EVASIONE DI UN'IDEA

In early-80's job commitments, university studies and military obligations forced the original line-up of Aurora Lunare to fall apart.With the remaining leaders Mauro Pini and Luciano Tonetti a second period of the band begins in 1982 and lasts until 1991 with many line-up changes and a turn towards a more radio-friendly style.Among the members to play with Aurora Lunare were drummer Riccardo Billeri, singer/percussionist Giacomo Salina, keyboardist Antonio Salina and most notably guitarist Alessandro Corvaglia, later lead singer of La Maschera di Cera and long-time collaborator of Fabio Zuffanti in his various projects.In 2002 an archival album ''Evasione di un'idea'' was sold through the band's revamped website, scanning the later days of the original line-up and the following decade with the updated sound.

The album contains 13 tracks, which can be divided in two different styles.The first one shows the more accesible sound of Aurora Lunare, sometimes comparable to ATON'S, based on pathetic and very weak synth lines and cheesy keyboard deliveries, very far from their initial style, where the progressive content is still apparent, but the recording quality and the obvious but false-adapted Neo Prog tendencies do not help much.Some nice ideas are still in the menu with interesting symphonic textures and a few pretty great melodies around, while the vocals do offer this romantic Italian flavor.However the music contains no risks or any leanings towards the elaborate, Italian-styled arrangements of the past and the decent musicianship gets lost in the sake of commercial tunes and thin instrumental performances.The second style appears mainly in the longer tracks, which do sound more progressive with evident blinks to the 70's and a fair amount of breaks, complex instrumental passages and some big symphonic references in the synthesizers, a bit similar to ERRATA CORRIGE.The instrumental work is extended, the vocals are both sensitive the theatrical, the guitar work even bursts some jazzy vibes and the overall result is definitely more convinving, emphatic and dense.The flat keyboards and the average production are still reasons the hold down the quality of these otherwise interesting compositions.

Decent document of Aurora Lunare's long and unknown history.Not much of a recommended release, due to its strong commercial leanings and bad recording process, but anyone into melodic Italian Symph/Neo Prog could give this a chance...2.5 stars.