SAECULA SAECULORUM

This is a short one under 30 minutes but very consistent and well done, especially those first three tracks which are amazing. There are vocals in Portuguese but this is mostly instrumental. The opener which is the title track is the longest at 8 minutes and for me the highlight of the record. I can't say enough how talented the pianist and violinist are. I was thinking of Banks a lot with those piano melodies and he often opens each track making me think "Firth Of Fifth" just beautiful music. A lot of tempo changes and adventure happening throughout. Just a talented band who like many Italian bands left us with an absolute classic then disappeared. Love the guitar on here it's just not that prominent.

If those last two tracks were better I would be considering 5 stars here but as it is a solid 4 star star record that I highly recommend.

The first minutes of this album starts out as an Mahavisnu Orchestra album and I am starting to wonder if I put the wrong CD in my CD player. The violins here are pretty jazzy. But the music enters a more familiar territory after a while. The opening track, the title track no less, is pretty jazzy because of the violin which drives it along from a to z.

The rest of the album is pretty much in the Renaissance, Nice and Yes area. It is heavy influenced by the classic composer Handel in addition to bands like PFM from the Italian scene. The sound is pretty open though. The main instruments is the violin, piano, keyboards, the pretty good vocalist and the bass. There are some guitars too and off course the drums.

The quality is pretty good throughout. Saecula Saeculorum had their own style and this album is an odd one out in the symphonic prog scene. Unfortunate, the songs are not that good though. I find them a bit stagnant. This album is also over-saturated by the violin. The vocals could had been better and more in the foreground in the mix. But it is still a good album.

3.25 stars

Hearing this CD nowadays brings me back in time and although the group did not succeed much in translating their electrifying live performances into the studio, it is still excellent music. Their mix of symphonic rock (a la italian bands like PFM and Banco) with West Coast acid rock (including the lyrics, all sung in portuguese) was quite interesting and unique. Some of the stuff even reminds me of another seminal brazilian band, Os Mutantes, although much less anarchic and without their humor. There are lots of classical piano parts and great violin riffs that recall Darryl Way´s (Curved Air) style. Vocals were performed by guitarrist Jose Aluisio with help from keyboards player Giacomo Lombardi and the aforementioned Marcus Viana

With a good production for the time, this CD is recommended to anyone who likes 70´s classical symphonic rock music. Fans of Sagrado Coração Da Terra and Marcus Viana will be delighted to discover that band´s roots.

The first song that carries the group's name is fantastic with superb piano and violin work. The second track "Acqua Vitae" with beautiful piano is easily as good. The remaining three tracks are excellent as well.

Conclusion: An excellent album.