FROM THE TREASURE BOX

Every once in a while an album clubs my cynical side into submission, and while he is unconscious, appeals to the wide-eyed lover of life that still lives in my heart. "From the Treasure Box" is one such album. Greenwall is a band led by composer and keyboardist Andrea Pavoni, a self-taught musician who began writing material at age 9 and playing organ at age 12. His influences are classical music and bands like PFM, Banco, and Orme, and you can hear those influences all over the recent effort "From the Treasure Box." The album is a collection of ideas from the mid 1980s that were given new life with additional composition present day and then recorded in Rome. To my ears the music is very classy modern symphonic progressive with some fusion, classical music, and neo-prog influences, and for me brings to mind the work of Fabio Antonelli's Mindflower and L'Estate di San Martino. All three bands bring some very elegant, stately, mature approaches to their sound while still leaving room for fun and excitement. For those not familiar with the above mentioned Italian groups a different comparison of general style might be 90s Oldfield albums like TB2 or TB3....not suggesting Greenwall "sounds" like Mike but rather that the grandiosity and care of composition is surely there. Another similar project would be Beppe Crovella's Tower...if you liked that you can be sure to appreciate this. Before discussing the music, two things must be mentioned right up front. First, for art lovers, the Vinyl Magic mini-LP sleeve is an absolute must. The art and packaging are simply fabulous with a gorgeous gatefold and the whimsical, fantastic artwork of Serena Riglietti gracing the lyrics booklet. They also provide a second lyric booklet in English-useful for getting the gist of what the song is about even as the concepts rarely translate all that effectively. Pavoni was wise to stick with Italian singing where the awkward translations do not reduce the impact as I've witnessed with other bands who try to use English. The second thing is the superb sound quality which for which Pavoni credits his Pro-Tools software for aiding the process.

The songs themselves carried a wealth of thrills and chills for me. Pavoni and De Donno (not sure who plays on what) do a spectacular job with keys ranging from modern synth sounds of several varieties to lovely piano. The vocalist for most of the album is Michela Botti and she sings like an angel, very emotional and lovely. Ciliberti's bass is often loud and thumping which I love and Monetta's drumming is commanding indeed. Occasionally the rhythm sounds can get a bit programmed and nightclub-sounding but only some tracks and frankly, they work for the most part quite well with the Greenwall sound. Guitarist Riccardo Sandri is reserved and doesn't have a ton of solos but look out when he does peels one off like at the end of "Pollicino," an exceptional and fluid lead. His leads on "Dondolando" are just pure joy as they dance with Michela's beautiful singing. This is followed by a gorgeous short instrumental with flute and acoustic, called "La Gabbia." And then there is "Preludio to the End" which is half the album, an epic clocking in at over 26 minutes! Does it live up to its Topographic-length aspirations? For me it certainly does, a carnival at night, a smorgasbord of keyboard delicacies. Lots of different sections come and go with interesting bridges and progressions. Guests contributing to Treasure Box include Sophya Baccini (of Presence), Pierpaolo Ferroni, Pierpaolo Ranieri, Alessandro Tomei, and Francesco Chillemi. The case might be made against "Treasure Box" by some that portions are overblown or that the sound may be too sentimental or "cheesy" for fans used to harder-edged metal and neo bands but as with L'Estate di San Martino, I had too much fun to care about my cynical side. I really loved this release both for the enthusiastic music, wondrous artwork, and overall vision. I recommend this album to fans of classical music, keyboard-loaded modern prog, and more mature composition (again, think 90s Oldfield), and good-natured, upbeat rock music. In Lise's bio of this band written after their second album, the last sentence of paragraph two says "If this band ever releases a third album that combines the compositional inspiration of the first with the technical polish of the latter, we'll definitely have a winner on our hands." Bingo. 7/10

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