L'OBLIO

Amanita is an Italian group that released this one and only album in the nineties. I see that this group is defined prog folk in the archives and I can also see why. The music has a folksy feel mostly due to the heavy use of flute and saxophone. However, I would say that this album should appeal to people who like Italian progressive in the seventies tradition even if they don't generally like folk prog that much. The group has a distinct Italian sound but comparisons to Jethro Tull are inevitable due to the heavy use of flute. Indeed, this is very flute driven prog and the flautist Andrea Monetti Roccasanta is a master with this instrument. When he doesn't play the flute in this album it is almost certain that his sax playing is present. I'm not sure but he could be the Andea Monetti that is now the flautist in La Maschera di Cera. If he is the same person his playing is not as fiery but much more refined in Amanita. Though, they occasionally sound very similar so I have come to the conclusion that they are the same person. The guitar work of Andrea Bolognesi, who is also the composer of all tracks, is also very good whereas the keyboards are almost totally in a statistic role. This naturally results in a hard rocking feel ala Jethro Tull. The vocalist Mario Sacco is very good but not overly impressive.

The quality of the compositions is very good all the way. There is a highlight track and that one is "Quando Verra il Tempo". It's a totally flute driven track with a divine flute melody and some additional female wordless vocals. When I first heard this track it took me a week to get that melody out of my head. The track "Astrazione Cosmica" has great flute/guitar interplay and an accordion solo in the end by the keyboardist Goffredo Fioravanti. The track "Quinta Stagione" deserves a mention too. The last track "Arjuna" is more experimental and chaotic than the rest.

Conclusion: A very good album!