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Alma Sideris - Castelli in Aria CD (album) cover

CASTELLI IN ARIA

Alma Sideris

 

Neo-Prog

3.00 | 9 ratings

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octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
3 stars The first impression that this album gave to me is of a classic RPI album. The opening track with its flute and the sometimes out-of-metric lyrics make me think to QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA who I have accidentally listened to just yesterday....but effectively there's more on this song. decades are passed and other influences can be heard, even Genesis.

The sax ouverture of "Anime Tremano" has a King Crimson flavour. Vocals and lyrics are what clearly identify this band into the classic RPI genre. The choir on this track reminds to IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE for example. The melodies are not trivial and each time the sax is back the relation to King Crimson is more strict, just to turn into Howe's YES on the guitar solo. I'm mentioning artists and bands only to give an idea of the music, I'm not saying that it sounds exactly how....

"Il Ricordo Di Un Cielo D'Estate" is a melodic song, a bit too artsy to be radio-friendly, but it's surely one of the easier things of the album. Female vocals on "Dubbi Eterni", is anything like "dark pop" existing? This song sounds very Italian and with a bit of promotion could be proposed to the local mainstream public. It's a polite way to say that I don't like it too much.

Different is "Ossessione Notturno". The soprano and the background vocals have a strong Zeuhl flavour. It's not sung in Kobaian and there are no brasses, but this is one of the best album's song also in the electronic second half. It's connected to "Il Tempo per Pensare". The Zeuhl accent is even stronger now. I consider this track and the previous as a single excellent one.

Everything changes with "Castelli In Aria". Acoustic guitar, bass and flutes for a song between Ant Phillips for the folky element, King Crimson for the dissonances and Lucio Battisti for the vocals and the main rocky melody. Not a bad song, but the previous two are closer to my tastes. It changes in the second half when there's an instrumental part very Crimsonian.

"To Janni" is a soft and dark electric piano instrumental. Just two and half minutes absolutely not bad.

The album is closed by the longest track "Incontro". A piano intro then a bass line reminding of the 70s classics, still KC maybe. Many changes in the signature and a bass that gives it a dark colour. There's perhaps a little influence of Goblin, or it's me who think to hear it because of its darkness. A good promising track.

This album is good but non essential. I mean that for what I have heard there are many good ideas that I hope will be exploited better in the next works. It deserves to be listened to, and being it downloadable for free, why not? 40 minutes of good progressive are never a bad idea.

octopus-4 | 3/5 |

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