IL MADRIGALE DEL VENTO

The couple of years following ''Città di frontiera'' were pretty busy and groundbreaking for Calliope.Only drummer Gianni Catalano and keyboardist Rinaldo Doro remained on the band's line-up, while a female vocalist named Annalisa Gastaldo became the lead singer.The new Calliope prepared the third CD of the band ''Il madrigale del vento'', based on Moro's compositions and lyrics written by previous vocalist Massimo Berruti.The album was released in December 95' on Vinyl Magic.

Calliope abandoned the Heavy/Symphonic Prog style of the previous releases for good and ''Il madrigale del vento'' marks not only a fresh start for the band but also a completely different musical direction.The opening 16-min. track ''Terra di maggio'' is fully Neo Prog with endless keyboard flashes and solos, interesting melodies and a good performance by Gastaldo on vocals, recalling YLECLIPSE.The next four shorter tracks are typical Italian Symphonic Rock of the 90's with epic keyboards, light violin passages, delicate flutes and expressive female vocals with some very nice arrangements and a fair amount of orchestral passages, somewhere between MALIBRAN, IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE and SITHONIA.The closing romantic 17-min. ''La visione della dolce pioggia'' is definitely the band's most ambitious composition to date.Sensitive light Symphonic Rock with crying violins and soft pianos on the forefront, floating synths, symphonic melodies and great vocals by Gastaldo, a nice highlght for a band finally seeming to find their style.

No more or less ''Il madrigale del vento'' deserves a place among the good works of 90's Italian Prog.Epic, romantic emotional yet fully demanding, this is an album which will please all fans of the characteristic Italian-styled Progressive Rock.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.