ESPECTRO

A prog album with a sound and style very familiar to 1970s Rock Progressivo Italiano--especially to that of LE ORME--it also has quite a Canterbury feel to it--like KHAN, STEVE HILLAGE or CAMEL. Despite the pleasant, easy timbre and style of the vocalist, it is the instrumental sections of all the songs that really stand out. The keyboard play is outstanding and the wonderful electric guitar sound and style is kind of a cross between that of ROYE ALBRIGHTON and STEVE HILLAGE. And the melodies are the kind that haunt you and stay with you for days, pulling you back again and again to listen to see if it was real or if you were just imagining it.

The opening nine-minute 'epic,' "Formas-Pensamento" (8:54) is repeated in a longer English version as the album's last track, "New from Heaven" [9:26] ([8/10]). It has a very familiar, laid-back vocal (uncanny likeness to that of LE ORME's Aldo Tagliapietra), and is a fairly simple song and instrumental construct with a relatively slow pace to it. Where it differs and excels is in the individual instrumental sounds and performances: synthesizer, guitar, and organ soli are all OUTSTANDING. (9/10)

Other song favorites include: the refined, bluesy STEVE HILLAGE, CAMEL, and even SANTANA-like "Ondas leves" (7:38) (10/10); the amazing Latin-riffed SANTANA-like "Solsticio" (6:30) (10/10); "Montanhas da mente" (5:14) (nice keyboard work all around; love the jazzy CAMEL/NEKTAR-like instrumental sections) (9/10); the upbeat, fast-paced CAMEL and PINK FAIRIES-like "Claro escuro" (5:06) (8/10); the simple and very poppy, "Algum lugar" (4:14) (8/10); and the LE ORME throwback, "Anos-luz" (4:47) (8/10).

I gotta admit: There's no one out there doing music like this. It grooves, it's smooth, it's emotional, it's evocative, it's instrumental solos are so different than the rest of current prog. Here melody and feeling reign supreme. This is the modern equivalent to KHAN's classic (and my all-time favorite Canterbury classic) Space Shanty. Espectro is also an album that keeps growing on me--inviting me back again and again instead of getting old and stale. Highly, highly recommended, folks! Especially if you like mostly steady-paced, highly melodic music with a lot of excellent, excellent soloing. Though this may be a 4.5 star album, I'm going to give it five cuz it deserves to be heard. A lot!