N.T. ATOMIC SYSTEM [AKA: UNA NOTTE SUL MONTE CALVO]

Fans of Italian Progressive Rock will immediately feel at home when they hear the intro to 'La Nuova Predica di Padre O'Brien', with glorious keyboards reminiscent of BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO. Some good spinet, Hammond and Mellotron, very breathy flute plus a dash of female backing vocals interspaced with De Scalzi's Italian singing make for a very good track.

'Ho Visto Poi' starts with Mellotron and Hammond before bringing in synthesizer, switching back and forth between the heavy and the mellow, with the mellow reminiscent of CELESTE. The overall effect is quite psychedelic.

The first half and the end of 'Tornare a Credere' sound like a sort of melodic mainstream Italian rock-pop song with some good piano work and female backing vocals. It isn't Prog Rock but who cares: it's very pleasant music. From about the halfway point the track turns into pure instrumental Prog with jazz influences, again with some excellent piano and keyboards (reminiscent of ELP and TRIUMVIRAT). I like the track even if some of it is too commercial for a purist (which I'm not).

Some nice, fat synthesizer starts off 'Una Notte Sul Monte Calvo', the band's arrangement of that Mussorgsky rocker (!) 'Night On Bare Mountain'. Great track, and a good choice by the band as the piece readily lends itself to Progressive Rock.

'Ibernazione' again has prominent spinet, piano and synthesizer and will be of interest to fans of ELP. The song has a very jazzy feel. Halfway through the track there's some good flute and the music takes on a very medieval feel. Then there is some nice jazzy bass. Great track.

'Quando L'Erba Vestiva La Terra' starts off with an ecclesiastical-sounding Hammond but turns into a song that initially reminds me a little of the MOODY BLUES but then halfway through takes on a jazz-rock feel complete with tenor sax. Nice.

'Butterfly' is sung in English. Why?! It's a 1960s-style pop song with female backing vocals. Some brief, breathy flute and good keyboard improve the track a little, but it's not in the same league as the others on the album.

The overriding impression when listening to this album is of the consummate musicianship. Renato Rossert's piano and other keyboard work is superb, but then the other band members all contribute evenly. Even the drums are noticeably good. And the keyboards are sublime in places. The last track is underwhelming, but overall the album would be a good addition to any Prog lover's collection. I like the mix of the rough with the smooth, the strong jazz-rock influences and the early 1970s feel to the music. Despite the rough edges and the underwhelming last track there are some outstanding moments, and I feel it fully deserves 4 stars (Excellent addition to any Prog Rock collection).