GENERAZIONI (STORIA DI SEMPRE)

Somewhere between Murple's 'Io Sono Murple' and Apoteosi's self-titled album, lies 'Generazioni' by E. A. Poe. This mysterious band (it seems that any kind of information about the line-up is non-existent) displayed a somewhat gloomy kind of symph prog, with a moderately dark ambience to it, and yet, still melodic, refined and accesible: the instrumental arrangements follow the usual path of symphonic oriented standards, but keeping the complexity on a subtle level, without excessive ornaments or over-pretentious dramatic contrasts. Sometimes the rhythm section supports the melodies and textures with a jazzy mood, while some other times it rocks; meanwhile, the guitar and synth solos never get too loud or overplayed, yet they are carefully performed, even adding some healthy doses of dissonance. The grand piano is mostly used in a romantic way (a la Chopin or Lizst), while the rest of the keyboards are used for the benefit of colour, textures and orchestral layers, always keeping things at ease, very subtle. My fav tracks are 2, 4 and 5, since they comprise the best compositional ideas, and also incarnate the essence of E. A. Poe's music properly. There is also room for a couple of acoustic numbers (3 and 6), in which the band focuses on Mediterranean folk sounds. Though not a real stunning masterpiece, 'Generazioni' remains a special example of good Italian symphonic prog.