SCOGLI DI SABBIA

The Italian five piece band Germinale delivers a compilation CD featuring previously unreleased songs (1998), tributes and live tracks (2002). The four songs from 1998 sound melodic, fluent and tastefully coloured with piano, guitar and frequent flute work, the climates change from dreamy and moving to catchy mid-tempo. The female vocals are decent but I miss the typical Italian emotion. Then 3 tributes: first The Knife from Genesis (some nice musical ideas but not really captivating), Wond'ring Aloud from Jethro Tull (mellow with wonderful flute play) and Dr. Diamond from King Crimson (delicate howling electric guitar), then the composition La Battaglia Per Il Samp (from the Finnish progrock project Kalevala): alternating and dynamic with sensitive electric guitar and pleasant flute work. The final part of this CD contains live material from 2002: in general Germinale sounds warm with fine interplay between acoustic - and electric guitar, flute and piano. To me it often sounds a bit too subdued but if you like mellow and romantic prog, this is a fine CD.

In 2001 Germinale released their third work on Mellow Records, ''Cielo & Terra'', that saw them offering a more Art Rock and less Italian Prog-oriented album, which dissapointed the fans worldwide.After some performances on compilation and tribute albums, Germinale released independently the album ''Scogli di sabbia'' in 2005, that worked more or less as a sum of their long and interesting career.

The first four tracks were all previously unreleased, featuring new female singer Sara Nannipieri, new drummer Mario Cuffaro and also a new bassist, Sebastiano Sacchetti.These tracks propably belong among the best of Germinale's repertoire.It's excellent modern Italian Prog, much more dynamic than most of the official ones, with a sound similar to compatriots CONQUEROR and several influences from the 70's tradition of the country.The musicianship is very rich yet melodious with light jazzy influences among the more melodic/symphonic passages, featuring excellent interplays between keyboards, piano and flutes and some awesome guitar lines.The nice and atmospheric vocals of Sara Nannipieri just strengthen the CONQUEROR comparisons.The style ranges from vintage-flavored Italian Prog with powerful breaks to atmospheric Progressive Rock with some nice synthesizer and deep bass work, really excellent stuff.

The next four pieces in line are three Genesis/Jethro Tull/King Crimson covers along with a track appearing in the ''Kalevala'' multi-band album a couple of years earlier, all of them though were previously released on tribute albums of the past.All covers are nicely executed with great respect to the original structures, decent English vocals and some good technique compared to the masters, especially ''Wond'ring Aloud'' from Jethro Tull really shines through.The ''Kalevala'' piece, ''La Battaglia per il Sampo'' is very close to mid-70's P.F.M., having strong symphonic, Fusion and Folk inspirations, led by its electroacoustic sound and the dominant flute parts, thus creating a sinister yet charming atmosphere.

The remaining seven pieces are all captured live, coming from the three previous official releases of the band.Even the ''Cielo & Terra'' tracks sound great here and the overall style ranges from rhythmic KING CRIMSON-esque Progressive Rock to smooth Classic Italian Prog with romantic vocals and sensitive musicianship.These pieces scan the whole Germinale history and are good examples of the band's development over the years.More detailed, the Prog fan will meet here compositions with mellow piano parts, light guitar moves and lyrical moments to more instrumental-inclined textures with a complex power and dark, groovy parts.

''Scogli di sabbia'' worked as a farewell album for Germinale, as the same year the band was put on ice, following an official site announcement.This is a very good compilation album and propably the place to start if you don't own any of the band's previous releases.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.