IL TEMPO DELLA SEMINA

Fiery organ dominated Italian prog, this salvaged mid 70s recording is not atypical for its time, and presents a mix of influences from the French symphonic to Tull, but also sounds a great deal like Italian contemporaries Metamorfosi and owes some debt to the New Trolls.

The highlight is unquestionably the title cut with its shifting themes, some lovely, others harsh, many in between. The vocals tend to the rough-cut but generally do not deter, the exception being the other long track " La Canzone Del Padre" which does suffer from period rancor. The opening song also showcases Claudio Canali's fabulous flourishes on flute, as does the short but succinct " L'arte Sublime Di Un Giusto Regnare", which also contains some of the more pastoral organ, lead guitars and vocals. The other highlight is "Solo Ma Vivo" which is exquisitely understated and stately, and features what sounds like mellotron.

All in all, a pretty good effort. If Biglietto per L'Inferno might not be the most original group by any stretch, this is not simple regurgitation of musical ideas, and there is a certain layered richness to the proceedings that elevates the disk beyond much of what was released back then, even if one can understand why it languished for 20 years in purgatory.