IL PITTORE VOLANTE

Nearly 40 years passed between the recording of the bands debut album, the subsequent split- up, and the release of this, their second album. From reading reviews of those more familiar with the classic era of this sub-genre then myself, I get the impression that the music has changed quite a bit in this time.

This is to be expected, of course, and not just because of the passage of time or some changes to the bands lineup. This album was conceived by Luciano Regoli, who also handles the vocal and guitar duties on this album, as a companion to several of the paintings that he had done. My copy of the album (the mini-LP version) comes with a booklet that includes small images of the paintings, which is quite nice.

The music on this album includes some of the heaviest stuff I have heard in the RPI sub-genre thus far, especially the hard-rocking opener track (Il Cambiamento) which includes the use of a harmonica - a great sounding track! Luciano's singing really makes a great first impression, he just straddles the line where dramatic crosses over to cheesy, giving the music a lot of intensity.

Of course, the music on this album features more than just hard-rock sounding music, with jazzy interludes (Il Vecchio), great acoustic lines (the opening of Eagle Mountain), and even some great female vocals. This variety gives the album a lot of life.

Ultimately, it is these elements - the variety, the great vocals, and a healthy dose of melody, that really make this album an enjoyable listen from start to finish for me. It's obvious that many of these Italian bands coming back after so many years are doing so purely because they have something they want to say, not out of a desire for money, and as the listener, we reap the benefits of their passion.