...E IL SUO RESPIRO ANCORA AGITA LE ONDE?

The second release from this fantastic band from Pisa, Italy. With the pure style of the 70's progressive rock at its best, this CD is a true wonder. The assertive interpretation of the instruments is in charge of Marco MASONI on bass guitar, acoustic guitars, mellotron and vocals; Andrea MORETTI on acoustic piano and keyboards; Alessandro TONIOLO executes marvelous flute, alto sax and vocals; David VECCHIONI on drums and percussions and last but not least important, Salvo LAZZARA on electric guitars and vocals.

It's quite difficult to precise which of the instruments stands up from the rest. The music sounds off fresh and there's a diversity of styles in every piece of this album that would bring satisfaction even to the most exigent prog fan. The combination of the flute with the acoustic piano is exquisitely performed in several pieces all along the recording, finding jazzy, classic, soft and even folkloric trails.

This disc is combined of ten sonatas with a very special own blend that in spite of their unique execution, I found intriguing influences from KING CRIMSON or VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, represented in a cover from this two bands included as a bonus track. Some fragments remind me of EZRA WINSTON as well. In addition to all this virtues, the vocals are extremely impressive and they entwine gracefully with the instruments. Pieces like "D' ombra, Vapori e Sabbia" with a very interesting musical combination of the instruments represented in three tempos at the shade, the vapor and the sand; "Le Onde, Respiro del Mare" and "1e Maggio" are specially recommended.

Although the front cover is not precisely very attractive, this is a first class album where the beauty of Italian symphonic progressive rock could be appreciated at its best.