THE MISSING FIREFLIES...

In my opinion, Le Lucciole Non Si Amano Piu was one of the best produced 70's prog albums. How did it manage to sound so spectacular compared to other recordings of the time? When it comes to The Missing Fireflies, essentially leftovers of the earlier album, it is likewise produced to a very satisfactory level. The overall sound, from the keys to drums is crisp, punchy, and full. The performances are inspired, especially Luciano's beautiful singing. There's really nothing to complain about here. The Missing Fireflies basically sounds exactly like it should've been on the original album, and it would have been, had their not been technical limitations on the album production. If one was to complain about something, it might be that they were hoping for something that sounded like a different album, but they didn't get it. Well, that wasn't really the purpose here, now was it. You get loads of keyboards and pianos dueling off in magical Italian fashion, gorgeous vocals, perhaps some of the best in Italian 70's, in my humble opinion, and compositions which show great use of transitions and moods while maintaining a magical romantic sort of atmosphere, all the while never being afraid to get 'proggy.'

My only beef with this release is the poor sound quality of the live tracks. Unfortunately, they sound like they were recorded on a microphone in the back of the concert hall and were never mixed. It's pretty bad, I'm not kidding. Nothing we can do about it. In the end, however, I wasn't hoping for a Locanda live album. I just wanted the extra studio tracks, which they delivered splendidly. A real treat for fans of the band and those in the mood for a bit of Italian 70's nostalgia.