Leonardo - The Absolute Man [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
From the Artist
Trent offers a little background into this pivotal Magna Carta project. "Once the idea got off the ground, I committed to doing some research and reading and once I got into the story I started to realize that there was a lot more there than I realized. I always had the view that Leonardo was just a Renaissance artist and that was it, and I didn't realize the full impact of his story. And that's when I got more inspired musically. We could have called this Leonardo - The Enigma. The trained scholars who have done the most research, all of academia - and believe me, I've run it all down - they don't know who this guy is. They know of him, they know things he did, but they don't know Leonardo the man. So what we tried to do is find out who he might be through those who were around him, look at some of the relationships there and deduce to the best of our ability and from the available academic information, who Leonardo was, making sure it was reasonably historically accurate. And the answer might surprise you. It really surprised me. There was much more to this guy than the artist who did The Last Supper or Mona Lisa. That was the LEAST that was amazing about him (laughs)." "I think there is no question that this is a melodic progressive rock album, but really heavy at the same time. I think we've broken some new ground here. Everything is a little more cohesive, the production values are high and the songwriting quality has definitely come a long way. I've found over the years that it takes a lot more craft to create a three or four minute song that has one or two ideas that have been developed. This seems to have the right mix and the right elements and above all, amazing vocal performances. I think we're making better music than we ever have before..."

About the Artist
The Cast: Leonardo da Vinci - James LaBrie (Dream Theater) Ser Piero da Vinci - Davey Pattison Caterina - Michelle Young Lorenzo de' Medici - Josh Pincus (Ice Age) Mona Lisa - Lisa Bouchelle Melzi - Mike Baker (Shadow Gallery) Verrochio - Trent Gardner Salai - Robert Berry (3) Calco - Steve Walsh (Kansas) Sforza - Chris Shryack (Under The Sun) Francois 1 - Bret Douglas (Cairo)

The Musicians: Trent Gardner - keyboards and trombone Wayne Gardner - guitar Jeremy Colson - drums

Patrick Reyes -... read more

Album Description
Leonardo - The Absolute Man is a reasoned, selective re-telling of the life of a great man, Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate Renaissance man. It has been in the works for years, originating as the ultimate artistic dream of Magna Carta label head Peter Morticelli, who then placed the intellectual blueprints in the hands of Trent Gardner who commenced to create what is by far, the most complex, grand and magnificently sweeping collaboration the label has ever attempted.

Leonardo sounds like no other progressive rock construct you have ever heard. It is a mix of cinematic progressive rock, symphonic rock, progressive pop and progressive metal, graced and articulated by true classical music and the theatrical scope of state-of -the-art soundtrack or dramatic stage music.

Leonardo - The Absolute Man [Soundtrack]

Tracks:

Apparition
Aria For Italy
With Father
Reins Of Tuscan
Reproach
Mona Lisa
Il Divino
Inundation
Apprentice
First Commission
Mother Of God
This Time, This Way
Inventions
Shaping The Invisible
Introduction To Francois I
Heart Of France
Sacrament
End Of A World

Album Description

Leonardo - The Absolute Man is a reasoned, selective re-telling of the life of a great man, Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate Renaissance man. It has been in the works for years, originating as the ultimate artistic dream of Magna Carta label head Peter Morticelli, who then placed the intellectual blueprints in the hands of Trent Gardner who commenced to create what is by far, the most complex, grand and magnificently sweeping collaboration the label has ever attempted.

Customer Reviews:

My Il Divino.......2005-12-16

This is the story that has not been told. It was sorely needed. This excellent musical event gives tangible woof and weft to the life that was Leonardo's. Visari didn't capture this.

Anyone who rates this piece poorly might want to recalibrate their listening habits. This is rare. In fact, I have purchased copies to send to other artists and musicians.

I guess I relate to this more because circumstantially, Leonardo and I have some things in common. Well done.

Superlative musical portrait.......2005-04-11

Along with J.S. Bach and Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci stands as one of my eternal heroes, with da Vinci perhaps the greatest of the three. Therefore, any musical endeavor that undertakes to capture his brilliance is one that I must find myself drawn to, with a critical but understanding eye, given the magnificence that the music would have to achieve in order to do the great Master justice.

From the first moments of Leonardo - The Absolute Man, I could tell that this was going to be an excellent attempt at accurately representing Il Divino in musical terms. Being one of those rare people who actually enjoyed both of Explorers Club's CDs, I could really get into the sound of this album. The instrumental writing and playing is exciting and brilliant. It does manage to reflect different facets of Leonardo himself, at times precise and complex, but deeply pensive and emotional at others.

As far as casting goes, I was fairly happy, I would say. The singing talent is, of course, virtually unmatched on any album; even Arjen Lucassen's projects don't manage to assemble a more talent-filled list. LaBrie especially shines for me, since I'm more familiar with him than any of the others, though I also like Mike Baker's singing on this album. At first, Lisa Bouchelle didn't seem quite right as Mona Lisa, but I grew accustomed to her, and having read an interview she gave on Highwire-Daze, I respect what she does for the character. And what can I say, if this were ever live, I wouldn't mind seeing her onstage ;-). I have no qualms with any of the other choices.

Ultimately, I would say that this is a very well-made album, and one that takes an interestingly personal, if slightly fanciful, look at da Vinci. Though there isn't enough time to paint him as the Homo universalis that he surely was, the 66 minutes we do get are as true to him in spirit as one could hope for. And while it would be presumptuous of me to say he'd have been proud, I think he would have appreciated it, and I can't imagine any other current band doing anything half as worthy to bear his name.

Beautiful.......2004-01-18

It's fantastic. Especially Dream Theater's James LaBrie's voice on "Shaping the Invisible". One of the best voices today! The duets "First Commission" and "This Time, This Way" are incredible. Gardner's songwriting talent is indubitable. Prog and Magna Carta at their best. Highly recommended.

Absolute Train Wreck!.......2003-12-23

Okay, perhaps it's not as horrible as Trent Gardner's other recent project, Explorers Club "Raising the Mammoth." But I really should have learned my lesson with this guy after the halfway-decent "Age of Impact" (the first Explorers Club album).

Gardner has no ear for melody! ZERO! Here we get more of his awkward writing with good singers struggling mightily to salvage it. And as another reviewer pointed out - the sound is awful!

With all of the top-notch progressive rock being put out today, there is no excuse for something this inferior. I have to believe that all of the 5-star reviews here are written by Gardner's friends and family. Trent, please, go back to law school or whatever it was that you were doing before you decided to become a musician!

decent.......2003-06-18

There are a few decent tracks on here but alot of wish wash as well. Most of the songs are unstructured and lyricaly challenged. A few of the duets are excellent but dont make up for the mediocrity leading up to them. I really wanted to love this cd but find myself cringing if I try to listen through the whole thing.

Average customer rating:

The Absolute Man
Leonardo
Manufacturer: Magna Carta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000LWZRD2

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