IL DIEDRO DEL MEDITERRANEO

Considered one of the greats of 70s Italian prog, OSANNA was quite inspirational in its heyday for not only performing a heavy form of progressive rock mixed with the band's native folk music flavors from their home city of Naples but also for their unique live shows which inspired the face painting copycats like Peter Gabriel of Genesis. The original lineup was pure magic having released four strong albums with the epic "Palepoli" considered one of the greatest Italian prog albums of all time but after the diminishing returns of the following "Landscape Of Life" the original lineup imploded and band leader / vocalist Lino Vairetti struggled to keep the momentum. After the okayish "Suddance," OSANNA ceased to be.

The original lineup featured a chemistry that could not be replicated but that didn't stop Vairetti from trying. After all the great prog revival of the 1990s ensured that 70s music was making a comeback and many a band were attempting to finally cash in on their past efforts. For some bands it was quite a successful endeavor but for OSANNA, it just seemed like one stumble after another. The gawdawful "Taka Boom" in 2001 signified a desperate return without any of the finesse that made the original recordings so inspiring. This continued with the 2009 "Prog Family" and then the lackluster attempt to reinterpret the classic "Palepoli" with the 2015 "Palepolitiana."

That should've been the end of the road but here we are in 2021 and Vairetti has reunited with his old bandmates that made the early years of OSANNA so memorable in order to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of "L'Uomo," the debut album which appeared in 1971. The new album is titled IL DIEDRO DEL MEDITERRANEO (The Dihedral of the Mediterranean, a dihedral angle is the angle between two mathematical planes) and features eleven new tracks with the classic lineup of Lino Vairetti (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards), r Elio D'Anna (flute, saxophone), Danilo Rustici (guitar, organ, vocals), Lelo Brandi (bass) and Massimo Guarino (drums, percussion). This is the first batch of new tracks these guys have mustered up in decades but how good is it really?

Well first of all i'm always suspicious of a classic band making a so-called comeback many decades after its prime. I mean if they couldn't even sustain their magic in their prime, how are we to believe they are capable of doing so in their advanced years? The short answer is that they haven't however IL DIEDRO DEL MEDITERRANEO is hardly a throwaway album either. While this mellowed out affair is most a tribute to the past there first four tracks "Spirit," the title track, "Ti Ritroverò" and "L'Uomo del Prog" are all pretty good with classic OSANNA feistiness that juggle intricate melodic developments with alternating softer and heavier guitar passages. While not quite up to the standards of the early years, the tracks are certainly better than anything in recent attempts to reinvent the classics.

Unfortunately beginning with "Tu," the album starts to go into easy listening territory with syrupy ballads and too mellow for its own good chill pills. Despite some moments of keyboard bliss and a guitar solo or two IL DIEDRO feels like a ship that's run ashore. There are also too many spoken word narrations on here. The opening "Spirit" and "Zuoccole, Tammorre e Femmene" require some Italian language comprehension skills to understand but luckily they're short and to the point. The most rocking "Zuoccole e Tammorre" brings back some much needed rock heft but unfortunately becomes a dueling sort of gypsy standoff between Lino and a female vocalist however the track does bring back some of the local folk flavors of southern Italy. Likewise the final two tracks stick to rock mode but unfortunately they sound fairly generic.

While not a total waste of time i can't say i find IL DIEDRO DEL MEDITERRANEO to be a compelling listening experience. While certainly more competent than some band's latest efforts (do you hear me Yes?), for an OSANNA album this one soars in the mid-range of interest. It's great to hear these veterans together again cranking out some original music however the entire time i'm hearing this it just makes me ponder the old what if contemplation of what their music would've sounded like had they not had such internal conflicts around the time of "Palepoli." Unfortunately that was not meant to be. I can't say i'm over thrilled with this latest OSANNA release but it certainly isn't horrible either. Unfortunately there is WAAAAY too much excellent music to explore in 2021 so this will surely be forgotten rather rather quickly and tolerated only by diehard fans of the band's classic era. Definitely not the comeback that reignited the flames of yore.