DNA

Jumbo took their name from the nickname of lead singer Alvaro Fella, a vocalist with a distinctive gravelly voice who sounds to me like an Italian Alex Harvey. Opinions seem to differ on whether this or their following album ''Vietato ai Minori di 18 Anni'' is the better, but in truth they're both excellent. The first half of this album is taken up by the 20-minute ''Suite Per Il Sig K'', an absolutely storming blues-prog epic that overflows with energetic flute phrases and blues-harp licks. The remainder of the album is perhaps a bit of an anti-climax after this track, although there's never what you might call a dull moment. Dario Guidotti's superb harmonica and flute combo is well to the fore again on ''Miss Rand'', an apparently lighthearted tale about a teacher being burned alive in a housefire! The lyrics are in Italian of course, but I'll take a fellow reviewer's word for it that it's funny. ''E'Brutto Sentirsi Vecchi'' is a fairly downbeat acoustic piece that laments the effects of growing old (tell me about it!), while closing song ''Hai Visto'' sees the album out with some interesting psychedelic organ and jazz- spirited piano. DNA is one of the finest blues-based prog albums around, a bold mix of invention of passion with obvious similarities to the embryonic Jethro Tull. Great stuff indeed.