IL VOLO

Excellent Italian prog album, in a slightly jazzy symphonic style. Possibly the first Italian prog "supergroup"; all members are from other notable bands. The dominant influence is from the two members of Formula Tre, especially guitarist Alberto Radius. In fact if you liked Sognando e Risognando by Formula Tre, you will love this one. One difference is that Il Volo has a strong bass player (in Formula Tre the keyboard player used his feet for the bass parts a la Ray Manzarek or the band Island). The twangy, Squire style bass drives along a good part of the music. This frees up Formula Tre's keyboard player to serve up some tasty organ playing. Shortcomings are few, including somewhat of a lack of originality.