VOCI

Hailing from Venetia, keyboard maestro Luciano Basso delivered one of the most beautiful prog albums from Italy ever- "Voci". This is, naturally, an album centered on his arsenal of grand piano, organ, harpsichord, mellotron and electric piano, although there is also room for important violin flourishes and guitar leads, as well as relevant manifestations of the rhythm duo's power. Basso's musical offering manages to be overwhelmingly Italian due to the abundant doses of Baroque, Manierism and Neoclassical textures that flow on and on in the basic melodies and their subsequent arranged developments. His style is related to those of the keyboardsmen from Le Orme, BMS and Latte e Miele: in turn, this cleverly affects the ensemble's sound as similar to the former ("Uomo di Pezza"-era) and latter aforesaid bands. The album's first half is based on a whole three-part opus, consisting of a prelude and two promenades. The 'Prelude' has a 7 ½ minute span, starting with stylish piano arpeggios and violin lines resting elegantly on mellotron layers. This serves as a scheme of a further exploration that takes place when the guitar, bass and drum kit join in. The second motif states a dynamic conclusion that I wish were a bit longer, but it's quite effective in its evolving ambience. 'Promenade I' finds Basso and friends displaying the early Le Orme similarities in full range, exploring the dynamics of the previous track's final minute with enthusiasm and richness: Basso's organ progressions lead the way for the whole band as a well-oiled symphonic machinery. The Baroque- infected harpsichord interlude is very much BMS, in my opinion. 'Promenade II' sort of combines the ceremonious majesty of 'Prelude' and the full frontal colorfulness of the first 'Promenade': as a result, the track's mood turns out to be serious and gray, yet with a playful twist that serves equally as a counterpart and a complement to the reflective trend of the serious passages. The inclusion of some occasional jazzy undertones helps the track to achieve interesting variations. The album's second half starts with the namesake track. 'Voci' is the longest track in the album. It heavily features the grand piano, which is basically elaborating a constant prologue that remains solidly stable on a floating atmosphere. The alternations between the extroverted and introverted passages are fluid, and that is largely due to the fact that the contrasts are not too pronounced. It is as if the voices mentioned in the title were perceived as waves and breezes by Basso, in this way determining the composition's overall statement. 'Echo' brings a much more elaborated dynamics, especially regarding the development of the main motifs and the sort of magnificent delivery that the band assumes as a guide: the motifs are distinct within the whole picture, with this same whole picture serving as the perfect scheme for the melodic variations. This one and the two Promenades reveal the most ambitious side of Basso as a composer: it is really convenient that 'Echo' should close down "Voci", so it could state a remarkable climax to the whole concept. All in all, "Voci" is an amazingly, captivatingly beautiful prog album that should not be missed by any real Italian prog lover or any symphonic prog fan at all.