I enjoyed PFM, Banco, and one-shots Museo Rosenbach(Zarathustra), and Alphatarus. I even enjoy Le Orme in a way with the spacey keyboards of Tony Pagliuca and the warm vocals of Aldo Tagliapietra. 

However, groups like Il Balleto di Bronzo and L'Uovo di Colombo turn me off from this music due to mainly how weak the songwriting can be on occasion(for me at least). Il Balleto di Bronzo sounds too harsh and also a lot of forgettable instrumental sections(except for the ending of Epilogo) and L'Uovo di Colombo just kinda sound typical. There are also parts where it just seems like they are rocking out over one chord.

PFM's La Carozza Di Hans is pretty good for the most part, but I always found the acoustic guitar solo rather lacking. Both my brother and I agree that we could play just as well as Franco Mussida did on that one track. Matter of fact Steve Howe did something like it better on Tales from Topographic Oceans(Giants Under The Sun).  

As a guitar player myself, the stuff the typical RPI musicians are playing does not really sound virtuosic and can often sound like noodles boiling. I found myself being able to play better. However, I also found myself to be rather influenced by some of this. 

The sad thing is that I once saw this type of music as magical but now I kind of see it as mediocre and see the RPI scene as mostly a novelty act for me. 

Although I am saying that there is a lot of noodling in Italian Prog music, there is still some really good lines in the music. Most notably: The last 8 minutes of the Zarathustra suite, the 6/8 melody trade-off in Banco's Metamorphosi, or especially the synthesizer interlude in PFM's Il Banchetto. 

Maybe in 3 months, RPI will completely wane in my head and then instead of Banco and PFM, Federico Fellini will instead become my favorite Italian artist. He even cast Francesco di Giacomo in several of his movies. 

"Justify" implies that I have to defend myself, like I have to win an argument, prove I'm right or something, which it's not the case here. 

Justify this !

Also, once in a while a little over-the-top theatric bombast is welcome (even needed).

I think Saperlipopette should be the one justifying his approach to what people think is art. He is the Jerk Store's No 1 Seller. 

Ok so my approach to art is that if the piece is able to touch you in a way then you can remember the piece for doing so. I do not believe there is good or bad music, cinema, literature, or anything. Some music that one conceives as crappy could also be conceived as moving to the next person. Art could be able to be involved in your life in a helpful stand point and could often show you the "rights and wrongs" of the world. I enjoy all types of music from rock, jazz, afrobeat, country, folk, and even exotica. Italian Prog Rock is just a small field when compared to the millions of other pieces of art in the world. So. Relax. 

I am not expecting them to play virtuosically all the time. Matter of fact I hate when a group plays so virtuosically that I do not really hear any music and just a bunch of showmanship. With a lot of Italiano, I hear mediocre production that kind of takes from the music. I also feel like I am listening to an album and nothing else. I still appreciate other forms of music however. 

"

Hi,

Reminds me of the big thing done by Picasso in the city of Chicago ... and many people pass by it, and don't really discuss anything ... like it or don't is all you hear, and occasionally how much did they pay him, anyway?

I like a lot of different music and art, and Italian is not the only one ... sort of like asking why do you like Puccini, instead of Wagner ... it really makes no sense what the answer will be since the majority has no merit from a musical or artistic point of view.

I like the "symphonic" style in a lot of Italian bands, and how they went for it with a classical idea and style for a long time, until it all just became "songs". To me, the classical influence is very visible, and many times it is not just a jingle or a fun bit ... it's serious. Banco is the best example. That's well defined and formulated music in their first 3 albums, for sure!

Italian speaking is immediately associated with singing. Italy is a country that has always taken music very seriously, and has found a home in progressive rock. Music that is optimistic, elaborate, airy, deep, dramatic and technical.

The best RPI albums contain some of the most symphonic material I have ever heard in progressive rock. It's as if the musicians' veins were slides where the sounds of the wind instruments flow and fly over them.

Each of us is looking for something different in art, despite how much we like to find content of artistic and compositional quality regardless of its message. In my case, I am looking for music that leads me on the path of good and inspiration, and perhaps RPI is the most suitable sub-genre for that.

Even if I'm Italian I'm not really a fan of RPI as a genre, but as somebody else has written, if I like something I don't care where it's from.

But one element that should not be missed is the lyrics. Usually Italian bands care a lot about the lyrics. A serious Italian band will never write anything like "cockataye taye toka" (I love Jon Anderson and YES despite the lyrics)