ZARATHUSTRA

Count me as one of those who hasn't yet been taken by this album. Definitely original and creative, and it also earns some bonus points as a debut, but there are a number of factors that keep this well out of masterpiece territory.

First of all, to the reviewers who have likened Stefano's vocals to the Italian Joe Cocker, I couldn't agree more--he's raw and throaty, but also unique and fun. Also, I'd like to give credit for the creative cover, which is certainly reminiscent of another favorite cover of mine: Kansas' Masque, which would come two years after Zarathustra (though I doubt influenced by it).

Highlights for me include most of the side-long epic, as well as Della Natura. The epic sure starts and ends well (I think we can all agree on that!), with a powerful mellotron/organ melody to kick things off, and revisited in a slower, more stately form to seal the deal. In between, things get quite hit or miss. There's a difference between delicate playing and simply killing the music off, and Museo veers more toward the latter too often here. Fortunately, there are plenty of good melodies and moments, however scattered they might be, to at least keep my interest. Della Natura is also in the same vein, with more rock perhaps, but similarly concluding with a stately outtro.

Good stuff and worthwhile, but I would be most interested in hearing how the band would develop after a piece like this. I imagine they would have tightened things up and cranked out even better prog, but that's not how things worked out, so we'll have to appreciate the band largely on this piece. As such, Museo Rosebach provide a meaningful addition to the prog canon with Zarathustra.