I SUONI IN UNA SFERA (OST)

"I Suoni In Una Sfera" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Celeste. The album was released through Mellow Records in 1992. Tracks 1-9 were recorded in February 1974 (all composed by Ciro Perrino) and some sources say they formed a part of the soundtrack for a motion picture titled "I suoni in una sfera" written and directed by Enry Fiorini. I have neither found proof of the existence of the movie nor the director, so until I´m made wiser, I´m not sure they exist. What I do know, is that the tracks are selections from two various artists compilation albums released by Magma records in 1976 ("Musica Del Mare" and "Sensazioni D'Estate"). Tracks 10-12 are unreleased recordings from Celeste´s vault. Two of them are demo recordings of "Eftus" and "Favole Antiche", which are both tracks which appeared on Celeste´s 1976 debut album in completed studio versions.

Although the existence of the "I suoni in una sfera" movie may be disputed, tracks 1-9 on the album do feature a soundtrack atmosphere. They are subdued and relatively simple progressive rock tracks, using elements from both classical music and folk. As the material were written and recorded around the same time as the material which ended up on Celeste´s debut album, there are of course some similarities, but "I Suoni In Una Sfera" is generally slightly less interesting than the material featured on the debut album. It´s warm, organic, and mellow progressive rock, but it´s also slightly uneventful and at times bordering repetitive, which of course makes sense if the material were recorded to be used as a soundtrack to a movie.

The ambient nature of the music probably won´t please every progressive rock fan out there, but if you crave something nice and soothing on the ears and just want to relax and not have to think and analyse too much on what you hear, "I Suoni In Una Sfera" is a great little album. Sure at times it has a tendency to become background music, but it´s not a major issue and most of the time the pleasant organic instrumentation and the simple pretty melodies save the day. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.