RIFLESSIONI: IDEA D'INFINITO

Only 28-minutes long, transferred from vinyl (master tapes lost?), but what an album!

I DALTON play inventive and at the same time accessible music with virtuostic keyboards (piano, organ, moog, mellotron), flute, bluesy guitar, strong rhythm section, interesting interplay between instruments, good vocals and unique Italian grace.

There are hints of Jethro Tull and classic rock bands like Deep Purple. Strange, the beginning of the first track reminds me of keyboard intro in ''Tarot Woman'' from Rainbow ''Rising'' (released 3 years later). Despite influences I DALTON don't sound like any other band I know.

Songs on ''Riflessioni: Idea d'Infinito'' are always energetic, even in slower parts. The whole album is concentrated energy filled with melodies. And it has the quality I value most of all - it attracts your attention from the first note to the very end.

Powerful and elegant, I DALTON debut album, unfortunately generally overlooked, deserves to stay in the same row as well-known RPI classics like PFM's ''Storia di un minuto'' and ''Per un amico'' or ''Uomo di pezza'' by Le Orme.

Essential in any good RPI collection. Highly recommended. Very close to 5 stars. OK, 5 stars.

P.S. I have 1989 Vinyl Magic CD, transferred from vinyl (master tapes lost?), with some noises, specific for LP. If you decided to buy ''Riflessioni...'', better get 2006 BTF reissue, it contains bonus track and, additionally, those who own it tell there are no noises.

'Dalton' is an interesting band from the early Rock Progressivo Italiano movement. Their sound is close to Folk Prog a lot of the time, similar to Jethro Tull... and they utilize the flute as often and usually as effectively as Tull. They also seem to have a strong American Hard Rock influence in their sound.

A lot of the songs have a strong 'Spaghetti Western' atmosphere... i can picture cowboys wearing dusty clothes heading for a shootout; roaming arid landscapes full of tumbleweed. I don't speak Italian so i have no idea if that's the intended imagery, but from the music (and the band name, and album cover) that's what i see in my head.

The album starts off very strong with two hard and heavy songs laced with gloriously flauting, fuzzy rock guitars, and sporadic Moog and organ all mixing together perfectly and giving the impression that this will be one great rocking album. Sadly, near the end of 'Stagione che Muore' things start falling apart... there is a decent flute solo but it's backed alone by dreadfully shabby drumming that sounds like a rickety mining car about to fall off a rusty track.

There are some very weird and/or bad transitions from song-to-song; one songs fades in as the last one fades out... it gives the impression that the songs were all unfinished and hurried through a rough splicing process in a weak attempt to make it flow like one long suite. The album is less than 30 minutes long, which adds to the feeling that the band must have been rushed to complete this album and didn't have enough time to flesh out each song.

'Cara Emily' is a beautiful heartfelt ballad which features very nice piano playing. This song reminds me a lot of a 'Rolling Stones' ballad, but i can't recall which song it is... i'm thinking 'She's Like A Rainbow'. It doesn't sound exactly like that, but it's similar in approach and mood... and i really quite like it, though it isn't very 'Proggy'.

'Riflessioni' is a bad Boogie Woogie track that reminds me of old Country-fied Electric-Blues and features some very annoying metallic clangy keyboard sounds that are way too loud in the mix. This is not my cup of tea at all... and the rest of the album isn't much better honestly. It's sad that such a poor second half has tainted an otherwise very good album.

This album would be a good addition to an already large RPI music collection, but it's not essential nor is it a great investment if you're new to the genre. I wasn't sure whether this was worthy of '2' or '3' stars... but i'll award it '3' for the strong opening half.

I became interested in this album after seeing it listed in a "Top 20" list on some Italian site. According to the liner notes: "DALTON, from the Lombard region (near Milan), was formed during the late 1960's and even once included Mauro Pagani on flute (after which he joined the more well known PFM). As usual for the time, DALTON played beat music and formally released a single in that style. They then disappeared without a trace until 1972 when original keyboardist Temi Reduzzi reformed the band. Though, unusual for the time, they maintained their UK sounding beat group name." This their first album was released in 1973. They even won the gold prize at Zurich's Pop Festival the same year. Though mellotron is listed here as an instrument Andy at PlanetMellotron insists that they only used string-synths.

"Idea D'infinito" opens with synths until the flute takes over followed by a full sound. Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes and they're very expressive in the Italian tradition. String-synths later and some good guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. Organ late. "Stageone Che Muore" opens with lots of flute as well as prominant bass,organ and vocals. Guitar after a minute. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes with flute and drums out front. It settles a minute later. "Cara Emily" opens with harpsichord as fragile vocals with acoustic guitar and piano follow. String-synths also join in then drums and bass as it gets fuller. A calm after 4 minutes with flute to end it.

"Riflessione" starts with some aggressive guitar then drums and bass kick in. Organ 1 1/2 minutes in and flute follows.This is all about the guitar though. "Un Bambino, Un Uomo, Un Vecchio" features keyboards and flute as vocals come in. Harpsichord 2 minutes in. "Diminsione Lavoro" opens with a drum solo as the organ comes ripping in. A calm then piano and flute lead. Drums and guitar after 1 1/2 minutes as the tempo picks up. Vocals too. Organ before 3 minutes. A calm follows then the guitar starts to light it up with the organ trying to keep up. Nice. Synths end it.

Not a bad album but I can't get too excited about it.

There seems to be some confusion regarding this group, as there were actually two bands from the same geographical area of Italy around the late '60s and early '70s that were called Dalton. The former band, formed in 1967, was a beat group from Brescia. Multi- instrumentalist Mauro Pagani later joined in 1970, but this version of Dalton disbanded when Pagani subsequently joined PFM. The latter Dalton, from Bergamo, was formed in 1972. This was more of a prog rock band and released its debut album Riflessioni: Idea d'Infinito the following year. Keyboards player Temistocles Reduzzi has erroneously been credited with having dissolved the '60s Dalton, and of then reforming the '70s band. However there seems to be no connection between the two groups. In any case, the latter Dalton released Riflessioni on the small Music label in 1973. This must be a contender for the title of shortest vinyl album, as it clocks in at just over 28 minutes in length.

The album opens with the impressive Idea d'Infinito. This is a mid-tempo song with a stately rhythm featuring Ian Anderson inspired flute-play along with several interesting synthesizer and guitar tones. There's a particularly nice double-tracked synth part near the end of the song. The first of several little ritornello between tracks then leads into Stagione Che Muore. This song pays more than a passing resemblance to In The Court Of The Crimson King (listen to the main flute refrain), but don't expect any of the pyrotechnics of the King Crimson song. It does contain some great guitar licks and nice organ in the background, but no Mellotron unfortunately. Cara Emily is a tender ballad featuring piano, acoustic guitar, flute and synth. This track strikes me as the kind of song on From Genesis To Revelation. All five band members are credited with vocals, which are excellent throughout the album; some wonderful passionate singing in the great Italian tradition. So far so good, but the second half of the album doesn't live up to the standard of songs on the first half.

Track 4, Riflessioni, just sounds like the band jamming in the studio. It's certainly played with gusto and I'm sure it was fun, but it's lacking in interest I'm afraid. Un Bambino, Un Uomo, Un Vecchio has a very psychedelic-pop feel. Again, not of any great interest. The last track, Dimensione Lavoro, has more than a touch of Deep Purple about it. It's the only track on the album that's over 5 minutes in length (actually 6.42). This one starts with a brief drum solo before organ, synth and flute set the scene for the main riff to kick in. This consists of loads of whirling organ, raw guitar, Ray Thomas flute and a nice descending synth line. There's a short interlude with the guitarist trying to sound like Jimmy Page, then the Purple riff sees out the album. Great track.

This album isn't a classic although I'd say there are enough good moments to keep most RPI fans happy. Despite its short length it still manages to include a couple of fillers so it wouldn't be in my RPI top 100. The first half is very pleasant and the album then finishes strongly with its most progressive track, so I'll give it 3 stars.