LA FORESTA

I LEONI were a trio from Northern Italy who left us with only one album (surprise) back in 1971. The cover art is pretty intersting, but even more interesting is the fact that Enrico Riccardi wrote all the lyrics and all the music yet he wasn't even a performing member of the band ! I'm assuming that it's his brother Carlo on keys and vocals while we also have a drummer and bassist.There is some guest female vocals as well. My biggest complaint is that half the songs are ballad-like, and I understand they did release a couple of singles which doesn't surprise me because some of these are definitely radio friendly. On the other hand there is some really good music here where they branch out (haha) and offer up some proggy ideas and passages.

"L'Alba" opens with slowly played piano as accordion and drums join in. Reserved vocals a minute in.The tempo picks up before 2 minutes with piano leading the way. "Il Rinoceronte" opens with piano that builds quickly then stops as flute takes over. Fragile vocals and piano follow. A fuller sound 1 1/2 minutes in with drums and bass although it's still ballad-like. Organ befroe 2 1/2 minutes. Themes are repeated. Female vocal melodies later with organ is a nice touch. "Jena Ridens" is darker and heavier with some sinister organ and pounding drums. I like it ! Vocals come in with passion this time, and I like the drumwork here as well. "Lo Stregone" is a cool song with lots of percussion and organ. Some spoken words 1 1/2 minutes in. "L'Incendio" is another ballad-like tune with piano and vocals. Organ later.

"Le Scimmie" opens with what sounds like a party going on as percussion and guitar come in. Flute and bass follow. Some distorted keys on this one 1 1/2 minutes in. Trippy stuff man. "La Rugiada" is another ballad-like tune although it's pretty good. "La Giraffe" is one of my favourites with that good rhythm and the vocals sound better. Some fuzz too. It turns into an uptempo jam before 3 1/2 minutes and then ends abruptly. "Sesse" has this catchy beat with vocals. This is a fun song as he sings the letters of the song title in the chorus. Check out the percussion, flute and drums late. "Il Tramonto" opens with slowly played piano before female vocal melodies come in. Drums arrive as the sound gets fuller. Bass 2 minutes in followed by accordion.

This is a good album, I just wished they tried to be more adventerous and taken out most of the ballads. Still I can see this album getting a lot of 4 star ratings because it's fun and very well done.