L' ESTATE DI SAN MARTINO

The third chapter of l'Estate di San Martino is probably the consecration of this group so long- lived but strangely with only three albums released. The history of Talsete is fascinating in real prog-style, an archivist with the dual role of guardian of knowledge and the essence of progressive music. In this sense be seen the illustrious collaborations of Steve Hackett, Francesco di Giacomo and Bernardo Lanzetti. The compositions are of great freshness and originality both from the point of view that rhythmic and harmonic. The amount of music in each song is such that is necessary more than one listening to discover the depth. The sounds ranging from classic prog to most modern. 12-string acoustic and electric guitars with analog and digital synths and vocoder. The colors of the saxophone and the flute and the addition of bass pedals enrich the entire job. A particular note for the great drum parts and for the quality of the recordings. Even the packaging is beautiful, in style with the previous covers of the group. There is also a limited vinil version...Whoaa

As I listened to this disc the first time I couldn't help be feeling repeatedly astounded at the freshness of the music I was listening to. I am also a witness to the extraordinary contributions to the whole by prog legends Steve Hackett, Francesco di Giacomo, and Bernardo Lanzetti. This music could be called neo-prog, but really it's neo-RPI, but with all new ideas--new melodies, new combinations, new emotions, new, 21st Century energy. As other reviewers have pointed out, I, too am reminded at times of GENESIS, ANT PHILLIPS, ROBIN GUTHRIE/COCTEAU TWINS, and even Norway's AIRBAG (because of the tremendous keyboard support work) and Poland's COLLAGE, but, for the most part, it is all Italiano--or, rather, in this case, L'Estate di San Martino. Congratulations.

This one goes down in the history books as a modern classic, a masterpiece for the ages! Thank you for achieving something so rare in this modern era of very good (and very alive) progressive rock music: creating a modern masterpiece that fills the listener with blissful nostalgia for the prog classics of the 70s. Something so many groups (especially in The Netherlands [Trion, Flamborough Head, Knight Area, etc., etc.]) seem so desperate to do. In my humble opinion, none have done it better than this one.

Favorite songs: I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

Talk about a majestic slice of classic RPI , mixed with the latest modern symphonic tendencies and words are hard to come by. Insanely orchestrated, never boring, between sheets of pastoral folk, stormy sequences and fluttering flutes, woodwinds, brass and that masterful rebel, the saxophone ?.. Truth is, this one shines from the very get-go and never releases the pedal, scouring into a magnificent wonderland of style and texture. The various instruments have a huge organic feel that is quite unexpected and the wealth of musical ideas even within a single piece is masterful. Obviously if you include guest artists Steve Hackett and Banco's Francesco di Giacomo, you get a pretty clear idea that this will be an adventure in dreamland, with strong emanations of classic RPI, superb miniature pieces that recall Penguin Café Orchestra and Ant Phillips and full-blown Genesis-style symphonics.

"Silbo" sets the slithery mood from the very beginning, a hoarse flute scouring the airwaves. "Archivista" is where this album really hits the mark: a luminous guitar phrasing is supported by some brilliant drumming and rolling bass, all masterfully combined in a sensuous symphonic sheen. The sexy sax is blazing out in front of the undulating beat and the intensity is tangible as the brew becomes intoxicating, tossing in vocoder effects, whirring synths (including a dizzying choir mellotron finale) and a shuffling beat. This is primo stuff! What a breeze, when music is so effortless and brilliant, as exemplified on the languid "Fretta", an indescribable gem that resonates deeply with any audiophile. A barrage of acoustic guitars weave a web of delicacy that provides the foundation on which flute, soprano sax, electric guitar and assorted ivories can paint the harmonic skies, as vocalist Conny Rausch wails in a very 60s style. Effortless, dynamic, cinematographic, expressive and possessing that magical mixture of freshness and elegance that affect ones pleasure nodes. The simplicity of the electric guitar section is truly masterful.

"Il Cielo Per San Lorenzo" keeps things nicely minimalist with Riccardo Regi's 12 string electric guitar swerving amid Stefano Tofi's spectral keyboards in a style very reminiscent of classic Anthony Phillips. A sparkling and crystalline composition with discreet orchestrations and ornate piano work.

Wait until you hear Hackett's slithering lead on "Ely", a bare minute + of sonic genius. Tofi lays down a synthesized carpet for Steve to roll around on and the sonic master does not disappoint! Riveting,frightening and spectral.

"Long Now Clock" is anomalous, smoggy and atmospheric in an oddball way, bordering on experimental, with a celebrated stance of unwavering poise and ingenious juicedom, infusing Nickleharp, a strange Swedish instrument that stretches the boundaries of violin and viola. This creative side is what makes this release so attractive, an RPI comfort zone that is stretched to the hilt. The yearning guitar aches for some reassurance and fades, deeply relieved.

"Hallucigenia" confirms the talent of drummer Sergio Servadio, who positively rocks on the intro to this complex and demanding piece, as the mood settles for some brilliant piano musings, incorporating some lovely jazzy moves and then exploding into a bright section where the recorder played by Marco Pentiricci reigns supreme, amid the colossal drum fills. Throw in a little guitar synth and acoustic 6 and 12 strings to add some spice and flavor. Definitely hallucigenic. "Bang!" is a playful 12 second sonic experiment. Cute! The title track has a fretless bass solo to murder for, within all its other delights and its one of slayer cuts. A woozy synth solo launches this one into the night sky, swerving into a neo- tropical shuffle (them congas), soon to be united with piano madness and booming bass and blooming into a sensational composition.

"Mono Lake" is another massive highlight track, simple and effective, organ-fueled and just a plain brilliant instrumental. Stefano Tofi's stirring butterfly synth solo is damning, tugging on the heartstrings and delivering heavenly bliss. A straightforward beat, two note bass, boom-boom drums, that wrenching organ and a mood for excitation, as the guitar confidently mouths the melody. Brooding, sulfurous and raging.

"Otto" has the Banco fatman singing in his unusual tremolo, with Riccardo Regi's acoustic guitars weaving the way, catering nicely to another patented Hackett outburst. All screeching power and impossible sustain. Oh yeah, and balls to pull it off, Fripp would be proud.

The final track, "SENO" is a perfect bedtime story killer, goodnight sleep tight affair, a sensational concluder that has all the ingredients from raucous guitar, howling choir mellotron (my fave sound ever), blistering sax salvos and tight, tight playing within almost complex arrangements. This is no commercial music by any stretch, quite the polar opposite with perhaps too much music to absorb even after a few auditions, mighty as this music will appear to any unexpectant fan.

2 bonus tracks: "Res Gestae": If you want to bask in lengthy Italian speak, nothing better to get your girlfriend hot and bothered than by this husky Latin lover voice, oozing into your sexual spirit, babe! Unless of course, that is deemed to be too "progressive"! Claudio Cardinali narrates for 7 minutes, its very funny and very weeeeeeird. The second features Bernardo Lanzetti's love it or leave it special voice in a spirited little rumble, very RPI and very agreeable. Formica's fretless wobbles mightily once again, especially in the finale where the mood gets fiery intense.

This is a musical recording that inspires utter confidence and creativity, firmly influenced by a variety of regal prog choices (Genesis, Ant Phillips and Hackett, as well as the more exploratory forms of current Italian prog like Hostsonaten, Zaal, Maalavia, La Coscienza di Zeno, Labirinto dei Specchi, GTV, Daal etc..

Masterpiece that will stand even the test of time?..Finn, trust me on this?.

5 radar solos (you can read them also in both directions)

The release of the documental ''Alder'' was the precursor of a new start for L' Estate di San Martino.However the band had to face the sudden loss of guitarist Adolfo Broegg and the recordings of the new album included the guitar piece ''Memoria'' recorded by Broegg in 1993, just about when the band tried to make a comeback after a decade of silence.The new album ''Febo'' was released in 2007 again on BTF and it was once more a concept work around a teenage boy, who was a genius of computer science.

The group had to be emotionally charged with the loss of Broegg and this seems to had a great impact on the new album, which sounds as series of tight, atmospheric and laid-back pieces full with intense Italian vocals and dreamy soundscapes.Stylistically L' Estate di San Martino never abandoned the soft symphonic style of their early years, they just colored their sound with more emotional moments and more sensitive songwriting, while the instrumental themes were a bit limited.There are some pretty nice changes between acoustic soundscapes and electric passages, always melodic and filled with very good vocal work.The sound sometimes evokes the 80's/90's works of CAMEL on the melodic arrangements, laid-back compositions with very intense and deeply esoteric researches.Synthesizers, piano, flutes and light saxes are also present to add specific moods and the atmosphere on the instrumental themes sometimes even flirts with New Age music.Do not get dissapointed though, because the music will strike your emotions at once (and indeed ''Memoria'' with Broegg on guitars is simply great), while a few tracks are grounded in the old-school symphonic style like the organ/guitar-driven ''Amoris Odores'', the synth-driven and highly melodic ''Laetitia'' or the closing rich-sounding ''Sole''.

A nice discovery for fans of CAMEL-esque melodic and quite soft Progressive Rock, which lacks dynamics, but contains a heavy amount of emotional-driven compositions.Warmly recommended.

The rules of prog archives tell: five star, a MASTERPIECE! But how many masterpieces can we count in the world of progressive music really? In my opinion, once you have tracked correctly the border of the prog music (how many heavy metal or hard rock works are wrongly considered in this winning label?) not more then 20. So I forget the rules and give five star to this wonderful work, although the work of the italian band can't compete with who open unexplored roads on the prog music in the 60/70's, the real Masterpieces of prog music. Ok Talsete doesn't open new way, at the end of the day he is an archivist, but guys, in what a manner he describe this wonderful world of music! And he does it with the music itself and the minimun necessary of words ... What idea and what a courage in twothousandtwelve! Listening to the Music of Estate, it's impossible not to think about a lot of giants of prog, but, and this is the fifth star, it's also impossible to say "hey men give credits to ELP, Genesis and so on". Everything is done with an italian original spice that join togheter medieval music instruments with the more recent synthetizer, that makes possible to vocalize (in a passage) in a Cocteau Twins mode over a base of a medioeval violin as if it were the most natural thing you could do! The other four stars are due to the wonderful music and the ideas this work contains, a music that like the old good times, you have to discover a little at a time, rejoining on 'her' every time a little more. Hackett, Di Giacomo and Lanzetti (the circle is closed, eventually we got a masterpiece thanks to these giants of Prog), fit perfectly in this tapestry concocted by Estate and open to our mind the archive of the wonderful word of Prog music. In the end it's impossible to forget that the package, the cover and the story perfectly complete this wonderful work. Don't miss it! Bargilla62 2012

Following their wonderful predecessors "Febo" and "Alder", l'Estate di San Martino - the prog-rock band from magic Umbria - doesn't rest on laurels and takes a step forward by delivering us another impressive work named "Talsete di Marsantino" issued on the same label and housed in a lavish gatefold mini lp cd packaging. What about the music? Well, it only takes a few moments - as soon as Archivista bursts on the scene - to realize that inspiration and musicianship are as high as ever! Of course, giant prog-rockers of the past such as Genesis, Yes, King Crimson and PFM have had a great appeal on the Italian band but in my humble opinion on this album more than on any other has emerged their undistinguished style made of intricate melodies and variety of arrangements. Not to mention the guest appearences: the voice impossible Bernardo Lanzetti, guitar maestro Steve Hackett and the voice master Francesco Di Giacomo are here to witness their deep belief in the project. A record that will certainly be much appreciated by the progressive music lover. Thank you ESM !!

I believe that the importance of a disc is in the emotions that can give you. Listening TALSETE OF MARSANTINO I went back 40 years (oh, thanks guys!!!!). Of course, the musicians in this band have certainly heard Banco, PFM, Genesis and King Crimson, and loved them. This disc is permeated by many atmospheres of the golden years of progressive revisited by the unquestionable technical ability of the musicians. And then the guests: Hackett, Di Giacomo and Lanzetti are "the cherry on the cake", to witness that great musicians have strongly believed in this record. A great job that I was really amazed by the variety and complexity of the arrangements. I believe that as a lover of progressive music I can only say 'thank you' to ESM for this record. P.S. The gatefold cover is FANTASTIC :-D

A return of one of Italy's most beautiful pastoral bands

L'Estate di San Martino are back with a brand new album in 2012 and a finely crafted work it is. As previously mentioned the group has had a strange recording history, with each batch of material delayed or shelved before finally seeing the light of day. 2007's "Febo" was finally delivered shortly after the sad premature death of long time guitarist Adolfo Broegg. Now five years later the band have recorded an album that finally sounds as if things have all come together naturally. It is a gorgeous album of mostly instrumental, pastoral progressive rock with symph and folk markers, even a few jazzy sections. This is the very listenable and beautiful side of RPI, it is an album that should be very popular with listeners drawn to Hostsonaten, Willowglass, and XII Alfonso, though at times it rocks more than all three.

BTF writes the material is "mainly based on great acoustic arpeggios and electric solos, keyboard soundscapes and beautiful flute and sax inserts. Even if practically void of lyrics, the album is a concept that would be listened while reading the notes in the booklet, telling about Talsete, an imaginary character, an archivist whose aim was to collect and preserve human knowledge and who fronts his greatest 'battle', against the passing of time and memories."

Sounds like a cool concept! The songs are extended jams which range from mellow to reasonably rocking and employ plenty of gorgeous keyboard work. There is also a ton of tasteful guitar work including some guest sections from none other than Steve Hackett. As mentioned most of the album is instrumental but there are a few vocals, and L'Estate have brought in RPI legends Francesco di Giacomo and Bernardo Lanzetti. Saxophone, flute, and female wordless vocals are also used to luxurious effect. I would describe the compostiion as music that is "soaring" as if the soundtrack to footage shot from aircraft above rugged coastlines and the like. Relaxing and sometimes not gripping enough for my personal tastes, yet, there are certainly times when I would find it appealing. A well made, ambitious disc for fans of the refined progressive rock.

A live album of some theatrical music from this band who originates from the 1970s.

I love the story behind this album and I love the artwork. The music on the other hand falls frustratingly short of what I hoped for. Not by a long distance, but still short.

The music here is pretty mellow symphonic prog. Genesis is a good reference point. Genesis without the adventure you always found in their songs. Based on acoustic guitars as this music is, the keyboards adds some texture, but not as much as I had hoped for. My main gripe is the lack of some great songs and the pretty bad sound. Even being a live album, this album does not have a great sound. The details is lost in the mix somewhere. I believe the songs here was performed with a lot of finesse and details. They are lost here. The end result is frustration over a good album which could had been a lot more than a good album. The positives is that this is after all a good album and which may interest the RPI fan. I am a happy owner of this album. But........

3 stars

3.5 stars to be accurate...

After Il Castello di Atlante,Consorzio Acqua Potabile and Il Cerchio d'Oro,here is another case of a band,who performed in 70's Italy without releasing an official album.L'ESTATE DI SAN MARTINO came from Perugia and started as an acoustic/theatrical band under the name ''Alete''.In summer 1978 they represented the region of Umbria at a national music contest,held in Capri,and managed to release a promo single on RCA with the track ''Il bimbo e l'eroe'' (the second side belonged to another group called ''Gli Urbevetus'').From this time their sound became richer with the addition of keys and electric instruments,leading to a great concept work around a ffisherman,named Alder,performed live in 15 and 16 of December 1983 in Perugia.These recordings were collected and released in 2006 by BTF.

...and definitely they represent the band's most mature phase.The sound quality is great without any weaknesses.Despite the year of the recordings,this concept is heavily rooted in the Italian Symphonic Prog tradition.Mellow,pastoral and melodic progressive rock with light interplays and romantic vocals,a sound which I can't get enough of.Most of the tracks open with warm,gentle flute work in the vein of PFM or early-GENESIS,before developing into melodic Symphonic Rock with splendid acoustic guitars and nice synth/piano work.Mauro Formica,the bass player,seems to be a very important piece of the puzzle,as his bass lines lead the way in a heavy amount of instrumental passages in here.L'ESTATE DI SAN MARTINO offer also a good dose of dramatic instrumental work with a tight rhythm section battling with atmospheric synths and the flutes and this is what Italian Prog is all about.Vocals are great most of the time,without being too lyrical or expressive.Obvious comparisons are CELESTE,ERRATA CORRIGE,REALE ACADEMIA DI MUSICA or any other Italian soft Symph/folk-tinged prog band comes to your mind.

Without being a bit excessive or too complicated,''Alder'' manages to hold the listener's interest from the start to the very end and this is something difficult for a 70 min. album nowadays.Anyone into good,well-crafted progressive rock should purchase...not to mention that this is almost a must-have for Italian Classic Prog fans!