NUDA

The album from "Gleemen" (the first incarnation of this band) recorded in 1970 was quite psychedelic and enjoyable. This one might be of interest to some of you if you are ready to listen to some sort of Hendrix clone who is singing in Italian.

That's the definite impression one gets while listening to the opening "Maya Desnuda". A heavy song that seems to come out straight from the great man's repertoire. The only difference being that some strong keyboards are sustaining the guitar work.

The Hendrix filiation goes on with the psyche "Decomposizione": a short instrumental and some sort of homage to the master ("Ladyland" period). The first emotional moment from this album is the superb "Febbraio 1700". Sweet guitar, delicate vocals and a great groove indeed. Needless to say that the model is not far away?An excellent song for sure.

After a weak "Ultima Graziosa", the side long suite "Moretto Da Brescia" is quite expected. And the result is really great.

At least they have (almost) cut the link with Hendrix and offer a fantastic piece of Italian prog. The accent is much more emphasized on the keyboards work and even if the whole sounds heavily as a late sixties psychedelic piece of music it is really rewarding to listen to these twenty one minutes of music.

There are some bombastic keyboards passages, jolly good vocal performances ("Il Giardino Del Re"). Be warned though that it leans more on the heavy side than the usual Italian symph (which was freshly born at the time: 1972). There are still moments that reminds me of the master but not too many. Needless to say that I quite like these ones since the man is one of my two or three musical heroes (although I strongly recommend a "No More Heroes" attitude).

Depending on where your interest resides, you might like the first or the second part of this album better. The usual proghead will look much more into the epic which is really a fine track with lots of soundscapes. A definite four stars for this suite that offers a wonderful travel into some forgotten and great sounds.

I rate this album with three stars because the first portion of the album doesn't reach the same level (although "Febbraio" is quite worthy).