IL VOLO DI ICARO

Attention pastoral RPI fan!

If you love 70s pastoral Italian prog on the lighter and prettier side of things, then this obscure little gem is for you. If you can find it, that is, it's pretty rare. Il Volo Di Icaro is a one-shot from Tuscany who made this concept album and faded away. It deals with the story of Icarus who despite warning flew too close to the sun. This is a largely song-based affair although there are a few spots where things get interesting from the progressive sense, via a bit of instrumental excursion or the last track which is a street noise collage. But otherwise the songs are light and melodic with heavy emphasis on the piano (which is why I really enjoyed it), synths, and acoustic guitar. The vocal quality is a little on the shaky side but not horrible.

"Meditation" is my favorite, a dreamy and subtle piano instrumental backed by a trance-like bass guitar which grows in volume until the drums finally escalate things and the synths join. Icaro is a nice little rarity for pastoral RPI fans somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, I like it well enough to round it up. But it's not spectacular, it's very hard to find, and it is of primary interest to a narrower slice of fans. I love the cover art of the place and era, an understated and intimate drawing. Chris is right to draw parallels with Stefano Testa, from the light-prog/folkish feel of music to the artwork, although I believe the Testa album is more accomplished overall than this one.

Strange occasion and scarce infos around this band/project from Tuscany.This group of musicians was led by keyboardist (actually multi-instrumentalist) Alessandro Lencioni,who possibly came from Viareggio, and was helped by seven other members on guitars, bass, drums, flutes, mandolin and accordion.It is unknown if ''Il volo di Icaro'' (''The flight of Icarus'') was the name of a band or just the title of a concept album around Greek mythology's hero Icarus,guided under Lencioni's forces,who arranged and composed the music.The album was recorded at Studio Natali in Florence and was released in 1978 on the obscure Studiosound label.

To list this album as Progressive Rock would be trully unfair,there is no element of progressiveness in here,just a collection of ten songs with a very gentle,soft and delicate atmosphere and plenty of vocals.The music is a mix of melodic Pop,Folk and Classical music,characterized by Lencioni's elegant piano passages,the smooth rhythm section and the passionate yet warm and sensitive vocals,which add a romantic charm to the compositions.Occasional mandolin,flute and accordion appearances head the music towards a more folky approach at times,but always maintaining a pop sensibility.As a composer,anyone would expect Lencioni to be the dominant musician here and that it's true,but even he remains on the background leaving the space to vocal arrangements.The exception comes with ''Meditation'', which is a track close to the prog characteristics,bass grooves accompanied by spacey synths with a very nice atmosphere and eventually some needed dynamics.

Compositionally the album is rather a winner with some pretty nice songwriting and great vocal work throught,however the lack of some energy and adventure in the arrangements makes it rather hypnotic throughout the listening.Considering the album has little chances to be re- issued by a major label,it would be a crime to spend the heavy amount of money needed to get a copy of this rather mediocre release.Only recommended if you have a pocket full of money and an empty place in your collection for some smooth melodic Pop-Rock lost release under a great concept but with a few intricate moments...2.5 stars.