A ROBERT

The interest of Giallo Records for the early Perdio material finally led to a reunion of the band in late-90's.From the original line-up only bassist/singer Fulvio Monieri and drummer Michele Capogrosso were on the new formation, but next to them was ex-Madrugada keyboardist Gianfranco Pinto and guitarist Pino Bifano.The quartet recorded a fresh album in 1998, dedicated to Robert Wyatt, thus its title was ''A Robert'', and released it again on Giallo Records.

Anyone expecting somekind of stuff comparable to their 70's recordings will be rather dissapointed, as the new Perdio chose a more flexible, easy-going and diverse style for their fresh start.Based on a very good production and the sensitive Italian vocals, ''A Robert'' is a mixed bag of sounds, containg ballads, Soft Prog themes, Space Rock and even poppy and funky tunes and at first glance this seems a very inconsistent release.The truth though is different.Despite the various styles and sounds met throughout the album, ''A Robert'' is characterized by some great melodies, grooves and atmospheres, featuring those beautiful vocal arrangements and background synthesizers that can create dreamy images.The melodies are well-crafted and the ballads have some nice musicianship supporting.The couple of Pop and Funk tracks of the album are rather dissapointing, but the band also offers a good Italian version of Wyatt's ''O Caroline'' and a fantastic Space Rock instrumental on ''Caleidoscopio''.

Not the best comeback in Prog history, as ''A Robert'' can be considered a Soft Art Rock album rather than a Prog one.But the overall strong performances of the members make it a welcome effort.Recommended.