ROCK PROGRESSIVO ITALIANO

This band has rather a unique style, I would say it is slightly more complicated, unpredictable and "twisted" in comparison with many other contemporary and earlier Italian proggers. A particularly important component is Mario Moi's voice and the way he uses it in many instances, it is lively to say the least.

My initial impression of this record was that it somehow totally lacked the easier smoothiness in melodies which allured me in the excellent debut Nostos (2005) and in my other favourite Ubi Maior record Incanti Bio Meccanici (2015). Instead it occasionally felt like too "full-packed" and lacking in breathing space. But after repeated listens I would say this is a decent grower and all the songs - except the instrumental Nessie, which I tend to skip - have at least a few excellent passages and moments. My two favourites of them are probably Wendigo and Fabula Sirenis.

It is remarkable to note that this "Dei ricordi, un Museo" (Memories, a museum) is the first solo album of Stefano Lupo GALIFI, singer of the legendary MUSEO ROSENBACH who published in 1973 the no less legendary "Zarathustra", the one of the greatest opuses of Italian progressive rock, all decades combined, almost half a century! Stefano has since returned to the stage and recording studios as singer of Il TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE and the reformed MUSEO ROSENBACH. We can consider that our man wanted to take stock through music of everything he has experienced in fifty years of career, remarkable will and stubbornness on his part.

One of the last musical flashes of the year 2021 comes to us from ITALY, not too surprising some would say, as the transalpines have offered us quality releases for years and which for the most part age well.

The musical highlights of this album are the inaugural title "Cuore" (first part of the piece divided into three) with a magnificent instrumental introduction before Stefano lays down his slightly abrasive velvet voice worthy of the best Italian progressive rock (9/10) then the second part of the eponymous piece, more peaceful with beautiful symphonic nuances embellished with acoustic guitar (9/10) and finally the third phase of this famous "Dei ricordi, un Museo" divided into three, more classic in its conception, imbued with a brilliant "Italian" symphonism with layers of mellotron to die for, in short you understood it fans of progressive flights this is for you (9/10).

The remaining pieces are not to be condemned for all that, they are overall more songlike and therefore less able to satisfy our demanding ears of progmaniacs, I do not skip them while listening, rather an encouraging sign, they are therefore at least listenable without difficulty.

With the five sections of the enormous suite "Zarathustra" as a fundamental anchor, the band surprises for the maturity of its musical ensemble, with Pit Corradi's keyboard playing standing out, with the protagonic mellotrons that generate a persistent dramatic and dark atmosphere in "a. L'Ultimo Uomo" and "b. Il Re Di Ieri", Corradi's own Purplelian Hammonds accompanied by Enzo Merogno's guitar riffing on the aggressive "c. Al Di La Del Bene E Del Male", as well as in the intense and jazzy "d. Superuomo", backed by Giancarlo Golzi's lively drumming and Alberto Moreno's correct bass playing. The instrumental "e. Il Tempio Delle Clessidre", the only section that doesn't feature Stefano Galifi's dosed and rough singing, completes not only the suite, but one of the best expressions of Italian progressive rock.

And both the hard rock animosity of "Degli Uomini", the intricate and very progressive "Della Natura" with a superb instrumental display by the band, and the concluding "Degli Uomini" with Galifi's heartbreaking final vocal performance and the epic closing unleashed by Corradi's mellotron, maintain the high standard of the album.

"Zarathustra", although at the time an elusive commercial success that probably frustrated the continuity of Museo Rosenbach (only resumed 27 years later with "Exit"), gained recognition over the years and today is a cult work for the progressive genre.

4/4.5 stars

In 2011 guitar player Enzo Vita gave new life to RDM releasing a new album Microstorie with Roberto Tiranti (New Trolls) on vocals. In 2016 the new RDM (with Enzo as the only original member) released a new album entitled Tribal Domestic, a return to a progressive and symphonic rock sound as the third album Contaminazione. In 2017 Enzo Vita contacted bassist Andrea Castelli to form also a live-band to bring on stages once again RDM music. From this collaboration they released Contaminazione 2.0, recorded live in San Galgano and totally focused on their album Contaminazione. And now RDM presents a completely re-recorded and re-arranged version of the La Bibbia album from 1971, in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Listening to this new version of La Bibbia I am pleasantly surprised how this new RDM line-up has changed that quirky blend of hardrock, psychedelia and experimental into a captivating Heavy Prog sound, well done! And everything on this 50th anniversary version is superior to the 1971 effort: the sound, the recording quality, the compositions, the interplay and the musical ideas. But the main difference between the 1971 and 2021 effort is the presence of keyboards.

Il Nulla (3:05) starts with sound effects and soaring keyboards, this is tasteful electronic music, topped with spectacular sequencing in the end.

La Creazione (6:21) delivers a lot of powerful rock guitar and vocals, but now blended with the distinctive Minimoog synthesizer sound.

L'ammonimento (5:51) features an interesting instrumental part with interplay between piano and guitar riffs. Sodoma XY (4:23) contains fiery guitars, blended with soaring keyboards

Il Giudizio (7:49) turns out to be the most varied and exciting compositon. From mellow with spacey synthesizers to a bombastic eruption with howling guitar, topped with powerful Italian vocals. Halfway an instrumental interlude featuring delicate interplay between the guitar and bass, obviously inspired by Toccata In D-Fuga(Bach).

Il Diluvio (5:50) is another strong upgraded track by the use of keyboards, this time a church organ sound, then an accelaration with the Minimoog, next the sound of a male choir, wonderful keyboard orchestrations and sparkling Grand piano runs, this is topped with emotional vocals, the final minute is total silence?.

This reissue also features 3 bonustracks, these are English versions of La Creazione (The Creation), L'ammonimento (The Warning) and Il Giudizio (Judgement Day), a nice addition to this very interesting renewed prog effort!

The beautiful instrumental opener, "Odi et amo", begins with a dreamlike atmosphere but the delicate piano pattern and soaring flute notes are like the calm before the storm and the music goes on through many changes in mood and rhythm. The title is in Latin and refers to the incipit of a poem by the poet Catullus, "Carme LXXXV". According to the liner notes, the music tries to evoke a mix of contrasting feelings and emotions such as hate and love or joy and pain drawing inspiration from the immortal poetry of Catullus...

"La donna amata" (The beloved woman) is another wonderful piece where dynamic progressive rock parts alternate with baroque passages leading through dreamy atmospheres and darker moments. The lyrics celebrate the love of a woman capable of shaking and giving strength to her man like a summer storm where the rain pouring down on the thirsty land can heal the wounds in the arid soil. The beloved woman shines like a fresh crescent moon in the sunset and after the storm is like an omen of adventure and a fulfilment of love...

The melancholic, mystic "Maddalena" is sung in Abruzzese dialect and tells in music and words of the feelings of a woman that tries to rediscover in the church near her home where she goes to pray what an evil man has stolen from her: faith and love. Many times she thought about taking her own life jumping off the cliff under the church with her eyes closed because her life sometimes seems worse than hell, bitter and dark like ash. But hope never dies and keeps her alive. The narrative vocals (in Italian) of the guest Alessandra Iandimarino close the piece playing the role of the protagonist...

"Saffo" is dedicated to a woman best known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music, Sappho, an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Most of Sappho's poetry is now lost and little is known of her life but her myth is still a source of inspiration for many hearts. Here she looks at you enraptured and feels like a goddess, one after the other she drinks the words of love coming from your smile and directed to her eyes, the eyes of woman eternally in love...

The long, complex "Zarina" (Tsarina) is dedicated to Maria Alexandrovna, born Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 ? 3 June 1880), Empress of Russia as the first wife of Emperor Alexander II. She married when she was still a teenager and her marriage was unhappy. She suffered from tuberculosis from 1863 onwards and spent long periods of time in southern Europe, in particular in the Italian town of Sanremo, to avoid the harsh Russian winters. The music and lyrics evoke the feelings of a fisherman watching the unfortunate tsarina walking on the sand of Sanremo beach. To his eyes she looks coming out from one of his dreams. He can't get closer to her because she's surrounded by the people of her circle and he's too unworthy for them. But he can see the sadness in her eyes and perceive her uncertain breathing. Soon she will be gone and what will be left of her presence is just an army of palms. In fact, grateful for the hospitality of the place, the empress donated the first palm trees to the Municipality of Sanremo which still today adorn the Passeggiata Imperatrice (Promenade of the Empress), on the Sanremo seafront...

"Ti dono una canzone" (I give you a song) was written and recorded in remote mode during the Covid 19 pandemic and is dedicated to all the healthcare personnel and to those who took care of the sick in that dramatic period, those who really gave their best to overcome the crisis caused by the spread of the virus. It's a song to listen to at night, made of tears and wind, weaved in style with a few notes for those who made of their job an act of love...

The instrumental "Odi et amo - Closing Session" is a short experimental track that closes the album with a disquieting atmosphere and a soft flute melody that seems almost to escape and take off from strange background noises, hidden chats and thoughts...

On the whole, an excellent work that deserves a place in every Italianprog collection!

Semiramis is one of many prog bands that would only make one record back in the 70s, much like Opus-5, Crack, and Cervello. Some of these bands have either come back for a live show or two, maybe an archival release, or in rare cases such as this, go back into the studio to make some new material. Out of any comeback to come about this year, Semiramis wasn't even at the bottom of my list. I practically forgot about them to be honest, but them showing up now has brewed interest in me for the group.

I think with the invention of the internet, many people were exposed to the lesser known side of prog rock, and music in general. I am guessing Semiramis noticed some of the attention that their old 1973 record was gaining on sites like Progarchives or Italian Prog, which revitalized the remaining members to start the group up again, with some new pals to complete the band. However, the old members would leave, whether it be due to fatalities of illness, or not wishing to make a new album. This left the Semiramis name in the hands of a completely different line-up then what Dedicato a Frazz was. Despite this, I find this new line-up to keep the Semiramis name in a very stunning light, maybe a bit more than their debut.

A lot of modern day symphonic prog ideals usually fall into 1 of 2 categories, slightly symphonic tinged contemporary prog (Big Big Train and Phideaux), or retro prog (don't really need to give examples of this). There are also old bands that have lasted through to the 21st century and thus have tried to make symphonic prog records for their old audience, but they sound a bit more in-line with retro prog, and not what they have done in the past, like Kaipa for example. Semiramis, surprisingly enough, has done neither of these types of ideals, instead managing to sound a lot more like what they would make in the 70s, without managing to sound like every other retro prog, or even contemporary prog band on the block. To me, this was immediately apparent after the first song, and it was really surprising too. At first I thought I turned on the wrong album and was listening to a different Italian band, funnily enough. I was expecting a modern Yes, or a Kaipa type of deal here, so this was a really pleasant surprise.

The music here is also awesome, in my opinion. You aren't getting something super crazy here in this 35 minute venture. Like, you aren't getting a 20+ minute suite, or a 2 hour rock opera, but what you get here is still some high class prog. Filled with lots of emotions and beauty, with the last song here having a rather beautiful finale type of feel, and a lot of rather great vocals from Giovanni Barco makes this record a bit of a repeated listen for me, ever since it was first released. It even made me revisit their first record, and I know this may now be an unpopular opinion, but this certainly blows that record out of the water.

I also really like the production here. While the music sounds very classical in terms of prog rock, the production still manages to make everything sounds quite new and fresh, almost like this record was created in yesteryear, but only now had it been fully produced in its best output. It makes the record very enjoyable in my mind.

I suppose if I had a critique, I feel as though some of the songs do not leave as big an impact as others. Non chiedere a un Dio and Tenda rossa are good examples of this, with me not really finding much memorability for them, as compared to some of the big tracks like Sua Maestà il cuore and Cacciatore di ansie. The record also feels a tad short, but I have come to expect Italian prog to be a lot more on the shorter side, but still it leaves me feeling as if there is something rather missing in the album's length that could tie things a bit better.

Speaking of Sua Maestà il Cuore, that song is amazing. It starts off with this rather aggressive guitar melody, with Giovanni singing rather lushfully, yet with a rather harder mix. As it makes its way to the middle, it does a 180 and becomes this rather somber sounding--piano led medley that brings me a bit more emotion than I never expected, and ending off with this before it swings right back to the flavors the band is known for at the last few seconds. This track is honestly one of my instant favorites, and certainly a favorite from the Italian prog scene. It's the reason why I chose to review this record, and it's a masterpiece of sound, and emotion. Plus it has a very fun guitar solo, so what more could you want out of your finale to your comeback album?

All in all, a certainly entertaining record that was certainly unexpected. However, sometimes the most unanticipated releases can come about as a certain favorite, at least for me. Give this one a listen, especially if you really liked the group's record from 50 years ago.

Best tracks: Cacciatore di ansie, Donna dalle ali d'acciaio, Sua Maestà il cuore

Worst tracks: Non chiedere a un Dio, Tenda rossa

The beautiful instrumental opener "Prologo" sets the atmosphere alternating frenzied, aggressive parts with the keyboards in the forefront and calmer, reflective passages. It leads to the dreamy "C'è un'armata che mi aspetta" (There's an army waiting for me) that starts by a delicate acoustic guitar pattern. The music and lyrics depict the feelings and the expectations of a Crusader knight who embarks on a ship to join the Christian army in the Holy Land. The crew raise the sails heading south as the scirocco wind brings sand and songs from afar. Now the ship sails across the Mediterranean sea heading for the promised land and new adventures...

"Il crociato - Parte prima" (The crusader - Part One) takes us into the horrors of war. The music and words evoke borders marked by time and desperate women and children on the move who leave behind cities and villages reduced to rubble. Their pace is slow and they have the fear of the Crusader soldiers in their eyes since the fight is merciless. However, there's no way to stop the holy mission, there's a siege and the Crusaders break into a fortress through a breach in the wall. They kill all the infidels inside the castle and the dried blood forms a kind of red path. It's a cruel slaughter but the Christian soldiers trust God's forgiveness and celebrate their victory under the sign of the cross...

The epic "Il duello" (The duel) depicts the challenge and the mortal confrontation between the protagonist and a Muslim knight. It begins with the confidence of the Christian knight who is longing to kill his unfaithful adversary, a desecrator of altars who thrives on lies and hatred. However, as the fight goes on, his perspective changes. He can see no angels ready to help him and guide his sword nor virgins waiting to cradle the soul of his enemy in an exotic paradise. It is simply a man like him, the Christian knight now can see the fear and the cruel reality with all the atrocity of war. In the end the Christian knight wins and kills his rival but experiences a strong sense of mercy and pity. His faith wavers and he feels that something in him has changed...

The melancholic, reflective ballad "In fondo al mare" (At the bottom of the sea) evokes the pain and torments of the Christian knight. All he really wants now is to be buried at the bottom of the sea, with sand and salt weighing down on him and the sound of waves crashing on the rocks under the moonlight. Like a leaf carried by the wind that doesn't know where to go, now he seeks for the peace of the sea...

"Gerusalemme - Parte prima" (Jerusalem - Part One) starts by conjuring up the images of a battlefield scattered with corpses, broken spears, blood-stained shields, heads severed from the corpses. The landscape after the final battle is gloomy, the cost of freeing Jerusalem from the infidels rule is high and the taste of drinking from the Holy Grail is bitter. At night, when the emotive storm calms down, the music and lyrics focus on a camp nearby where the Christian knight can be seen embracing a beautiful Muslim woman. It's the beginning of a very difficult and complicate love story, thwarted by the moral sense. The absurdity of war reveals another dark side...

The long, complex "Gerusalemme - Parte seconda" (Jerusalem - Part Two) tries to emphasize in music and words the strong contrast between deeds and ideals. The cross on the helmet and shield of the Christian knight recall the purpose of his mission. A crusader like him does not fight for gold or out of thirst for power but for an ideal. He offered his faith and his life to God but now, while his bloody axe is red as the sunset, he can see nothing around him but men hanging to life without strength in their fingers who loosen their grip and fall down. "God, what have we done in thy name?" - Asks the knight. But there's no answer, he can't hear the voice of God...

"Il crociato - Parte seconda" (The crusader - Part Two) takes us back to the present but the view, after all the time that has passed since the Crusades, is in fact not very different. The music and lyrics depict a new kind of Crusader knight, without armour and horse. He wields a machine-gun and for him there are no mysteries. He comes from New York or maybe from Moscow and he was told that he's on the right side. He's ready to shoot a man fearing that he might be a terrorist. A voice seems to echo in the air telling him to press the trigger and kill, then to cross himself so God will save his soul...

The excellent instrumental "Oriente" (Orient) evokes a dark sense of beauty and with its Mediterranean flavours leads to the last track, "Il ritorno" (The return), where the rhythm rises to describe a wild horseback ride toward home, through forests and narrow paths. The knight is in hurry, behind him he steel feels the ghosts of the dead chasing him. He wants to know if what he left behind is still there. At last he throws away his helmet and breathes the air of home, then the sweet memory of a familiar face appears in the courtyard of his manor and a smile eases his pain...

On the whole, a very interesting debut album that deserves credit.

The MARTE part of the band's name refers to Mars, the mythological god of war with the album cover depicting ancient Turkish mercenary soldiers inflicting wounds upon themselves to demonstrate their bravery, an image used for their concert posters. The lyrics while totally in Italian reflect the band's anti-war and anti-militarist stance, a sentiment shared by many after the years of dictatorship in Italy's not so distant past. CAMPO DI MARTE was a unique sounding band that while delving into the same symphonic prog styles that most Italian bands adopted, implemented the use of Rosa's guitars and was heavier than the average Italian band more in the vein of early Il Rovescio della Medaglia but unlike that band was just as comfortable with dreamy acoustic guitar passages and the symphonic keyboard driven sounds that were popular.

The original album featured seven tracks at nearly 41 minutes and although many reissues have come to light since the album's initial release in 1973, no bonus tracks have so far been excavated from the vaults. CAMPO DI MARTE was a very talented band and delivered a set of extraordinarily complex tracks on this self-titled release and it's not an exaggeration to claim that they were in the same league as all of the greats including PFM, Banco and Museo Rosenbach. The compositions exude the same sophistication of varying motifs that range from orchestrated symphonic keyboard-driven segments to heavier guitar driven fuzzed out moments which during a few occasions steer into near chaos. The album was quite inventive and also was touted as a master of production and engineering.

The beauty of this album is in how diverse the tracks are as they wend and wind from Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar motifs to full-on symphonic prog bliss. The addition of the French horn at moments adds a touch of medieval folk glory and the entire thing comes off as epic as each numbered track of the same name pretty much feels like a cohesive whole as if it's really a concept album of some sort. It's also more impressive to learn that this album was primarily recorded in 1971 but was delayed for a couple years which makes it one of the more demanding Italian prog albums from that early year and if it were released the same year would surely have made more of an impact than it did in the prog saturated nation of Italy in 73. Unfortunately during the two years that it took to release the album the members lost interest and moved on leaving CAMPO DI MARTE a one album wonder.

This is primarily an instrumental prog workout album and although vocals do occur they are less prevalent than the operatic vocal domination of most Italian prog bands of the era. This is amazing album that effortlessly weaves a tapestry of fuzz-guitar, classical acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, flute and French horn in clever and inventive ways. It never ceases to amaze me how much raw talent emerged from the fertile prog scene of Italy in the 1970s and CAMPO DI MARTE is definitely somewhere closer to the top. An almost perfect mix of symphonic prog with medieval folk, heavy psych and occasional King Crimson eclecticism. This one is a bit more difficult to soak in than the average Italian prog album as the melodies are more abstract and the prog characteristics are turned up a few notches which may be too much for some to handle but in all honesty, CAMPO DI MARTE delivered a unique sound once you delve below the surface.

4.5 rounded up

SENSITIVA IMMAGINE ( Sensitive Image ) is one of those bands that is known to have formed in Bologna in 1975 and was considered a very entertaining live act with excellent symphonic prog compositions and a stage presence that made use of costumes in the vein of Osanna or Genesis. One unique feature of this band is that despite the widespread popularity of Italian prog in the 70s, virtually no bands emerged from the city of Bologna, but this one did and to make things even more mysterious it's completely unknown when the band released its one and only album titled E TUTTO COMINCIO COSI ( And It All Began Like This ).

The band's sole album was released as a self-produced cassette only in the beginning and was pretty much only sold at their live performances. The original cassette featured no credits and when a proper CD was finally released it only mentioned four performers when the band was proven to consist of Alfredo Olivieri (vocals), Massimo Buriani (guitar), Stefano Bertonazzi (keyboards), Andrea Pavinato (bass) and Franco Buriani (drums). The first CD reissue came in 1991 by the Japanese Melos label as the prog revival years were underway and has seen a few more reissues with bonus tracks over the years.

With a stronger influence from the English symphonic prog groups, SENSITIVA IMMAGINE sounded closer to Genesis than its own nation's symphonic prog bands however lyrics were in Talian and despite the English connections delivered a rather unique style that sounds like a precursor to the neo-prog bands of the 80s (especially Fish-era Marillion) in the keyboard department. The album starts off with extreme keyboard heft that crafts a bombastic atmospheric effect, the kind that many neo-prog bands would later use. The tracks are all excellently written and although the Genesis influences are the most apparent, the band does showcase some of the classic RPI techniques as well.

While an excellent release, it is bogged down by a couple of things. One is that the production could've been much better however the newer releases have done a decent if not perfect job of restoring some of the lost dynamics. Secondly lead vocalist Alfredo Olivieri sings in the classic operatic style that his fellow Italian prog vocalists did but he didn't quite have the range to match the greats in the biz, most likely the main factor why this band didn't find record label interest. Despite the late 70s finding prog decline many bands were still able to crank out an album or two (Locanda delle Fate, Gramigna, I Cocai). For an underground cassette-only release this is excellent and personally i prefer this much more than anything Genesis did itself. It's more dynamic and much more inventive and eschews an overly pastoral approach. Highly recommended for those going for the deep dive of Italian prog of the 70s.