QUEL GIORNO DI UVE ROSSE

Quel Giorno Di Uve Rosse was basically a mid-70's Italian ensemble collected to perform a Xian-inspired LP for the Pro Civitate Christiana label.Named after a book of poet Alfredo Bonazzi, the music was written by Giuseppe Cappelletti and the arrangements were led by conductor Giacomo Dell'Orso with the help of Orchestra Cinefonica di Roma.The album features three male and female singers/narrators along with five more musicians on bass, guitar, volin, horns and drums, and it was published in 1976.

''Quel giorno di uve rosse'' features two sidelong suites around 17 minutes each, misleading to conclusions that this was a lost and forgotten Italian Prog gem of the 70's.The truth is that the album is a mix of Soft Classical-based Rock with Orchestral Pop, containg plenty of sweet and romantic Italian vocals, but having few connections with the strongest Italian Prog bands of the past.The music is mainly led the Classical Orchestra of Rome in smooth and melodic arrangements, based on atmospheric string parts, flutes and harsichord, with the constant presence of the Italian singers.Notable are also some light jazzy electric guitars appearing every now and then, supported by a weak rhythm section, while there is evidence of some sporadic organ parts here and there.The compositions contain some nice dramatic passages with darker and more emphatic orchestral atmospheres, strengthened by the narration of Roberto Capasso, but these seems to be the most interesting material, along with some nice flute and harsichord moves, even if these are too softly delivered, on an album, that otherwise flows in a very calm mood.Lots of Gospel-type choirs and operatic vocals and the endless strings make this a pretty nice film score for a Christian-type movie, but the abscence of dynamics and a competent rockin' background make it sounding more like a symphony than a Prog-related album.

Unknown and very rare LP, that was forgotten for some good reason.Dedicated lovers of the Italian styles of music and those starving for some decent orchestral arrangements have chances to appreciate this 70's obscurity.If you are not included in these categories, this will possibly work better than a sleeping pill than a major listening...2.5 stars.