UOMINI UMILI POPOLI LIBERI

Eneide was a group of 16 and 17 year olds from Padova that, in addition to having supported Van Der Graaf Generator, had also played some dates with Genesis and Atomic Rooster. The band's sole album, Uomini Umili Popoli Liberi, was recorded in 1972 but was not released at that time due to the failure of the Trident label. It was finally released in 1990 by some of the band members in a limited vinyl pressing; a cd version by Mellow followed in 1995.

The album itself actually contains very few progressive elements. Tracks are mainly of 3 to 4 minutes duration and follow fairly basic structures, being a mix of acoustic ballads and bluesy-psych workouts. The dominant solo instruments are organ and electric guitar, although flute also features quite prominently. The lead vocalist's tone is quite gruff and gravely, although he does sing with feeling.

The first part of Cantico Alle Stelle features a lovely melody with fine vocals and acoustic guitar backing, as well as a psych organ interlude halfway through the song. Il Male is like a rockier version of the first track, with the addition of some Ian Anderson inspired flute playing. Non Volgio Catene is just under 8 minutes in length and contains a nice Mini Moog part; it also has a couple of extended psych-driven instrumental sections, with guitar and organ interplay that sound a bit like Alphataurus. Track 4, Canto Della Rassegnazione, is a lovely ballad with acoustic guitar, flute and Eminent strings. Oppressione E Disperazione is a standard instrumental blues workout.

Ecce Omo is another instrumental and features some more excellent Mini Moog and Eminent strings, but once again sounds like the main theme from track one. The title track yet again bears a similarity to the melody of track one, this time quite rocky and adding more Ian Anderson flute. Viaggio Cosmico offers a nice contrast to the rest of the album and features spacey sound effects, acoustic guitar and Eminent. Un Mondo Nuovo is another dreamy acoustic ballad with flute and Eminent string ensemble. The album then closes in similar fashion with the second part of Cantico Alle Stelle.

So all-in-all not really a classic RPI album; more of a standard rock album with a few prog elements. The album also suffers due to the fact some tracks sound a bit similar. Nonetheless there's some nice material here and the album is recommended to anyone who already owns most of the Italian big-hitters.