TRASPARENZE

By 2005 the degradation of Malibran was completed.Giuseppe Scaravilli was practically the only remaining member of the band, but -instead of calling it quits- his desire for progressive music led him to the Tower Hills Studios in Belpasso at the end of 2006 for the recordings of a new album.Former members Jerry Litrico, Alessio Scaravilli and Giancarlo Cutuli helped him on some tracks along with Toni Granata, who provided violin duties in three pieces.The whole process ended in 2007 and all liner notes were written by Giuseppe Scaravilli in the same year, but the album would not find a release home until 2009, when Electromantic Music decided to give Malibran's new effort a chance.The man handled most of guitars, keyboards, flutes, bass parts and vocals in this work.

This was definitely Malibran's most uneven effort ever, no wonder with Scaravilli being the left-alone person for this whole work.The compositions date from mid-90's unreleased stuff to tracks written during the period of the recordings.Musically this is a weird album.The two longest pieces, the eponymous one and ''Pensieri fragili'', co-written by Jerry Litrico are good, old Malibran at their very best.Folky Symphonic Rock with sensitive Italian vocals, laid-back tunes and pastoral flutes, occasionally interrupted by nice electric guitars and atmospheric keyboards, creating emotions somewhere between melancholy and drama and a fine balance between melodious and atmospheric soundscapes with smooth interplays placed here and there.The rest of the album finds Scaravilli in a bit of confusion.Most of them maintain the folky atmosphere, flavored by more Singer/Songwriter stylings and less proggy influences, based on mellow acoustic lines, flutes and poetic vocals.These pieces though are often colored by sax, violin and keyboards for a more artistic approach.CELESTE are among the groups to spring to mind.Malibran were not known for massive electric riffs, but a few tracks in ''Trasparenze'' display the more attacking side of Scaravilli with powerful guitars and strong rhythmic tunes, definitely the less interesting material of the album.The man though has done a great job overall to keep the spirit of the band alive along the lines of Classic Italian Prog ala PFM and LOCANDA DELLE FATTE, even if the folky side is more pronounced.

A new album is yet to be desired.Malibran remained active for sometime regarding their live performances and the driving force named Giuseppe Scaravilli reputedly had tons of material ready to be released, but their absence from the recent scene make it rather questionable.

''Trasparenze'' finds Malibran reduced and generally more relaxed, even if the addition of a pair of heavier tracks is also displayed.Pastoral Symphonic/Folk Rock, based mainly on acoustic guitars, keyboards and flutes.Smooth, emotional and recommended music.