat’.
There have been many Hendrix acolytes over the years, FRANK MARINO is one who springs to mind, and Angus has just added himself to that list in a different kind of way, an instrumental and impressionistic reminder of the legendary guitarist, and one whose “Diary of Dreams” comes highly recommended.
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