FROST OF WATERMELON

Fans of retro progressive rock will probably enjoy this release by Italian band Court.

The music here is mostly on the mellow and melodic side, folk-influenced acoustic guitar licks central in the compositions here. Flute (or flute sounding keys) further enhance the folk influences here. Variation to this sound is added by inserting slightly psychedelic 70's guitar riffs of the mellow variety in a few tunes; and the icing on the cake is frequent use of symphonic keyboard textures.

There's a couple of tunes here when the band decides to rock out - unsuccessfully - which are the main weak side of this release. The vocals may be a bit on the weak side too; but unless you're extremely sensitive about vocals performances it won't be bothersome.

"Frost Of Watermelon" is the third album of the Italian prog band Court. It was released in 2007, ten years after Court's previous album "Distances" and it's definitely more various, heterogeneous and with a richer sound. The line up features a new guitarist, Marco Strobl who took the place of Andrea Costanza, and some guest musicians... The "recipe" is tasty and well balanced, including "ingredients" like classical and acoustic guitars, mellotron, recorders and glockenspiel along with powerful bass lines, electric guitars and "smashed pumpkins"... Well, the band is not stuck in the past and you can find on this work not only echoes of Genesis and Pink Floyd but also some peculiar "grungy passages".

"I will be back again / Just to step and fly away / Believe me / I founded my world on a dream...". In my opinion the highlights on this album are the dreamy "My World" and the hypnotic and mysterious instrumental "Bridge To Maya". Prog lovers will find very interesting also the long and complex suite "Mad and Child" and the acoustic ballad "When I Lose" featuring mellotron, glockenspiel and recorders... The overall result is very good, so... "Sprinkle on the frost of watermelon" with slivers of dark chocolate, put the bowls in the fridge and serve cold"!

Court often deviate from the traditional RPI path and on 'Frost of Watermelon' they filter their wide pool of influences into a most modern-sounding RPI album. It's a surprising, yet surprisingly plausible, blend of folk, indie, grunge and West Coast. I think this disc would strike a chord with fans of Crossover as the tracks are melodic, concise and varied, and they follow a number of different paths. However the seamless articulations between tracks and the inclusion of a 24-minute multi-part suite ensure that Italian symphonic music is also well represented.

The band's diverse influences are matched by their equally diverse musical resources. The members of Court all seem to be multi-instrumentalists and the list of instruments employed here would require the late Viv Stanshall as MC to do it justice: Mellotron, synthesizer, electric piano, Farfisa organ, oboe, flute, recorder, harmonica, glockenspiel, e-bow, mandolin, slide guitar. The only minor drawback is that these delinquent Italians sing in English. It boggles my mind that some Italian bands exclusively favour accented English instead of their poetic native tongue. That said, at least these lyrics are coherent and there are no major issues with the English vocals on this album.

It took a good bit of searching for me to find a copy of this CD and I was a bit dubious about its quality at first. However the sparks of brilliance come out to shine with repeated listens and these strengthen my enjoyment of the album rather than fortifying my doubts. Throw in the lovely artwork with all lyrics printed inside the booklet and this album is a slam-dunk for fans of modern, melodic RPI. According to torodd's interview with the band this is their most accessible work to date so it's perhaps ironic that I chose to buy the least progressive of their three albums. I guess I'll just have to buy the other two now.

I must admit that after one listen there's no way I thought I would give this 4 stars. Well it grew on me quickly.The vocals sound like they belong in the Neo-Prog genre, reminding me of the guy from SHAKERY at times.Yes this Italian sings in English.This is a long one (76 minutes) but there's so much great stuff on here I have to give it a low 4 stars.

"Limbo" is a top three track and believe it or not it has a Swedish flavour to it. Strummed guitar to open as vocals and a fuller sound arrive quickly. It does turn aggressive and 3 1/2 minutes in we get emotional vocals. "Men I Met" is a short uptempo vocal track. "Walking And Talking" is another top three tune.They slow it down here and it's quite beautiful. It does kick in at 1 1/2 minutes with emotion then it settles back as contrasts continue. "When I Lose" is laid back to start with vocals. It picks up before 1 1/2 minutes and the guitar comes to the fore after 3 minutes when the vocals stop. Flute replaces the guitar until after 4 1/2 minutes when the guitar returns and lights it up with mellotron. "Past Days" is a very good instrumental piece. It has a good beat with some intense outbreaks.

"Wet Of Sky" opens with acoustic guitar as reserved vocals join in. It's raining. "My World" is laid back with strummed guitar and vocals.This sounds much better when it picks up. Some nice guitar after 4 1/2 minutes. "Bridge To Maya" opens with the sound of birds and mellotron. It kicks in louder at 2 1/2 minutes. A heavier sound before 6 1/2 minutes. "Synaptic Ghost" sounds cool as the vocals join in. A heavier sound comes and goes. Just a great sounding track. "Sun Beyond Time" is my other top three. I really enjoy this one especially the vocals.The guitar leads before 3 minutes then it settles back with vocals 5 minutes in and builds beautifully. More great guitar late. "First Stones" has acoustic guitar, reserved vocals and aboe that comes and goes. It's fuller after 2 minutes. So good.

"Mad And Child" is a 24 minute, 4 song suite to end the album. It opens with "You" which is fairly laid back and it really reminds me of SHAKERY. It does get heavier late. "Mother Nature" has some mandolin in it and it's mellow until picking up late. "Father" is pastoral with acoustic guitar and more reserved vocals. It does pick up. Some accordion in this one too and the guitar comes to the fore around 5 1/2 minutes. "Myself" has lots of percussion and intricate acoustic guitar.Vocals join in and then it kicks in after 2 1/2 minutes.We get a calm later on.

This is a good one and worth checking out.

Things got really bad for Court after ''Distances'', when the mastermind and guitarist of the band Andrea Costanza left due to the limited album's sales.He was replaced by Andrea Balliano and later multi-instrumentalist Marco Strobel, but the lack of motivation, live performances and record deal led Court to fall in hiatus in 2000.During this period though Paolo Lucchina, Mos' Nodari and Marco Strobel worked on colouring ancient tunes with different recording techniques.The enthusiasm returned in mid-00's with Court entering the Varano Borghi Studios and recording their third album ''Frost of Watermelon'', a private CD release.

Eventually the hard work for Court led them to a better result and ''Frost of Watermelon'' marked a new fresh beginning for the band.The style has not changed radically, this is a blend of Acoustic Rock/Folk with Heavy/Psychedelic Rock and Progressive Rock, but the compositions seems more conveincing, while the group deliveries series of tight playing with changing atmospheres and styles.Even the vocals are more satisfying next to this fine musicianship.The music of group relies much on the guitar work of Strobel and Nodari with the medieval acoustic tunes giving their place to strong grooves and interesting riffing.The bad experiences of the past were seemingly a good lesson for Court, there are finally some fantastic interplays in here with superb flutes at moments supporting the rockin' attitude, some guitar solos are trully inspired, while the overall atmosphere seems more complex and demanding than on the previous works, even comparable with GENTLE GIANT or JETHRO TULL at moments.The Folk elements remain the band's driving force but the solid rockin' arrangements supporting this influence are more than decent, however there is still some room for improvement.

Finally a quite good album by Court and they sure deserve a recommendation for their brand new and fresh great approach.Great work for fans of Progressive/Folk Rock and still a nice purchase for the rest of the prog audience.