DIARIO DI VIAGGIO DELLA FESTA MOBILE

This is a hard one to rate, as I appreciate the progressive spirit and unique talent on display; but ultimately this is an album I just don't like very much and can only give three stars as a matter of preference. There is a lot to like here however, particularly the keyboard work of Francesco Boccuzzi; he puts on a real clinic, firing off one complex piano figure after another for the duration of the program. By the end of "Ritorno" however, it becomes a bit tiresome and causes the album to feel a lot longer than its 31 minutes. Boccuzzi and his brother Giovanni would go on to form the jazz fusion band Il Baricentro a few years later, but the sound of that group is really in its infancy here and not fully mature.

"La Corte Di Hon" begins with a frantic piano part that is syncopated and odd. It reminds me a bit of L'Uovo di Columbo, but not nearly as accessible and groovy. I suppose after the first two minutes you'll either love it or hate it, as this is a good sample of what you're gonna get. The vocals come in and leave a bit to be desired; nothing terribly offensive but not exactly pleasant either. Half way through there is a jam reminiscent of "Ys"-era Il Balletto di Bronzo - keyboard freaks will find a lot to like here, but unlike "Ys" the keyboard role is not a supporting one, but front and center. Again, you'll either really like this or not at first, but after repeated listens it just leaves me somewhere in the middle. "Canto" slows things down a bit, a welcome respite after the crazy opener. "Aristea" is the only venture into symphonic territory...the sound of this album is a bit hard to describe but symphonic and romantic it's not. If only the symphonic influence were a bit more predominant throughout the album, we could have had something really special here. "Ljalja" backtracks on that progress, and returns to a combination of the themes present on the first two tracks.

"Ritorno" is the longest song on the album, and maybe the best - lots of odd-meter and polyrhythm stuff going on that will interest any serious student of the musical arts. Definitely not dinner music, though. And that really sums up Diario Di Viaggio Della Festa Mobile; it's not music you put on to relax or just have on in the background. Festa Mobile's only album is a demanding listen, and one you will probably want to save for much later in your Italian Prog journey.