MELLONTA TAUTA

If you love warm, accessible symphonic and neo-prog, you're going to love this open-hearted gem of uplifting melodic prog-rock. The band hails from 1970s Italy but this is no rough and tumble RPI group. This band loves Genesis so much that they eventually morphed into the Genesis cover band "Duke." They sing in English and write songs that could have come from some lost late 70s Genesis project. There is also an early neo-prog edge to these late '70s recordings. The final product doesn't sound too far from the early albums of the German band Rousseau, but perhaps with more bite and fire in the guitar solos.

The studio tracks are beautifully atmospheric with a fat and mellow bass, constantly floating synths and e-piano, and impressive drumming. The English vocals have a slight Italian accent but are pretty decent. Guitarist Mauro Scapolo is a melodic monster, spinning one romantic, soaring lead after another. With an up-front fiery sound yet tasteful delivery he really puts this band over the top. The songs do not hold back trying to be cool or aloof, they are extroverted, they build, and they wear unashamed emotions on their sleeve for all to take freely. The long and dramatic tracks have a wonderful acoustic solo named "La Rochelle" planted in the middle. Two tracks feature enthusiastic saxophone solos. If you enjoy stuff like Sebastian Hardie, Moongarden, Novalis, or Druid; if you like pleasing music that doesn't take itself too seriously, you might want to consider this rarity before it goes out of print.

In the early 1980s the band changed some members and became "Duke" who continue to this day. This album contains three live Genesis numbers, Hackett's "Every Day" plus two long classics medleys bringing the album to 73 minutes long. The live Genesis tracks are exciting and quite well done. Understand this is a regional group and the album does not have the exact perfection of a Genesis release. You'll hear some mistakes and production issues, but if you can tolerate that and just enjoy some positive music whose sole purpose is your entertainment, you should love this. I enjoyed it very much even though it is derivative and not the kind of music I generally go for. I also appreciate the wide-eyed innocence of the album cover, whose simplicity is so refreshing in this age of album-art overkill. The cover perfectly sums up the spirit of Mellonta Tauta. Yet another reward for those willing to dig deep through the Mellow ranks. Bravo. 7/10

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