VOCI

1. "Preludio" (7:35) firm piano opening joined by violin and, later, Mellotron. At 2:10 the tempo slows and cello and bass join in. Not the most memorable melody nor very complex music. At the end of the fourth minute electric guitar joins the weave before drums enter and solidify the rock nature of this music at 4:25. Bombast that is over- the-top and, at the same time, not very impressive. As a matter of fact, no instrumentalist really wows or even impresses. The weave itself is even fairly mundane until the six minute mark when the bass and drums switch into an odd tempo (off and on). Nothing very special here. (10.5/15)

2. "Promenade I" (4:45) opens with a ELP sound, feel and tempo, add the violin and you have something a little different. In the first part of the second minute everything shifts to a little solo harpsichord section--over two minutes of this! Supreme cheese. At 3:21 the keyboardist switches to organ and the rest of the band joins in. Violin and electric guitar get a little foreplay before organ tries a Keith Emerson solo from beneath the full-band weave. And then it just stops. A tough song to rate. (7.75.10)

3. "Promenade II" (6:19) the Keith Emerson imitation is so blatant that it's almost sad. Luciano does a pretty good job here as a KE imitator but brings nothing new, innovative, or even very impressive to the table. (8/10)

4. "Voci" (10:52) what amounts to a rock-band embellished KEITH JARRETT- or GEORGE WINSTON-like solo piano piece (pretty!) turns awesome at 5:12 when electric guitars (2) and drums join in. Wow! was that unexpected, powerful, and beautiful! But then they kind of wear it out. Finally at 6:20 the full band kicks in, almost leaving the piano in its own room. It feels like the first time the band was allowed to be themselves. And it's so short-lived as its broken down into more of a string quartet support for this syrupy demonstration of classical piano skills. At 9:10 the band gets another chance to join in, but this time it falls flat--the piano is too insistent, to domineering to let anything else have its own voice. The music switches at 10:20 for 30 seconds of rock finale. Another song that is very difficult to rate as a whole because of some outstanding parts and some real flops. (17/20)

5. "Echo" (9:17) opens with organ and choir, sounding like a modern day New Age church service (e.g. The Polyphonic Spree). Piano and strings and Mellotron strings take over in the second minute. 'tron and lap slide electric guitar in the third minute are joined by drums, "ah" choir vocalise, and organ. At 3:47 the song shifts gears into a faster tempo simplistic jazz-rock piece. There is something rather refreshing (or Mike Oldfield-like) in the mixing of church organ, slide guitar, and choral voices with the rock backbeat. If only the song structure and solos weren't so simplistic, scripted, and reserved. (18/20)

Total Time: 38:08

Nice recording of what amounts to nothing more than a tribute to Keith Emerson--a fair, solid exposition but nothing special or innovative. This imitation of KE is fairly rudimentary and as if following a by-the-numbers script.

3.5 stars; a great representative of the lure that progressive rock had for Italian musicians of every ilk.

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