PAZZO FANFANO DI MUSICA

I've finally been able to hear this amazing album for the first time and I am BLOWN AWAY! The medieval/Renaissance-influenced music I have been craving! It doesn't get better than this, folks. It is all the best of 70s RPI (especially BANCO, LE ORME and even PFM) combined with the pastoral sounds of STEVE and JOHN HACKETT a la Voyage of The Acolyte ("Suspiri del fiore"), and the most emotive of classical composers ("La dolce follia," "Agilmente" and "Affettuoso")--the Italians, of course. There are lots of strings, flutes, organ, Mellotron, classical guitar ("Intermezzo I" and "II") and even harpsichord. The vocals from female singer Megumi Tokuhisa are wonderful if quirky (especially because of the lyrics being in Japanese.) And the shocker of all is that this music is all composed and performed by an all-star band of Japanese musicians! "Fragoroso" is much jazzier, pure prog, with an uptempo, piano- and drums-driven sound, but otherwise the album is replete with nostalgiac references to the musics of Renaissance and Italian composers. The piano and violin duet that is "Ondine" is one of the most gorgeous pieces of music I've ever heard--reminding me of the music of Taiwan's lovely CICADA or the world's RYUICHI SAKAMOTO.

1. "Preludio" (0:50) acoustic nylon stringed guitar solo (4.25/5)

2. "Fiori per Algernon" (7:58) violin and flutes sing over heavy, almost-avant chamber music before Megumi comes in singing in Japanese. Flutes, violin, and piano continue to interject their embellishing riffs throughout. During musical interlude in the middle, piano comes more to the fore while soloing piano and flutes take more supportive, side-lying roles. Megumi's vocalise mimics/mirror's the violin melody. The music is complex, stop-and-start, with various tempo and texture shifts. (13.5/15)

3. "Sospiri del fiore" (3:32) with virtuosic lute-like guitar and flute over the top, this song sounds a lot like something from an ANTHONY PHILLIPS or FOCUS/JAN AKKERMAN song (though with a few STEVE HACKETT-like melody and chord shifts). (10/10)

4. "La dolce follia" (5:11) echo-effected flute over bowed double bass is replaced by strings and flutes (straight up) before at 1:04 when heavier RPI band introduces itself for a brief few seconds. Piano and classical instruments fill the next free-form section before a kind of Baroque musical structure sets itself in motion, over which Megumi sings a little, but then things twist and turn, with pastoral Baroque acoustic and electric heavy RPI going back and forth for the next couple minutes. Nice Mellotron cum classical guitar outro. (9/10)

5. Agilmente (1:37) violin soloing over harpsichord and double bass. Flute takes over at the 0:30 mark with a different style of harpsichord playing beneath. Back to violin with its particular support for the final thirty seconds. (5/5)

6. "Intermezzo I" (1:32) a more Spanish style guitar solo. (4.5/5)

7. "Affettuoso" (5:54) gentle harpsichord chords open this one before violin joins in to sing its solo melody tenderly above. Brilliant duet. At 1:03 flute takes over the lead melody. At 1:43 Megumi Tokuhisa's beautiful mezzo-alto enters and takes the lead, singing in Japanese with beautiful long, sustained notes and beautiful diction. Very much like an old-fashioned salon performance. (9/10)

8. "Fragoroso" (4:34) fast-paced piano-centric acoustic jazz drives the combo until violin arrives in the third minute. From there, the moods and tempos shift quite dramatically several times, at times becoming quite tempestuous, like a weather storm. (9.5/10)

9. "Intermezzo II" (1:20) more lute-ish Spanish guitar. (4.5/5)

10. "Onde" (6:12) this is piano, double bass, and violin dancing in a trio. The prettiest, most heart-wrenching melodies, playing, and arrangement of the album. I can feel the power of the surf, of the waves, with this one. (10/10)

11. "Anniversario" (10:35) Megumi singing and vocalizing over and with classical guitar, violin, and flute. (18.25/20)

Total Time: 49:30

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Classical, Baroque, and RPI fused progressive rock music.

Folks, this is a masterpiece of timeless music--one for the ages--a collection of songs that will represent our crazy modern world far better than 99.99% of the stuff that's been put out for the past 100 years.