CAVALLI COCCHI, LANZETTI, ROVERSI

I really think the vocals of Bernardo Lanzetti will be the key as to whether you will like this or not. The music is pleasant and enjoyable, in fact the mellotron work of Cristiano Roversi (MOONGARDEN) is to die for. He has in the past always used sampled mellotron, but he finally has his own real one and man does he impress with it here. If this was an instrumental album it would easily be 4 stars. It's funny that I liked Lanzetti's vocals early on in his career with ACQUA FRAGILE and PFM, but his voice on that MANGALA VALLIS record in the 00's and here on this record are not appealing in any possible way.

Gotta love the passion before 1 1/2 minutes in on the opener "New Life On Mars". The mellotron in the background sounds great. "JPJ Card" has lots of prominant drums and vocals but it's the mellotron that moves me. "Morning Comes" is ballad-like with fragile vocals and piano. Strummed guitar and mellotron join in. The mellotron sounds amazing. A change before 4 1/2 minutes as it picks up. "Words Got The Power" is another laid back tune with vocals and mellotron.

"Why Should I ?" is more uptempo with vocals, piano and drums standing out. Lots of mellotron later on. "By This River" is a relaxed tune with a beat and vocals. "Great Love Does Burn Fast" is the only song that I really enjoy. And it's not because Steve Hackett guests on guitar either because I found this out after the fact. It's just a cool tune. Love the mellotron and heavy bass. Reserved vocals come in. It settles back but contrasts continue. "The Late Hour" is another laid back vocal track but the mellotron is the highlight. "Blue Boy Under An Ethnic Sky" haha. Sorry but that title amuses me. It's ballad-like to start and we get some vocal melodies as it picks up.

It's funny that Lanzetti really promotes in interviews that young Italian bands sing in English. I think he's missing one of the most important things about RPI and that's how beautiful the Italian language sounds.