ZARATHUSTRA

Poor recording/production denies this album from any consideration of masterpiece status. The dynamics are too diverse and inconsistent, the recording too muddy, the sound attempting, IMO, to be too imitative of a combination of KC's "In the Court of the Crimson King," ELP (especially "Tarkus"), or JETHRO TULL ("Aqualung"). The drums sound too much like filler--and they and the bass stand out front too much, often taking one's attention from the whole. And what's with the engineer's hand on the master volume nob! It's like a NEKTAR, ZAPPA, or early SANTANA listening experience: one never knows when or where the song starts, stops or segues because the fade in and fade out can seem to come from out of nowhere! Plus, not unlike ELP, I'm not quite sure what Museo Rosenbach are trying to accomplish with their music--the section changes are often so sudden and incongruous feeling.

Curiously--and, again, unexpectedly--the album highlight for me is the little song from which we get a rather highly acclaimed album from Anno Domini 2010, " Il tempio delle clessidre" (9/10). "Dell'eterno ritorno" (8/10) is also pretty decent.

3 stars. Could've been better with better mixing, recording, engineering.