PANGEA E LE TRE LUNE

IL CERCHIO D'ORO was a first wave golden years Italian prog band that first formed as far back as 1974 and stuck it out until 1980 but never succeeded in finding a record deal. Releasing only three singles during its initial run, this band from Savona sort of became a footnote in the Italian prog encyclopedia with virtually anyone knowing a thing about them. Starting out as a Le Orme influenced band the sound slowly degraded into a commercial sound that signified the downturn in the classic prog years.

Fast forward 25 years and the band reforms in 2005 the same year the archival material from the heyday was released in the form of "La Quadratura del Cerchio." This second wind proved to have some staying power and the band has since released four fully-fledged studio albums with the latest being this 2023 release PANGEA E LE TRE LUNE (Pangea and the Three Moons). This concept album is all about the supercontinent Pangea and exclusively sung in Italian so most likely a mystery to all except those who speaka la lingo.

The band started out as the trio of Franco Piccolini (keyboards), Giuseppe Terribile (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Gino Terribile (drums, vocals), all three who are still very much on board but also newbies Piucio Pradal (vocals, guitar) and guitarist Massimo Spica. The album also includes a few guest musicians such as Ricky Belloni (electric guitar - New Idea, New Trolls), Donald Lax (violin - Quella Vecchia Locanda) and Tolo Marton (electric guitar - Le Orme). If the cover art is seems like a throwback to the 70s that's because it was designed by Armando Mancini who handled the artwork for a number of bands including Quella Vecchia Locanda, The Trip, Rovescio Della Medaglia and Raccomandata Ricevuta Di Ritorno.

PANGEA E LE TRE LUNE is very much a 70s retro album only unlike some of the newer bands this one sounds like it was authentically crafted in the 70s most likely due to the fact these musicians lived through the golden years and have it in their DNA. The album features seven tracks at a classic running time of vinyl with a bonus track "Crisi" appearing on CDs. IL CERCHIO D'ORO (The Golden Circle) deliver an authentic wayback machine of classic 70s Italian prog. While still maintains the rather folky deliver of the Le Orme influences, this newest release also excels in turbulent keyboard arrangements as well as some knotty guitar workouts. Bands like PFM, Banco and all the classics come to mind of course but IL CERCHIO is a bit more subdued and doesn't ever break any speed barriers. The bonus track "Crisi" picks up the pace and rocks out unlike the album proper. Sounds like classic Deep Purple with a nod to a quickie "Smoke On The Water" keyboard salute.

Piuccio Pradal nails the classic vocal style of all the aforementioned bands by delivering a passionate display of Italian enunciations in fine form. The music is melodic but engages in many mood shifts, chameleonesque motif changes and lots of variety to keep the album from sounding stale. For some old timers the music is fairly fresh and creative and doesn't sound like material salvaged from the recycling bin. While not ridiculously original in sound, i can never pinpoint any moment that i would mistake this band for any other either. Everything is just different enough to keep me interested. IL CERCHIO is proof that bands can become infinitely better in the latter years as most critics panned the original recordings. Not a band i'm overly familiar with but this album certainly wants me to explore what i've missed.

This is rertro/vintage-sounding Rock Progressivo Italiano exactly the way many old school progheads want it. The band was there at the original prog era of the 70's, it's only that they didn't get a record deal back then. Upon their reforming in 2005 the couple of first releases rooted in the old stuff weren't sonically very convincing, but each of the four latest studio albums seems to be an improvement of the preceding one. In 2018 I reviewed Il Fuoco Sotto la Cenere (2017) pretty positively, and I felt immediately that I like this new album even more. Starting from the great cover art done by an artist responsible of several classic RPI album covers.

Discounting the heavy rock oriented bonus track 'Crisi' (I agree with the former reviewer that it's not on the same high level with the album and it could have been left out altogether), there are six tracks between five and ten minutes in length. There seems to be a lyrical conceptual coherence, dealing, in a manner of a legend or a fairy-tale, with the forming of planet Earth and its continents, and the Moon. See the album title! The lyrics are rather sparse since the emphasis of the compositions is in the playing. 'Pangea' starts in a classic Symphonic Prog style: the instrumental intro is dominated by piano, flute and Mellotron, and it fluently leads to the sung section. The 9-minute piece contains plenty of dynamic, progressive shifts and never loses its direction. An uninformed listener would undoubtedly believe if (s)he was told this is a RPI classic from say 1975. Also the vocal harmonies are enjoyable.

'Alla Deriva' has even bigger emphasis on the instrumental expression, containing only a brief vocal section. The melodically powerful music is not too dominated by the lush vintage keyboards of Franco Piccolini, also the other musicians are well present in the soundscape. You may think of Genesis with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. An extra delight on this album are the guest musicians from classic RPI bands, including violinist Donald Lax (Quella Vecchia Locanda) whose contribution is important on 'Dialogo'.

'Le Tre Lune' is the second longest track (8:34) and a fantastic mini-epic in a pure seventies classic prog fashion. Speaking of the whole album, the vocal harmonies are in my opinion more enjoyable than the grittiest solo voice I'm not so fond of, but it's used sparsely enough that it doesn't become a nuisance. This album is a guaranteed delight for anyone enthusiastic for the vintage/retro RPI with Symphonic Prog style featuring lots of keyboards, especially for those (myself included) who are not that fond of the heavier & darker end of the spectre -- also on that department the trusted label Black Widow has been active lately.