THE HIDING PLACE

I'm not going to say too much about this album as i'm not into playing the part of a critic. From my first listen of this record though I didn't like it, and it didn't grow on me as i've listened to it 6 times now. I was shocked when I saw this listed under "Symphonic" because this sounds like "Neo-Prog" to me. Now because this was their first release i'm assuming that they changed their style along the way. The guitar and synths though along with the Gabrial-like vocals are all crying out neo to me. The vocals unfortunately are quite weak, and so is the sound quality of this recording.

Best I can do is 2 stars.

Named after a piece composed by Ferdinando Carulli, among the most important guitarists of the 19th century, Notturno Concertante begun life in mid-80's in Avellino, initially as a duo led by guitarists Raffaele Villanova and Lucio Lazzaruolo.The band evolved into a 5-piece group towards the end of the decade, eventually releasing their debut LP ''The hiding place'' in 1990 on Musea Records.A CD reissue would follow 4 years later on Mellow Records with three bonus tracks.

By the time Lazzaruolo took over the keyboard duties as well with Giancarmine Tammaro on vocals, Enzo Abbondandolo on bass and Michele Iacoviello along with some help by flutist Enzo Matarazzo.Their sound didn't differ much of the late-80's Italian Prog movement, though the band sung in English, but playing in a style reminiscent mostly of ATON'S, SITHONIA and ERIS PLUVIA.Light Symphonic Rock mixed with Neo Prog is the game played in ''The hiding place'' and the band managed to create some good pieces of music among the more average ones in a dark period for prog music.The guitar playing is rather simplistic, recalling PIETRO RATTO, with some good distorted solos throughout, while the synthesizers of Lazzaruolo are more dominant, adding a symphonic color to the arrangements.Vocals have a district Italian accent and are not among the album's highlights.Do not expect any high-class complicated material, the band's focus remains on creating elaborate arrangements with occasional organ, flute, acoustic parts and harsichord sounds here and there, just when they sound pretty symphonic with some nice soundscapes delivered.The more guitar/synth-driven tracks still have a decent artistic value, following the steps of Neo Prog acts like ARCANSIEL or LEVIATHAN.The three bonus tracks on the Mellow Records release are of less interest being mostly Soft Rock compositions with sensitive vocals but only a bit of intricacy.

Regarding the time of the release, Notturno Concertante's debut was an album of daring music along the typical prog values, but today it has lost some of its freshness, mainly due to the mediocre production and drumming.However it can be a great occasional listening for both fans of Symphonic Rock and Neo Prog.Recommended.