NOSTALGIA

By the time of the album's release Mazzeo was going through a painful personal phase, having lost his job, and all these facts are taped on the emotional performance of the band and the heavily auto-biographical lyrics.Additionally both Mazzeo and Romano were fans of CAMEL, so the album has a good sense of melody throughout, where soft acoustic textures meet often with melodic electric solos.However the album lacks the real fundamentals of progressive music, containing no interplays, no radical changes and no trully obvious progressive leanings.It is more in the vein of the easier material of ATON'S or NOTTURNO CONCETRANTE with the material strongly based around Mazzeo's voice, the calm keyboard atmosphere and the alternation between the acoustic and electric sound.The production is really flat and sound really amateur, same thing with the synths' and drums' echoes throughout the release.On the other hand Mazzeo's voice (though very accented on the English lyrics) and the duo's guitar delivery somewhat hold the listener's interest, although the playing is very mellow and deeply esoteric.

A good album for anyone looking for some music with a background essence, easy-listening and emotional.But I can see noone else, who could really appreciate the soft approach of Nostalgia's debut.Some samples before purchasing would be really helpful...2.5 stars.

The songs are good, but not exceptional. I found the vocals rather weak on parts, expecially the male voices (mazzeo is no singer, which is very strange for an italian outfit). The lyrics are naive, ok, but I could live with that. Maybe they would be better if they sang in their native language. I heard they were influenced by Camel, but I really didn´t find much of that band here. Maybe that´s why they labeled them as neo prog here on PA, but don´t expect anything in the vein of the english 80´s bands nor the more recent neo groups that came from Poland or Holland. But if you like simple acoustic melodies, with some folky and jazzy parts then you should check this out.

In the end I found Is Your Spirit Free: a nice album. Quite peaceful and pleasant to the ear. Not much progressive stuff here, though. 3 stars.

While the overall dreamy atmosphere and somewhat tinny quality remain, the melodies are less impressive as the duo goes singer songwriter, settling for ponderously strummed guitars and minimally persuasive bass patterns a little too often, as in "The Good Guys" and "Welcome" respectively. If one focuses on the lyrics and arrangements, the first are hard to hear and the second rather simplistic on "Never Alone", one of the longer cuts here.

The major highlights are the dynamically superb "I'm a Dreamer", with many phases and phrasings, and the delicate acoustic and vocally staggering delight "Double", while "Remains of the Night" shows off a more overtly keyboard dominated prog side for one of the few times, reminding me of some of ANYONE'S DAUGHTERS slightly fusion-y work in the early 1980s. The only Italian sung piece "Mare D'Inverno", and "Beyond the Fog" stake out a comfort zone without being pat.

After the free spirit soared in the previous album, this seems mundane by comparison, but still grounded enough to warrant 3 stars and a wistful sense that the band, like Edo, may have reached its ultimate landing.

Some of their singularity may be due to financial constraints, so that very few drums are used, and half of those are programmed, and Mauro Moroni of Mellow Records produced the album, giving a cavernous and echoey aspect to the whole oeuvre. From a prog perspective, the group seems to have blown its budget on the compelling opening quasi-title suite, which includes the only authentic percussion, flutes, many shifts of mood within an ethereal framework, and some JADE WARRIOR styled languid guitars.

Subsequent tracks offer many beautiful melodies and moments, with plenty of gently yet ponderously strummed acoustic guitars, and occasional simplistic lyrics that sound profound when uttered with Italian accents. "Nothing we can't say, nothing we can't do" epitomizes this aspect of the group, as does "Only between people". The blending of male and female vocals is done in a charmingly amateurish way that somehow works. "Fragments" channels both Andy Latimer and Steve Hackett and shows that the band could go the instrumental route comfortably, even without percussion, while in other tracks the lack of real drums is compensated for by what sounds like luscious fretless bass.

While flaws abound, nostalgia offers a path to acceptance and forgiveness, which I freely embrace in the spirit in which this sweet production was offered. 3.5 stars rounded up.

The lyrics in this set deal with soul-searching (I'm a Dreamer), troublesome friendships (Double), staying close to your children (Never Alone), and the brotherhood of good people who refuse to turn their backs on the new lepers of our society, the poor (The Good Guys.) In "Never Alone" they say that children, given the choice of having their father in the next room under dire circumstances, or far away but content, will choose the first option. They don't care about your wallet or your status, they just want you, here and now.

"Welcome" begins with sound effects as someone presumably comes home and fires up a cig before picking up the acoustic. Bass and keyboards join a rather unnerving melody. "I'm a Dreamer" is a more conventional pop song but a real charmer with delightful melody and impressive guitar work. There are many different sections of music and all are interesting, along with shared vocals. One of the standout tracks for sure. "Double" features Maurizio Falcone in the first of three acoustic duets with Massimo. "The Remains of the Night" is a good instrumental with guitar over some very nice keyboard textures by Andrea Romano. Romano really shines here as an amazingly accomplished guitarist with some killer soloing. "Mare D'inverno" is written by Paolo Sommariva and shines to my ears because they sing this one track in Italian and it's very beautiful. This one is again accompanied by duel acoustics, mellow and very relaxing. "The Fault is Mine" features a guest vocalist performance by Stephanie Bejma. "Beyond the Fog" is the third of the dueling acoustic tracks and very nice albeit short. 'The Good Guys" features Daniela Blundo on lead vocals in a rather quirky pop song with pleasant bass and guitar accents throughout. "Never Alone" is an introspective ode to parenting with vocals by Daniela and Massimo and relatively uneventful music. "The New Day" closes the album with another instrumental this time written by Romano. It is upbeat and inspired. They then tack on a couple of Camel covers at the end, "Drafted" and "Camelogue." All in all the playing on the album is quite good although they could definitely use a full time drummer on future projects. Programmed drums can zap the zest from an otherwise good song.

When searching the haystack of lesser known, smaller groups from around the world, we must realize that we can't compare every local/regional band to Floyd and DT. Many of these people probably aren't full time musicians but working people who have sacrificed much to have a chance at recording an album, doing something they love without profiting much. I'm not saying we shouldn't judge them fairly but just that one has to keep in mind that Chris Squire can spend 24 hours a day in his home studio working on his stuff. He also has an unlimited production budget comparatively. While I can't know for sure, I'm guessing the musicians of bands like Nostalgia and others don't have the same luxury. They've done a damn fine job anyway. Take the time to find their music and give it a fair chance.

"In touching the strings of his guitars I tried to build a bridge to the unknown..to Edo's land. Ciao Edo, ciao my friend. My memories of you I'll treasure them in my heart." [Massimo]