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CELESTE

Rock Progressivo Italiano • Italy


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Celeste biography
Founded in Sanremo in 1972 - Disbanded in 1977 - Refounded in 2016

Very rare band from Italy, CELESTE's music features not by virtuosity or intricate compositions, rather, by melodic lines and dramatic passages. PFM could be underlined as a strong influence.

With its majestic Mellotron passages and restrained power, "Principe di un Giorno" (aka "Celeste") is one of the best so called "pastoral" albums in progressive rock, along with GENESIS's "Trespass" and PFM's "Per Un Amico". RECOMMENDED!!!

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CELESTE discography


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CELESTE top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.17 | 331 ratings
Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno]
1976
3.13 | 46 ratings
Celeste II
1991
2.90 | 32 ratings
I Suoni in una Sfera (OST)
1992
3.64 | 67 ratings
Il Risveglio Del Principe
2019
3.36 | 19 ratings
Il Principe del Regno Perduto
2020
4.67 | 3 ratings
Celeste with Celestial Symphony Orchestra
2022

CELESTE Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

CELESTE Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

CELESTE Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.24 | 22 ratings
1969-1977: The Complete Recordings
2010

CELESTE Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

CELESTE Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno] by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 1976
4.17 | 331 ratings

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Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno]
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars CELESTE was one of two bands that formed in Sanremo, Italy in 1972 following the disbanding of the group Il Sistema, the other being Museo Rosenbach which formed the exact same year. This group was the brainchild of Ciro Perrino (percussion, flute, mellotron, lead vocals) and Leonardo Lagorio (flute, sax and keyboards) who were joined by bassist Giorgio Santiano and took the complete opposite approach of Museo Rosenbach that delivered one of the most complex and demanding Italian prog albums of the entire 70s scene. Considered one of the most pastoral albums in the earliest prog years, CELESTE clearly adopted the sounds of early Genesis as did many Italian bands but accented the mellower parts even further thus making an entire album's worth of a style that many Italian prog bands were only using as introductory segments.

Recorded in 1973 - 74, CELESTE delivered a very light and breezy form of prog that offered softer chamber folk styled acoustic guitar parts with dreamy atmospheres courtesy of the soaring psychedelic atmospheres created by the synthesizers and mellotrons. While the bass and percussive parts are found throughout the album, they too are completely on mellow mode and only used to contrast with the almost new age styled melodies that were clearly inspired by the better known Italian bigwigs such as PFM, Banco and Le Orme. Sounding something like Anthony Phillips' late 70s albums such as "The Geese & The Ghost," CELESTE looked more towards the mellowest moments that early Genesis had to offer and left all the knotty time signatures and bombast behind.

The album CELESTE wasn't released until 1976, a bit after the initial Italian prog boom and didn't find a second released until archival material in the form of "II" emerged in 1991. The album has been nicknamed "Principe di Giorno" after the album's title track. The original album featured eight tracks at just over 37 minutes playing time but subsequent releases have offered varying numbers of bonus tracks with the 2020 digital streaming version featuring a whopping sixteen which effectively doubles the number and playing time. This is a true slow burner with soft arpeggiated acoustic guitars, lush flute melodies and beautiful classical piano rolls. While considered symphonic prog by some, it is more a form of symphonic prog folk since the music never really takes off into the world of rock even at its most feisty which would be moments when the saxophone parts can be heard on tracks like "Giochi Nella Notte."

The music is so pastoral that it makes you think of a soundtrack in some distant past in a quaint quiet village unaffected by any outside influences and despite being in the middle of one of the most sophisticated musical movements in the history of recorded music, CELESTE managed to completely drift off into a world of its own making where only fluffy clouds and zephyr winds gently blowing forest canopy provided any inspiration. Resembling non-Italian bands such as Quebec's Harmonium, the English Mellow Candle and of course early Genesis and Anthony Phillips, CELESTE surely must have stood out from the more complex and brash bands that populated the 1970s Italian scene. Despite these differences, the style is clearly rooted in that classic Italian symphonic prog sound but just set to acoustic mode. The lyrics are completely in Italian and eschew the turbulent topics of politics and rather craft an uplifting even triumphant soundtrack.

This one took a while for me to warm up to as i much prefer the whole enchilada effect that not only implement these soft and lush passages but take things into the world of heavier rock and beyond replete with mind numbing technicalities but after a few spins of this one, it's admittedly a bit hard to resist these soul piercing melodies that are polished to perfection with gorgeous compositions fortified with a beautifully woven tapestry of guitar, bass, flute, piano, violin, saxophone and tons of synthesizers including the mellotron. Definitely one of the most distinct and accomplished mellower albums from the 70s prog scene and probably one of the only examples to emerge out of Italy.

 Il Risveglio Del Principe by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.64 | 67 ratings

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Il Risveglio Del Principe
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nš 569

For whatever reason, Italy has been a country with a great tradition in music. Therefore it's not surprising the immediate success of the prog rock in the 70's. The introduction into the prog of the typical forms of the Italian music style gave to it a special packaging. There are three bands that have always monopolized the Italian prog scene. Le Orme, Premiata Forneria Marconi and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso enjoyed some success brilliantly practicing a spectrum of prog that was divided between the delicacy of Genesis, the poignant airs of King Crimson and the irreverence of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. To the shoulders of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, all them published English editions of some of their works. But, other bands saw their commercial expectations somewhat restricted. Many had also a high quality, but they never were able or had the opportunity to have the success of those three Italian prog acts. One of those many cases is Celeste.

It was the idyllic coastal setting of Sanremo, with its warm Mediterranean climate, which gave birth to two of the most wonderful Italian progressive rock bands of the early 70's. Of course I'm talking about Celeste and Museo Rosenbach whose music still inspires and encaptivates our longing to recapture that early 70's period. Celeste was founded in 1972 and released their eponymous debut album, "Celeste" aka "Principe Di Un Giorno", in 1976. The music on the album is often described as pastoral prog rock with very mellow compositions and with some medieval and jazzy influences, embellished with a lush instrumentation, acoustic guitars, flute, saxophone, and topped with some wonderful Mellotron layers, like early King Crimson and The Moody Blues. That's a progressive album about beauty and it's always gentle.

More than forty years have passed since the release of "Principe Di Un Giorno" and Celeste got back to the original project in 2016 with a vastly changed line up. Now, we have their new studio album, "Il Risveglio Del Principe". The founding member Ciro Perrino is still on board with his excellent vocal work and the wide array of vintage keyboards.

On "Il Risveglio Del Principe", Celeste has remained true to the spirit and atmospheric feel of the early 70's sound and in particular to their debut. The entire musical score is beautifully constructed with stratum upon stratum of laid-back and gently swaying symphonic music. Many subsequent forays are needed to absorb and fully appreciate the subtle and deft instrumental interplay between all musicians. The collaboration between the various lead instruments and vocal arrangements are fascinating. We are treated to a great array of many different introductory sounds. There's an abundance of drama created within the music, the essence of which is the clever duets of interchanging lead instruments, flute, cello, violin and saxophone over a backdrop of melodic swirling keyboards. The vocals, too varying from fully projected voice and other background fills are beautifully delivered with much warmth and panache in Italian.

"Qual Fior Di Loto" opens with the reciting voice of a child. It includes beautiful acoustic prog with delicate vocals and nice Mellotron, acoustic guitars and flute parts. This is a beautiful and relaxing opening track. On "Bianca Vestale" the Mellotron strings are great, the flute weaving in and out with the violin, at times jazzy, at times folky, but in the end pure grandiose progressive rock as only an Italian band can deliver. "Statue Di Sale" starts with some majestic piano before the Mellotron kicks in, with a little help from violin and flute, making for some tremendous musical ear candy. Add a sax solo and you have one of the albums highlights. "Principessa Oscura" is a nice music piece with great violin and flute melodies, delicate acoustic guitars and nice angelical vocal parts. Again the beautiful flute and Mellotron are presents. On "Fonte Perenne" drums, violin, acoustic guitar and Mellotron offer sumptuous, dramatic and beautiful sounds to add to enchanting vocals. A bit of Mini-Moog also appears along with a sax and a jazzy electric guitar. "Giardini Di Pietra" has a nice opening with gentle Mellotron strings. Great flute melodies and some piano parts are contrasting with the classical atmosphere of the acoustic and Mellotron strings. The sax and flute are featured mightily on "Falsi Piani Lontani". But, we have also some piano Hammond, acoustic guitars, violin and of course, the ever present Mellotron.

Conclusion: "Il Risveglio Del Principe" has beautiful melodies, excellent sound quality, and vocals perfectly matching the music. It's an album for the progressive rock fan looking for easy to listen to music, calm and relaxing. This is an album full of delicate and pastoral prog perfectly in the same vein of of their album of the 70's, "Principe Di Un Giorno". It's full of beautiful melodies and played by a bunch of talented musicians. The album is beautifully recorded and has no weak points. This is one of those albums where the music is just so beautiful that your heart will ache with emotion and delight. Nothing overly complex, loud, fast, or aggressive to be found here, just lush, enchanting music by an Italian prog act that we should all be very happy that they're coming back. This is a consistent album that will be a must for Celeste fans and fans of RPI in general. If you like the the melllow side of progressive rock you will love this album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno] by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 1976
4.17 | 331 ratings

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Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno]
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

5 stars Review Nš 568

As almost all prog fans know, the progressive rock music was almost an Anglo-Saxonic phenomenon in the 70's. But, it was especially a British phenomenon, in spite of some names that appeared in USA. However, there were many other interesting cases all over the Europe. We can especially mention cases that appeared in Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, despite many other interesting cases, some of them that ppeared in an unexpect place, I mean the East Europe, especially in Hungary and Yugoslavia. But, of course, we can't forget the Latin American countries and the Canada, especially the Quebec. But, above all, we must especially mention a European country, Italy. I think that once I read that someone said that there are probably much more Italian prog bands than Italian prog fans.

Towards the end of the 60's, the Sanremo group Il Sistema, was one of the first to spread the prog rock in Italy, even though it had never recorded a single LP. Not only the guitarist Enzo Merogno who later formed Museo Rosenbach in 1971, but also the drummer Ciro Perrino and the keyboardist/flutist player Leonardo Lagorio who, with Mariano Schiavolini, guitar and violin, and Giorgio Battaglia, bassist, were part of that historical formation and gave birth to the band Celeste in 1972. After about a year of work in which Celeste prepared an amount of tracks, in 1974 the quartet entered in the recording studios and recorded an album. However, for some reason (probably due to problems with the record label), the album was only released in 1976 when the progressive rock wave was running out. In any case, and certainly due to that, 'Celeste', also known as 'Principe Di Un Giorno', was released with the band already dissolved.

The intention of Celeste was to aim of deepening those musical spaces that had only been touched with Il Sistema, the more classic and acoustic ones. The melodies sought were not those from across the channel, because that had to be 'Mediterranean', manifesting the firm intention of regaining their own strong identity, a kind of an identity of the South European music. This led to the idea of creating less rock and a bit more symphonic music. The result is a dreamlike atmosphere that permeates the entire album, a sense of lightness that accompanies listening. Even the texts written by Perrino are poetic and dreamy. Thanks to their previous experiences, their musical culture and the excellent skills of all musicians, they've managed to create a very innovative and different product, where the 'classic' instrumentation, guitar, flute, piano, violin, sax, bass, percussion, mixes perfectly well with the electronic parts, Mellotron and synths.

The sound of a Mellotron opens and closes the title track. The delicacy and lightness present in the entire album are perfectly shown on this song with an excellent fusion between voice, guitar and flute, especially on the first part of the piece. The second part flows slightly along the lines of the first one. 'Favole Antiche' has an electronic start with the support of a vocalization. Soon the dreamy atmosphere takes over the track with the flute and xylophone between voices and laughter in the background, underlined by the organ and a choir. The ending is entrusted above all to the piano. 'Eftus' starts with voices and flute. The continuation of the piece is a skilful mix of flute, guitar and bass, with the use, for a short stretch of the synth. The use of the flute is nice, never too loud nor boring or tedious. 'Giochi Nella Notte' continues the sense of the album. Around the second minute, the sax stands as the driver, compared to what Celeste was getting used us. But, everything comes together very soon with the entrance of the whole band. Only in the last part of the track, vocals take over the control. 'La Grande Isola' starts directly with the voices to flow, with a crescendo, in a suggestive game between Mellotron and synth. After this, as happened on 'Giochi Nella Notte', after the 'storm', we return to peace by the sound waves of Celeste. In the end the synth returns. 'La Danza Del Fato' begins with space sounds. It might almost seem like the beginning of an experimental song, but it doesn't, really. The trademark of the Celeste is felt immediately with the guitar and the flute, above all. The very short track 'L'Imbroglio' closes the album. The guitar, the tambourine and the flute give a sense of a 'medieval' feeling to the composition.

Conclusion: Celeste released a very beautiful and pleasant album that ranks among the best releases from the Italian 70's progressive rock scene. They're a four piece that consisted of guitar, bass, flute, Mellotron and some synths. There are no drums, and the music is always very quiet and atmospheric. In fact, it's undeniable that its weaves of Baroque bows and woodwinds can leave a good flavour to those who mainly ask for moments of peace and serenity from the music. It's a very beautiful and romantic album, layered with Mellotrons and synthesizers to give it a huge, rich of the 70's atmosphere. The songs are brilliantly crafted and show just how profound a symphonic album could be at its most gentle and tranquil. It has great vocals too. It's an absolute gem, an overlooked classic that deserves a place among the best Italian releases of the classic period. This is a worthwhile listen, especially if you're into the Italian 70's prog scene.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Il Risveglio Del Principe by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.64 | 67 ratings

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Il Risveglio Del Principe
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by sensedatum

4 stars Oh yes! "Il risveglio del principe" (The prince re-awakes) is a quite appropiate title for this album. You can hear remembrances of their first album "Principe di un giorno": slow, mellow songs with nice melodies. Almost exclusive use of acoustic instruments: flute, recorder, sax, violin, cello, guitars, piano, voices, and extensive use of mellotron (not an acoustic instrument, but it sounds like one, isnt it?), and yes, the occasional synth line. Fortunately (at least for me) they keep singing in italian.

Not a gem like their first album, but nonetheless a good follow-up. Though one criticism I may have is a sometimes sloppy drumming. If you did like "Principe di un giorno", you will like this one, just dont make your expectations too high.

 Il Principe del Regno Perduto by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.36 | 19 ratings

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Il Principe del Regno Perduto
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "Il Principe del Regno Perduto" is the 5th full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through Mellow Records in December 2020. Itīs the successor to "Il Risveglio Del Principe" from 2019, and marks the bandīs second album after their comeback in 2016 (after disbanding in 1977).

Stylistically "Il Principe del Regno Perduto" pretty much continue the mellow and pleasant sounding progressive rock style of "Il Risveglio Del Principe" (2019). Itīs an ambient, soft, and atmospheric type of progressive rock, featuring flute, saxophone, piano, loads of vintage keyboards/synths (mellotron in particular play a dominant role), subdued Italian language vocals, violin, and acoustic and electric guitars. Itīs all well composed, well performed, and "Il Principe del Regno Perduto" is a well produced affair too. Unfortunately it has the same issue as "Il Risveglio Del Principe" (2019) had, and thatīs a relatively lifeless rhythm section. There are a few moments where the drums are a little more lively here than on the preceding album, but they have a tendency to just plod along to the music without leaving much impact, and itīs a bit of a shame and it becomes a minor issue along the way.

"Il Principe del Regno Perduto" is a relatively lengthy release, featuring 7 tracks and a total playing time of 62:44 minutes, which includes the 24:28 minutes long "L'Ultimo Viaggio del Principe". Itīs an album loaded with pleasant and tranquill moments of velvet sounds and atmospheres, and it is overall a smooth listen. Sometimes itīs almost a bit too pleasant though and lacking attitude, which means that it sometimes ends up being pleasant background music instead of an album they you pay attention to. Some of the saxophone parts for example have a tendency to sound like something out of a cheap 80s movie soundtrack.

So upon conclusion "Il Principe del Regno Perduto" is an album featuring both great elements, but unfortunately also elements which arenīt that interesting and if I have to compare it to the predecessor, Iīd say itīs a step down in quality in terms of intriguing songwriting and memorable moments. Itīs not a bad release by any means, but I hope for a more stripped down and conscise release next time. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

 Il Risveglio Del Principe by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.64 | 67 ratings

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Il Risveglio Del Principe
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "Il Risveglio Del Principe" is the 4th full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through Mellow Records in 2019. Itīs the successor to "I Suoni In Una Sfera" from 1992 and itīs the first Celeste release to feature material not recorded in the 70s. Both "II" (1991) and "I Suoni In Una Sfera" (1992) features archive material recorded in the 70s.

Stylistically itīs obvious that Celeste have aimed for a mellow and pleasant sounding progressive rock style, which is similar in sound to their 1976 debut album. They succeed some of the way as "Il Risveglio Del Principe" is a beautiful and tranquill sounding release, featuring a longing melancholic atmosphere and the occasional more epic moment. Subdued Italian language vocals, flute, saxophone, cello, violin, acoustic guitars (and the occasional use og electric guitars too), and loads of mellotron and other vintage keyboard/synth sounds. The influences are both from 70s progressive rock (early Genesis in particular), classical music, folk rock, and a slight touch of jazz. That part of the music is generally well composed, well performed, and well produced.

Where "Il Risveglio Del Principe" doesnīt succeed as well and where it differs in sound from the iconic debut album, is the omnipresence of drums. An instrument only rarely heard on the debut album. Itīs not in itself an issue that "Il Risveglio Del Principe" features drums, but the fact that they arenīt that interesting and just seem to plod along is. Drums could have added a lot to the album, but instead they become a tedious element. They are a bit low in the mix and donīt feature the most interesting production either, so unfortunately that part of the music leaves a bit to be desired.

Other than the relatively lifeless drumming, "Il Risveglio Del Principe" is a high class progressive rock album, so if you can look past that issue, Celeste have crafted a great comeback album. So many years down the line and they still sound like themselves. Iīm impressed by the strong identity of the band and how they are able to release something of this quality. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

 I Suoni in una Sfera (OST) by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 1992
2.90 | 32 ratings

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I Suoni in una Sfera (OST)
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "I Suoni In Una Sfera" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through Mellow Records in 1992. Tracks 1-9 were recorded in February 1974 (all composed by Ciro Perrino) and some sources say they formed a part of the soundtrack for a motion picture titled "I suoni in una sfera" written and directed by Enry Fiorini. I have neither found proof of the existence of the movie nor the director, so until Iīm made wiser, Iīm not sure they exist. What I do know, is that the tracks are selections from two various artists compilation albums released by Magma records in 1976 ("Musica Del Mare" and "Sensazioni D'Estate"). Tracks 10-12 are unreleased recordings from Celesteīs vault. Two of them are demo recordings of "Eftus" and "Favole Antiche", which are both tracks which appeared on Celesteīs 1976 debut album in completed studio versions.

Although the existence of the "I suoni in una sfera" movie may be disputed, tracks 1-9 on the album do feature a soundtrack atmosphere. They are subdued and relatively simple progressive rock tracks, using elements from both classical music and folk. As the material were written and recorded around the same time as the material which ended up on Celesteīs debut album, there are of course some similarities, but "I Suoni In Una Sfera" is generally slightly less interesting than the material featured on the debut album. Itīs warm, organic, and mellow progressive rock, but itīs also slightly uneventful and at times bordering repetitive, which of course makes sense if the material were recorded to be used as a soundtrack to a movie.

The ambient nature of the music probably wonīt please every progressive rock fan out there, but if you crave something nice and soothing on the ears and just want to relax and not have to think and analyse too much on what you hear, "I Suoni In Una Sfera" is a great little album. Sure at times it has a tendency to become background music, but itīs not a major issue and most of the time the pleasant organic instrumentation and the simple pretty melodies save the day. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

 Celeste II by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 1991
3.13 | 46 ratings

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Celeste II
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "II" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through M.M. Records Productions in 1991. The original release features 4 relatively lengthy tracks, but a 1993 reissue by Mellow Records titled "Second Plus" adds quite a few bonus tracks to the album, making it a 12 track, 71:18 minutes long release. The tracks on the 1991 version of album were recorded at Perrino Studio, Sanremo (Spring-Summer 1976). The 1991 version was limited to 300 vinyl copies. Iīm not sure the additional material from the 1993 version of the album were all recorded during the same time period, but most of the those tracks seem a little unfinished, and in some cases they still appear to be in a demo state (some of those tracks are demo parts of the longer tracks). Actually all the material on the album have an unpolished and jam like nature to it, which makes sense since (at least the four longer tracks), where recorded in 1976 shortly before Celeste disbanded in 1977, and were probably demos of material, which would have appeared on their sophomore album, had such as thing been released in the 70s.

Those familiar with Celesteīs eponymously titled debut album from 1976 (also known under the title "Principe di un Giorno"), will know that itīs a mellow, intriguing, and subdued progressive rock album, featuring a consistent flow and atmosphere. Thatīs not exactly the case with this sophomore album though, which is a bit more diverse in style. While there are still plently of soft mellotron moments ("Il Giardino Armonico" and "Lontano profondo" are for example deluxe mellotron heaven), beautiful acoustic guitars, flute and saxophone, many of the tracks sound like either short unfinished jams, or longer jams. Celeste even break out of their comfort zone and play some jazz rock/fusion styled tracks. So does that make for at consistent listen? No not really...but itīs still a pretty interesting release, loaded with creative ideas, which unfortunately ended up not fully developed. The recording quality is also a bit up and down, as some of the tracks are obviously demos while others are studio recordings, but itīs actually less disrupting for the flow of the album than it could have been, but that ultimately boils down to the high quality of the material. You canīt keep quality down, even with a murky demo sound quality (which really isnīt as bad sounding, as it may sound).

So upon conclusion "II" is more a compilation of rare and unreleased material than an actual studio album with tracks recorded for this particular release. It does have the effect that itīs an inconsistent album and a diverse listen, which could confuse some listeners, and I wouldnīt recommend starting your Celeste journey here. Still there are enough quality tracks and ideas here to warrant a 3.5 star (70%) rating in my book, and it speaks volumes of how great Celeste were in the 70s, when an unfinished product can still be this interesting.

 Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno] by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 1976
4.17 | 331 ratings

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Celeste [Aka: Principe Di Un Giorno]
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars "Celeste" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through Grog Records in 1976. The material featured on the album was however already recorded in 1974. To some the album is known under the title "Principe di un Giorno", but that title wasnīt applied to the album until the 2009 AMS label reissue of the album. Celeste was founded in 1972, but some of the members had been active in the late 60s/early 70s in a band called Il Sistema along with future members of Museo Rosenbach, so they werenīt completely new to performing or recording. This debut album was their only official release before they disbanded in 1977, although some of their material (not featured on this album), was used on a contemporary soundtrack album ("I suoni in una sfera" from 1974, which may or may not exist depending on the source), and on a couple of various artists compilations released by Magma records in 1976 ("Musica Del Mare" and "Sensazioni D'Estate"). Most of the material from those recordings were released as Celesteīs third full-length studio album "I Suoni In Una Sfera" from 1992.

Stylistically the material on this self-titled debut album are sophisticated, mellow, and beautiful symphonic progressive rock. Itīs incredibly tasteful and features a pleasant tranquill sound, which is both progressive in nature and at times also leans on folk/medieval elements (I hear elements from classical music and church music here too). Flute, saxophone, piano, acoustic guitars, subdued clean singing (in Italian), and epic mellotron moments wash over the listener in waves of velvet beaty. The use of Drums and percussion and bass are very restrained, but there are some moments on the album, which are a little louder and rhythmic in nature. They arenīt many though and this is overall a very mellow, ambient, and pleasant sounding release. Thereīs drama here, but itīs in the details and Celeste have carefully composed those moments to work as climaxes and in some instances surprising adventurous moments to spice up the compositions.

The album features a detailed, organic, and pleasant sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. Itīs an incredibly well sounding release, which is smooth on the ears and stress relieving on the mind. The word tasteful comes to mind at all times during listening to the album. The subdued musical performances, the organic sounding production, and the clever and intriguing songwriting. They are all high class feautures, which combined means that this is an excellent progressive rock album in the more mellow end of the spectrum (Iīd mention Canadian contemporaries Harmonium as a valid reference). A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

 Il Principe del Regno Perduto by CELESTE album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.36 | 19 ratings

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Il Principe del Regno Perduto
Celeste Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by TenYearsAfter

3 stars This Italian band was founded in 1972 and released its highly acclaimed debut LP entitled Principe Di Un Giorno in 1976. The music is often described as pastoral prog: very mellow, embellished with a lush instrumentation, including lots of wonderful Mellotron layers, like early King Crimson and The Moody Blues. In 1991 Mellow Records released Celeste II (with songs written just before the band call it a day in 1977) and in 1992 I Suoni In Una Sfera (1974 material, meant as a soundtrack). In 2016 Celeste was refounded as a four piece formation, featuring multi- instrumentalist Ciro Perrino as the only original member. In 2019 this line-up released a new album entitled Il Risveglio Del Principe, still pastoral prog, but superior to its Seventies music, more elaborate and varied. I am sure fans of Anthony Phillips, Gandalf and the mellow side of early Genesis and The Moody Blues will be pleased with this very tasteful prog featuring pleasant Italian vocals and an omnipresent Mellotron. One year later Celeste releases the successor entitled Il Principe Del Regno Perduto, as a six-piece formation with additional guest musicians. The prime mover is keyboard player Ciro Perrino with an impressive array of analogue keyboards: the unsurpassed Mellotron, a Solina - and Elka string-ensemble, the Farfisa - and Hammond organ, and Minimoog, ARP 2600 and ARP Odyssey synthesizers.

The sound on this new Celeste album is similar to the previous effort from 2019, but the saxophone has a more important role. Most of the 7 compositions deliver the distinctive Celeste pastoral prog: very melodic and harmonic, dreamy atmospheres and slow rhythm, warm male and female vocals, and wonderfully coloured by often the flute, acoustic guitar, Mellotron violins, spacey synthesizer flights and tender piano. Some tracks contain a folky flavour, due to the use of the duduk and tin-whistle, a pleasant variety. The most dynamic track is Il Passaggio Di Un Gigante Gentile: it starts with classical piano, then a slow rhtyhm with mellow saxophone and the duduk, gradually the music turns into more lush featuring a fluent rhythm-section. The highlight on this new album is the epic L'Ultimo Viaggio del Principe (close to 25 minutes), it contains a wide range of instruments. From twanging acoustic guitar, flute, piano, string-ensemble, Mellotron violins and the duduk to a sparkling violin solo, a male choir singing in Latin, a female opera voice, saxophone and violin. In the final part soft synthesizer drops and acoustic guitar, the soaring string-ensemble sound, and in the end intense Mellotron violin work, simply wonderful.

If you are into laidback prog (like the mellow side of early Genesis and Camel) this new album is a pleasant musical experience.

My rating: 3,5 star.

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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