Dialeto - 2018 - Live with David Cross

(77:38; Chromatic Music)

Track list:
1. Roumanian Folk Dances 3. Standing Still 3:39
2. Roumanian Folk Dances 2. Peasant Costume 3:01
3. Roumanian Folk Dances 4. Stick Game 4:58
4. Mikrokosmos 149. Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm II 3:48
5. Mikrokosmos 113. Bulgarian Rhythm I 4:44
6. Mikrokosmos 78. Five Tone Scale 7:31
7. An Evening in the Village. 10 Easy Piano Pieces No. 5 4:38
8. The Young Bride. For Children Vol. 1 No. 17 5:15
9. Exiles 10:59
10. Tonk 3:34
11. The Talking Drum 6:39
12. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two 7:33
13. Starless 11:19

Line-up:
Nelson Coelho - guitars
Gabriel Costa - bass, vocals
Fred Barley - drums, vocals
with:
David Cross - Violin


Prolusion.
Brazilian band Dialeto have a history that goes back to the end of the 1980s, and started their career as recording artists all the way back in 1991. It would take the band a couple of decades to continue their endeavours though, but from 2010 and onward they have released a new album every few years with a total of 5 studio albums to their name as of 2024. Back in 2018 they released their sole live album to date. Simply named "Live with David Cross", this production was issued through the band's own label Chromatic Music.

Analysis.
I have to be honest about the fact that I cannot recall the specific sound the band explored on their studio album "Bartók In Rock", material from which makes up a substantial part of this live production, but I guess that isn't all that important either. What ultimately is important with a live album is how the band comes across when a live performance is recorded and released, and in this case this experience comes with a bit of a plus point with the inclusion of David Cross for major parts of this live set.

On the initial four tracks he isn't with the band on stage, and Dialeto without Cross comes across as a bit different than when he is participating. On these first four cuts the bass and the drums have prominent roles, both being expressive as well as putting down a rich and impactful sound I suspect many will describe as heavy, with the guitar having a more elegant role as a provider of lead motifs and solo runs. Many of which comes across as pulling in impulses from folk music. That three of the first four songs cover a set of compositions indicating a folk music influence kind of makes it natural that these aspects are present also when these compositions are given a rock music makeover.

When Cross enters the stage with the band, the music undergoes a bit of an alteration. With two instrumentalists able to take on the lead role, the role of the bass and the drums are at least at times toned down a bit, with Cross and guitarist Coelho alternating in taking the lead and having a support function with their respective instruments as well as combining their instruments for a more expressive mode of delivery. With a stronger feeling of classical music rather than folk music being the main draw for the melody lines, lead motifs and instrument solo runs explored.

I suspect many fans of progressive rock will look at the end of the set list for the songs that will instil a higher rate of curiosity of course. Four of the classic songs from the back catalogue of King Crimson are given a run here, alongside one of the songs from Cross' solo career. The classic material of King Crimson have been covered in a good manner by other artists previously, and Dialeto and David Cross have a good go at taking these classics on too in my opinion. Where flowing and elegant motions alternate nicely with more expressive attitudes as well as the use of dissonance and impact moments as recurring elements. While I'm not an expert on King Crimson nor of cover versions of their classic songs, my summary of these songs as well as this album as a whole is that this s solid stuff all the way through. This is a tight live unit that comes across as seasoned performers, and the inclusion of David Cross comes across as seamless. He steps right into this landscape and this performance like he is a natural and even an integral part of it.

Conclusion.
I guess it is no coincidence at all that Dialeto have chosen to work with David Cross and to cover King Crimson when promoting their then new studio album back in 2017, as the band feels like a natural unit to perform this type of material alongside their own music. A band rearranging and performing classical music in a rock setting will certainly have the skill set and the mind set to reproduce the classic and complex progressive rock of King Crimson as well. On this live album, Dialeto showcase themselves as a more than able and as a spirited live band, with as well as without the possibilities provided by having David Cross and his violin along for the ride. A live album to chase down by those who tend to enjoy a more complex variety of progressive rock in general, and who enjoy artists that explore progressive rock in a similar way as classic era King Crimson as well as covering some of that band's classic compositions while at it.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, July 2024

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Dialeto