CANTI DEL VANGELO SECONDO BARABBA

Obscure one-shot Italian project, led by ex-Circus 2000 and Living Life guitarist Marcello Quartarone, based on religious themes and reputedly containing lyrics written by children.The line-up was impressive with Maurizio Gianotti on sax, Piercarlo Bettini on keyboards and Gianni Bianco on bass, all members of Living Life, Venegoni & Co.'s drummer Max Aimone and Arturo Vitale/Giovanni Vigliar on sax and violin respectively, coming from Arti & Mestieri.Their sole album ''Canti dal Vangelo secondo Barabba'' was released on the unknown Elledici label, which seemed to be a publisher for the Catholic Church.

This is not your typical Italian product and considering the fact that most members had a strong Jazz background the listener would expect something close to Progressive Jazz Rock, but that's not the case here, because ''Canti dal Vangelo secondo Barabba'' blends religious-inspired vocal textures with jazzy improvisations and strong psychedelic and Folk influences in a rather disjointed work with a tendency towards experimental forms along the lines of early ALAN SORRENTI or FRANCO BATTIATO, who's first works seems to be the closest comparisons.A couple of pieces are quite interesting with haunting Mediterrenean soundscapes combined with strong Fusion instrumentals in tight electroacoustic arrangements, but the vocals are questionable with dark narrations and choirs throughout.Violin and acoustic guitars explores more folky territories, while Bettini's organ and electric piano next to the saxes deliver the occasional jazzy touches.However the overall mix is not very cohesive, although the music content is quite strong.Rural passages break into stretched jazzy lines, followed by minimalistic movements.And add to all these the ethereal female choirs.Deep inside, this album has some great potential and the Fusion vibes in particular are pretty interesting with decent sax and bass work.But the coherence is just not there, so this could be fully appreciated, presenting a very unusual sound with unrelated music sources.

Rare and obscure Italian Prog/Folk/Jazz Rock.Very loose and weirdly melodramatic, I can see Avant Prog fans enjoying this a lot more than lovers of Italian Prog.Recommended for collectors of experimental prog enviroments...2.5 stars.