IL SOLE L'ARIA LA LUCE IL CIELO

Riccardo Fogli was widely known in the 60's/70's as a leading figure of I Pooh, playing bass and singing.Born in 1947 in the industrial town Pontedera, 1972 seems to be the turning point of his career, when he got maried to Viola Valentino and later left I Pooh to follow his own path.Two albums from 1973 and 1976 (''Ciao amore, come stai?'' and an eponymous one) were only a start for a long and succesful solo journey for Fogli.In 1977 he released ''Il sole l'aria la luce il cielo'' on CGD with compositions mostly written by Luigi Lopez and lyrics by Italian poet Carla Vistarini.The album features an extended line-up of 10 musicians.

''Il sole l'aria la luce il cielo'' is sometimes is refered as a Prog-inclined release, propably because it was reissued by the prog-specialized Japanese label Arcangelo.It contains some Soft Prog elements, but the majority follows a very melodic path of Orchestral Pop/Rock with beautiful orchestrations, based on piano, keyboards and strings.Typical of the singer/songwriter albums of Italy during the 70's, the work is heavily driven by the sensational vcals of Riccardo Fogli, who's voice is unmet, exceptional and highly sensitive.The orchestrations are very rich, full of inspired melodies and awesome vocal arrangements.The rock elements are rather limited to the presence of a solid rhythm section with a few dreamy guitar excursions, while there are also some acoustic moments (consisting of acoustic guitars and mandolin) here and there.Despite the shortened rock parts, the delightful melodies and the pleasant atmosphere of the album are trully unique, parallel to Fogli's incredible talent.

Not a priority for any fan of Prog or even Rock music, but be sure to face some really emotional and nicely orchestrated Pop music if you ever decide to give this album a chance.Warmly recommended.