THE SMELL OF THE RAINY AIR

This is the debut record of Italian band TWENTY FOUR HOURS released in 1991. It's one of those rare albums that I put in the "special" category because I know that most wouldn't entertain the idea of giving this a 4 star rating but it has this hold on me and I can't shake it. I've owned this since around 2004 and so maybe re-visiting has brought back good memories of that time when I was on the constant search for new Prog and I was finding some incredible bands and albums.This record is bass, guitar, drums and synths with English vocals that aren't that great. My edition opens with a cover of KING CRIMSON's "Moonchild" but the track listing for the rest of this cd is the same as what's listed on this site.

"Moonchild" does sound rather good and we get female Italian spoken words mixed in here throughout. "Switch For Madness" has these high pitched picked guitar sounds as almost spoken vocals come in. Drums and bass join in as well. A psychedelic calm before 2 minutes with synths then these spacey vocals arrive after 3 minutes. Excellent track.

"Places Of Our Childhood" opens with piano and experimental sounds. Gentle guitar and krautrock-like spoken vocals arrive with synths. Words like "Get high my friends get high, get drunk my friends get drunk" are almost spoken.

"The Dream Of The Maiden's Tear" opens with guitar and spoken vocals then it kicks into an uptempo mode with vocals. "Here I Am" is my favourite.The drums, guitar and bass all sound so good to start. Love this. Vocals before a minute. I really like the guitar tone after 3 minutes when the vocals stop.

"Trip Of Rains" is a short strummed guitar and vocal piece. "Trip Of Rains (Part Two)" kicks in before a minute as we get strummed guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

'89 " has this intricate guitar that is picked and synths.I like it ! "What's On My Back ?" is a funny title.This is more powerful with organ as the drums pound.Vocals follow.

"La Pluie" is a moving song with picked guitar and synths. Rain ends it. "The Reo Melting House" opens with piano as a fuller sound with vocals takes over.This is also a touching track.

"Wrongtimes" has guitar and a beat as the vocals come in. It picks up after a minute as contrasts continue. Great tune. "The Sun" is a beautiful number.

"Tetrafase" is eighties sounding and uptempo. I like it. "Jazzing" sounds excellent instrumentally as vocals arrive around 1 1/2 minutes.

"Must (The Space between The Houses)" is dark and atmospheric with synths. A nice change of pace. "Foreign Lands" is a live version and well done with energy.

This is one cd I plan to keep spinning once in a while for years to come.