PANGEA E LE TRE LUNE

This is rertro/vintage-sounding Rock Progressivo Italiano exactly the way many old school progheads want it. The band was there at the original prog era of the 70's, it's only that they didn't get a record deal back then. Upon their reforming in 2005 the couple of first releases rooted in the old stuff weren't sonically very convincing, but each of the four latest studio albums seems to be an improvement of the preceding one. In 2018 I reviewed Il Fuoco Sotto la Cenere (2017) pretty positively, and I felt immediately that I like this new album even more. Starting from the great cover art done by an artist responsible of several classic RPI album covers.

Discounting the heavy rock oriented bonus track 'Crisi' (I agree with the former reviewer that it's not on the same high level with the album and it could have been left out altogether), there are six tracks between five and ten minutes in length. There seems to be a lyrical conceptual coherence, dealing, in a manner of a legend or a fairy-tale, with the forming of planet Earth and its continents, and the Moon. See the album title! The lyrics are rather sparse since the emphasis of the compositions is in the playing. 'Pangea' starts in a classic Symphonic Prog style: the instrumental intro is dominated by piano, flute and Mellotron, and it fluently leads to the sung section. The 9-minute piece contains plenty of dynamic, progressive shifts and never loses its direction. An uninformed listener would undoubtedly believe if (s)he was told this is a RPI classic from say 1975. Also the vocal harmonies are enjoyable.

'Alla Deriva' has even bigger emphasis on the instrumental expression, containing only a brief vocal section. The melodically powerful music is not too dominated by the lush vintage keyboards of Franco Piccolini, also the other musicians are well present in the soundscape. You may think of Genesis with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. An extra delight on this album are the guest musicians from classic RPI bands, including violinist Donald Lax (Quella Vecchia Locanda) whose contribution is important on 'Dialogo'.

'Le Tre Lune' is the second longest track (8:34) and a fantastic mini-epic in a pure seventies classic prog fashion. Speaking of the whole album, the vocal harmonies are in my opinion more enjoyable than the grittiest solo voice I'm not so fond of, but it's used sparsely enough that it doesn't become a nuisance. This album is a guaranteed delight for anyone enthusiastic for the vintage/retro RPI with Symphonic Prog style featuring lots of keyboards, especially for those (myself included) who are not that fond of the heavier & darker end of the spectre -- also on that department the trusted label Black Widow has been active lately.