IO SONO NATO LIBERO

Here it is, my all-time fave album from my all-time fave Italian prog act. All throughout the repertoire of "Io Sono Nato Libero" the glorious majesty of your standard symphonic prog and the unique magic of Italian prog combine in a perfectly crafted combination. This combination is incarnated via strong performances (both in instrumental interplays and di Giacomo's vocal delivery), heard-to-be-believed compositions and arrangements, all of these ingredients that made BMS's early records so special. "Io Sono Nato Libero" follows in the same vein than its two predecessors, if only enriching the band's sound via the incorporation of more synths and the amplification of contrasts within and between all five tracks; by doing so, the album epitomizes the band's ability to mix overwhelming beauty and bold extravagance into one single sonic source. In turn, the 15-plus minute opening cut 'Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico' epitomizes their most remarkable qualities, regarding their fluid management of ultra-diverse musical resources: delicate keyboard orchestrations, alternating guitar and synth solos, ELP-ish power trio paraphernalia, jazz fusion tinged percussive passages, weird acoustic guitar duets (pastoral, dissonant, bluesy), all of them displayed and reprised in an amazingly coherent amalgam. This is perhaps the best Italian prog tune ever!! After this exquisite extravaganza, there's still more beauty in store for the listener to enjoy. 'Non Mi Rompete' is a delicious acoustic number full of folkish references, driven by a serene melancholy and completed by a sense of joy and celebration in the humming choruses. 'La Citta' Sotile' and 'Dopo. Niente e' Piu' lo Stesso' are both exquisite prog numbers: the former relaying a tendency toward the romantic, the latter resuming some of the extravagant play of contrasts that had been so spectacularly fulfilled in the opening track. 'Traccia II' is a 2:38 minute instrumental that closes down the album with a sense of elegance that allows the listener to breathe after their breath had been taken and their neck broken during the previous 38 minutes. Not one of tracks 2-5 is capable of matching the greatness of track 1. but oh, how great those tracks are, too! As a whole, "Io Sono Nato Libero" is not only amazing; it is also and most of all, an even catalogue of musical wisdom and artistic imagination. Let me quote Tony Banks here: "many, too many have stood where I stand". 5 stars!!! - this is where I stand. I'm sure "many more will stand here, too".