Achille Lauro

The Achille Lauro, formerly the Willem Ruys, was a passenger liner. It is most remembered for it's 1985 hijacking. Ordered in 1938, her keel was laid in 1939 at Vlissingen, Netherlands, for Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Interrupted by World War II and two bombing raids, the ship was not launched until July 1946 as the Willem Ruys. Completed in late 1947, she began her maiden voyage on December 2, 1947. She was 192 metres (630 ft) in length, 25 metres (82 ft) in beam, and had a draught of 8.9 metres (29.2 ft) and measured 21,110 long tons (23,643 S/T/21,449 M/T). She could accommodate 900 passengers. She had 8 Sulzer engines, driving 2 propellers. In 1964, she was sold to the Star Lauro (Now MSC Cruises) and renamed the Achille Lauro (after the former mayor of Naples, Achille Lauro). The same year, Star Lauro also acquired the Achille Lauro's sister ship, Angelina Lauro. Extensively rebuilt and modernized, Achille Lauro entered service in 1966. The Achille Lauro was destroyed by fire on November 30, 1994, and sank as a result of the fire three days later on December 2 [1]. Oddly, the Angelina Lauro was also eventually destroyed by fire. 'From the crooning, swinging swagger of 'Dreams We've Had' to the Beat-inflected soar of 'Put Your Guns Away,' the group crafts lushly orchestrated, carefully wrought and effusively executed pop with a deft balance between spiritual ecstasy and melancholy moodiness. Joseph's talented engineering gracefully captures the thunderous rumbling of Evans's bass, the twinkling of Luke Mossman's glockenspiel and everything in between. The record not only proves Achille Lauro's stunning musical proficiency, but also it's gift for composing richly textured, sincerely emotional and structurally complex songs.' -Eryc Eyl, Westword Magazine '...Achille Lauro built a steady following in Denver by sticking to the basics - music, music, and more music. While practically imageless themselves, their lush indie-rock/smoky-jazz-blend conveys rich images by itself: City lights glowing on a lonely night, a clandestine embrace in a barely lit alley and dark clouds on a Sunday morning all come to mind. Achille Lauro supplements the usual guitar-bass-drums-keys configuration with whatever instruments fit their mood, from glockenspiel to horns. Singer Matt Close's initially gentle, raspy scat can ease from whisper to roar at a moment's notice, and the semi-reclusive frontman guides this post-rock quintet into new territory.' -Ted Alvarez, Vail Daily News '...Normal songs with a little twang of different, like instruments played from the bottom of the ocean, warbling and bubbling and little chimes. There's certainly a beat, but the melody sometimes evokes being lost at sea, Achille Lauro, the hijacked ship...A lesser band might get lost in such tempests of sound, but Achille Lauro gives you just enough normal to hold onto.' -godonnybrook, Donnybrook Writing Academy.