IL TEMPO DELLA GIOIA

After the debut album of the band violin player Donald Lax left Italy and returned to USA, while shortly after bassist Romualdo Coletta also abandoned Quella Vecchia Locanda for personal reasons.They were replaced by Claudio Filice and Massimo Giorgi respectively and the new sextet recorded the sophomore release ''Il Tempo Della Gioia'' (''The time of joy'') for RCA in 1974.

While ''Quella Vecchia Locanda'' was a Symphonic Rock album with strong Classical flavors, the new album was a work of Classical/Symphonic arrangements with evident rock elements.The band transformed into a dreamy Chamber orchestra, which was eager to put up a show full of Classical piano themes, ethereal violin passages and poetic voices to complete a soundscape with demanding orchestrations.The rhythm section of Giorgi and Traina is however almost always present and the rock attitude is evident throughout the listening.Additionally many moments feature a nice guitar work of Cocco and the strong keyboard/synth solos of Roselli, these are very close to the magnificent works of PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (especially on the eponymous track and ''Un giorno, un amico'').''Il tempo della gioia'' lacks a bit the real pearls of the debut of the band, but the arrangements here have a beautiful Italian taste, the atmosphere is very dreamy despite the complexity of the material and the interplays are light yet always attractive.

This was meant to be the band's last album, as Quella Vecchia Locanda split up the next year due to the lack of promotion and distribution by RCA, resulting to the members' financial problems, who decided that this was a hard way to walk.

''Il Tempo Della Gioia'' will please a variety of fans withing the prog community and not only lovers of Italian Prog.Symphonic Rock/Chamber Prog/RIO followers as well as admirers of Classical Music will find plenty of material to satisfy them in this second Quella Vecchia Locanda effort.Warmly recommended...3.5 stars.