LIVE TASTING

Wonderful live reunion album!!

LATTE E MIELE, one of the classic 1970s RPI bands, released three albums in the 1970s, the first of which, "Passio Secundum Mattheum" is truly one of the essential works of the genre. After the first two albums, the trio (Oliviero Lacagnina - keyboards/vocals, Marcello Giancarlo Dellacasa - guitar/bass/vocals, and Alfio Vitanza - drums) broke up. In 1976, drummer Vitanza reformed the group with three new members, including Massimo Gori on bass, guitar, and vocals. The final album of the classic period was released in 1976.

After years of inactivity, the band reunited in 2008 for a series of concerts. The reunion consisted of the original trio--Lacagnina, Dellacasa, and Vitanza--as well as Massimo Gori from the second incarnation. They also added a second keyboard player, Pino Nastasi, whose contributions are very important. Incidentally, this is the same lineup on their wonderful 2009 studio album, "Marco Polo - Sogni e Viaggi."

For this concert recorded in Canada in 2008, the band chose excellent selections from each of their three studio albums, as well as adding a couple tracks that hadn't yet seen the light of day. The band faithfully reproduces the wonderful choir and lush orchestral arrangements from the first album, although the production of this live album is even better than the studio version. The singing is beautiful and doesn't appear to have dropped off at all. The sound is very reminiscent of the later "Marco Polo" album, and it's not surprising given the success of this concert that they chose to produce a studio album together. In fact, it's very interesting to hear some songs from the second and third albums treated with this symphonic approach-- fresh insights into old friends.

Overall, this is a wonderful live reunion, which thankfully doesn't ever make me ask, "Why in the world did you get back together?" This album is highly recommended to any prog/RPI fan, and is essential to fans of LATTE E MIELE. Four stars.

Incredible how many 'classic' Italian progrock bands bands have reunited in the last two decades, from Il Balletto Di Bronzo, Le Orme and Banco to New Trolls and Osanna. This rebirth of these 'oldies' even led to concerts by these Italian progrock bands in Holland: first Le Orme (goose bumps during Felona E Sorona) and then PFM (great community singing during Celebration), what a joy, "multo grazie!".

Well, here is another "gran ritorno", the widely acclaimed Latte E Miele. And the six piece line-up includes all three members of the original line up from their outstanding debut album Passio Secundum Mattheum (1972).

This live CD was recorded in Canada in 2008, it sounds good and we can enjoy a very inspired band, playing compositions from their three Seventies albums and a few new songs (like the varied final track Vision Of Sunlight). The decision of the band to add an extra keyboard player has turned to out be an excellent move, what a glorious keyboard sound: Grand piano, Hammond organ, Mellotron, vintage synthesizers, harpsichord and classical orchestrations (on the Pavana suite, evoking The Enid), this is a Keyboard Heaven! But the instrumentation is more than a lush keyboard sound, from all sorts of guitar (electric, acoustic, classical) to brass and warm Italian vocals.

Listening to this live CD is making a musical journey with Latte E Miele to their exciting world of the Italian progrock in the SeventiesI, what a beautiful and often compelling music, and what an excellent musicians, I am very impressed!

After this live CD Latte E Miele made a new album entitled Marco Polo - Sogni E Viaggi in 2009 and in 2014 the band released Passio Secundum Matthaeum - The Complete Work, both albums were well received.