GREEN GRAPES

After a very long hiatus, this Italian band got back together and released this album which is a mix of old and new unreleased songs.

I can't say that I am pleased with this mix. Some songs sound quite outdated ("Lauda Dell' Amore Mistico", "La Casa Dei Riflessi", "Eravamo Alla Fine Del Mondo") and just average. No wonder that most of this material was never released before. On top of this, the production is quite loose.

I wonder who could be attracted by such an album in the middle nineties... Nothing to be compared to the great old Italian bands of the early seventies, nothing complex to be considered interesting in terms of "modern" sound. So, what's left?

There is a weak instrumental ("Opera"), a fine rock-folk ballad with a decent emotional aspect ("Antichi Riti Di Magia") which is probably the best song out there. A vague rock-tinted simulacra ("Sulla Soglia Del Peccato"), a melodic and syrupy ballad ("Nuove Speranze"): all this being more embarrassing than joyful.

My favorite from this album is the solid and psyche "1969". This is a very good instrumental track which features a great beat and some powerful organ. It is just too bad that the band didn't investigate a bit more into this direction.

The quite Floydean "Incubo" is another example. It is as crazy as ASOS and quite a decent number. It is a rarity amongst such a weak ensemble.

The only song with English vocals should have been remained unreleased really. "Cry For Me" is a pitiful exercise. You should n't really care about this album. I'll be generous for once: two stars (but this is really on the upside).

Unsatisfied with the Fonit's production on ''Scolopendra'' Gli Alluminogeni split up after the release of the album with Patrizio Alluminio recording a single in 1975, which was actually a leftover from the ''Scolopendra'' recordings.Many years later the original trio returned recording two albums for the Vinyl Magic label, ''Geni Mutanti'' (1993) and ''Green Grapes'' (1994).

Of the two release ''Green grapes'' seems the one to fit better with the group's legendary past.It contains 13 old and new recordings of smooth Prog/Psychedelic Rock with also plenty of Melodic Rock tracks.Not every track in here sounds inspired with the old recordings sounding close to the style presented in ''Scolopendra'', while the new ones are closer to the likes of modern Italian Rock.The standard organ-driven Psychedelic Rock pieces of the album are decent with a dramatic atmosphere, good vocals and a nice rhythm section, a couple of them are even great as the opening ''Lauda Dell Amore Mistico'' or the instrumental ''1969'', with the instrumental parts shining, led by Alluminio's massive Hammond organ waves.The new recordings though are far from the beautiful style established by the band in early-70's.They appear close to cliche melodic Italian Rock, far from the word progressive, based on easy tunes, plastic synths, catchy refrains, soft pianos and accesible rhythms, but some of them even sound pretty dull compared to the vintage-sounding tracks of the release.

At this point the story of this legendary Italian trio comes to an end.It is strongly recommended to stick with the band's fantastic debut, but if you are among those collecting everything related to Italian Prog, ''Green Grapes'' has still some good moments to offer...2,5 stars.