ROMANTIC WARRIOR

Elegance is the word. The most correct way to describe this wonderful album. At least, in my opinion. And it has to be noticed that I'm not a great fan of the jazz-rock/fusion genre itself. In the past I generally avoided to buy records like these 'cause I was sure they simply weren't made for my ears. Also now I have some problems to get into, but I found some important gems to open the door to this new musical progrock world.

Romantic Warrior's influence on me was so unespected and unbelievable: I was completely blown away since the very first listenings. I know that the most experts would certainly stigmatize my enthousiasm explaining this is a sort of symphonic-jazzrock album. All these finesses won't probably produce any effect on me 'cause I'm a sort of ignorant in this world. All I have done is sit down, relax and enjoy this fabulous record from beginning to end. Other well acclaimed albums simply did not have the same result on me, as for example Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Birds of Fire" or (to take a view to the other side of italian prog) Perigeo's "Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere".

The general mood of Romantic Warrior is builded by powerful and elaborated arrangements, wisely enriched with very sparse reminiscences of the middle-age, due to the album's subject itself. Keyboards' master Chick Corea along with a certain Al Di Meola on guitar mixed their style in a very sublime way. Drums and bass are played scientifically without any foult by, respectevely, Lenny White and Stanley Clarke. The opener "Medieval Overture" really opens a tour de force! There are not excesses here, all the sound and the songs' structure are complex but never compromising the keystone: elegance!

Easily a five stars rating.