REALE ACCADEMIA DI MUSICA

This album is just chock full of great piano, nice laid back vocals, organ, acoustic guitars, violins, mellotron, and solid bass and drums. The remastered mini that I have has decent sound (for 1972) and a nice gatefold with strange artwork. As with PFM the musicianship is very high, the arrangements are handled with great care and there is a nice balance between rock sections and more mellow, contemplative sections. I have read that the lyrics on both of their albums are quite good, though of course I have no way to confirm this personally. The music has a romantic and somewhat wistful sound throughout .

"Favola" begins the album with simplicity and beauty, a short vocal piece with gorgeous acoustic guitar and strings. Things then pick up much more in "Il Mattino" which has some sections that cook with driving percussion and organ, and softer vocal sections with piano, acoustic guitar, and violin. Very impressive track. "Ognuno Sa" for some reason reminds me of a Beatle melody and features good bass and sunny piano. This song is a little bit pop rock but still enjoyable. "Padre" brings forth a slightly heavier sound with the electric guitar. "Lavoro In Citta" has some sections that bring to mind "Meddle" era Floyd with some dreamy Gilmour-ish guitar flourishes. "Vertigine" closes the album with a harder edged vocal and more rocking than we've heard so far. But even during their rockier numbers they find pauses of calm.

While not one of the genre's greatest albums it has many nice moments and is recommended to RPI fans, especially those who prefer the genre's more traditional side.