ALPHATAURUS

Are we sure this album was released in 1973? It's incredible how it seems to have been recorded just a couple of years ago (if not today). We know so few about ALPHATAURUS and also about the album that comes the over-repeated sentence - another solitaire gem from another obscure Italian band. The history book is full of them, but thanks goodness, these marvels are preserved.

In my opinion, for those already into the progressive music but not yet in the Rock Progressivo Italiano (RPI), "Alphataurus" is the best album to start, since it contains everything we find pleasant, brilliant and amazing in the style: those everlasting keyboard chords, the guitar intermezzos, the strong drumming, the exceptional bass lines and soprattutto, the vocals. Give me these vocals and I'll conquer the world!

'Peccato d'orgoglio' opens the album in a spacey mood soon replaced by exquisite piano and jazzy drums; then keyboards and guitars do the honors for the singing part, very weird with doubled vocals. The general symphonic atmosphere is capitalized by heavy synth patterns shared with bucolic fingered guitar and rock spices. The song goes hard in the middle section, with the band acting like a mini-orchestra. The various changes and alternatives are astonishing, purely progressive. The final track part is more plain, echoing influences from EL&P and KING CRIMSON, maybe unnecessary.

'Dopo l'uragano' begins with sound effects and acoustic guitar. Strong vocals and good instrumentation hide a monochord song. This song certainly provided the inspiration for the band's second album released in the 90s entitled "Dietro L'Uragano", a timeless output made available years after ALPHATAURUS's disbanding and not considered by many sources as a real production.

The shortest album track, 'Croma', is a great moment. All instrumental, it bears the band's most meaningful feature: the mesmerizing sound, which is repeated like a powerful and tasteful mantra throughout the song.

The marvels of previous song seems a rehearsal for the fantastic 'La mente vola', an almost perfect example of how a progressive song must be. The track is divided in two parts: the first one with the mantra-like mesmerizing tunes typical of the band; the second one, after a glorious transition, dominated by splendid vocals, backed by multicolored choir and amazing musicianship. What a song!

The average 'Ombra muta' closes the album in a senseless way, after the impact of the antecessor track'.

'La mente vola' alone is a masterpiece but not the album which anyway is an excellent and compulsory addition to any serious prog collection. Final rating: 4.