IL RISVEGLIO

Cooperative del latte has many things in common with the legendary '70s Italian bands. They dropped this one beautiful gem into our lap in 1998 and broke up just months later. Very sad because this is a wonderful little symphonic album that compares in quality with Finisterre and stands out among the 90s traditional prog albums. It hearkens back to the likes of PFM and Genesis with remarkable affection and without seeming cheesy or copycat-ish. In fact, despite their appeal to fans of '70s prog they have an original sound and their own quality songwriting. And with the more updated production and sharp performances the album is just mouthwatering to the ISP fan. "il risveglio" (The Awakening) is an apt title because the album emanates feelings of a long buried special time that are being unearthed for the prog fans of the late 90s. This band is certainly an important link that kept the traditions of Italian symphonic alive and moving forward. Mellow again shows their knack for finding music worth preserving. The band features the work of Gabriele Benfatto (guitar, vocals), Sergio Contin (bass, lead vocals), Claudio Farneti (drums, percussion, flute), and Pierluigi Piccoli (piano, synthesizers). It was recorded in 1998 at Sonica Studios in Rovereto.

Their sound derives from vintage ingredients to be sure: loads of vintage keyboards, piano, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, Italian vocals, and of course.flute! Themes range from the frail and beautiful to the bold and dramatic. The 10 minute "Contemplazione" features wonderful synth runs over acoustic guitars and mellotron. Vocals are quite average in quality, not among the Italian greats but certainly not poor as to hurt your enjoyment of the music.just decent enough. The band is not a showy one in terms of individual soloing, preferring to work in unison to achieve an atmospheric sound.as they say on their website "Right from the start the band aimed at the creation of a strictly personal music, trying to stir up the listener's emotions, without resorting to a strong musical impact. The essential means used, instead, to leave a trace that should last even after the listening, is the atmosphere of the melodies, together with their expressiveness." There is plenty of this expressive atmosphere on "Notta Volante" with its lengthy flute play and sparse arrangement early on, building to a nice PFM styled ending. "Il respiro dell'alba" is a real favorite of mine with gorgeous solo piano over flute and whispered voices. Then suddenly you hear vinyl scratches as someone throws on a favorite album and we hear a bit of the ending of a song. Their music is mostly introverted and non-confrontational. They rarely hit you over the head with it preferring simply to lead you to the water.

Cooperativa could perhaps be described as one of the missing link band of the 90s, those groups which passed on the '70s spirit to the bands of today, who with their new twist on this sound and modern technology are birthing the current fruitful period in Italian music, prog and otherwise. For me it's a definite keeper but 3 stars for this site because I think the title is of most interest to the ISP fans with only limited crossover potential. 7/10

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