PALEPOLI

Another masterpiece I never grow tired of hearing. This was a huge ambitious leap from their first two albums that were much less progressive than this one. PALEPOLIS was the name of the pre-Greek settlment of Naples, OSANNA's home turf.

While most Italian bands were going down the symphonic prog road laid down by Genesis, OSANNA dared to really push the envelope and create something really unique. In fact, Genesis chose them to tour with them in 72 out of the gazillion bands who would've loved to be in that position. Probably due to the fact that OSANNA themselves were influencial by being one of the first bands to incorporate facepaint and theatrics to their live sets.

The music is eclectic. There seems to be some King Crimson influence in the more jazzy rockin' parts but there is a healthy dose of Neapolitan Mediterranean traditional influence (I call it grape stomping music) and lots of other influences as well. The usual pattern is for an idea to develop into a beautiful melodic movement and then abruptly change into another with some chaotic sprinklings. Great guitar and sax solos as well. The lyrics (in Italian) are about mythology and social themes. This album is crying out for a remastering, otherwise it's perfect.