VIETATO AI MINORI DI 18 ANNI ?

Out of the gate, I put this album in the top ten best Italian prog albums of all time. If you listened to and thought that PFM, Banco, Le Orme, Area and the monster one shots, (Museo, Il Baletto, Locanda, etc.) were all that should be heard in the Italian scene, well...I've got news for you. You haven't heard anything, yet. Jumbo is here! Bluesy, symphonic, advant garde, you name it, this album has it. And it's all tied together by the fantastic voice of Alvaro 'Jumbo' Fella, (the Italian Bon Scott of AC/DC). The album starts out with Alvaro's voice exploding out of the speakers. A blues/psych killer of a song, "Specchio" has a sound akin to "Gentle Giant's" first album, believe it or not. Fantastic wailing guitar! Half way through track 2, "Come Vorrei Essere Uguale..." is some frantic drumming, just amazing fast pace playing with a super sax blasting over the mix. An incredible song! The next track slows things down, just to catch your breath. Next, "Via Larga" is where we get into advant garde territory. All kinds of instruments are used, gypsy-like singing, then goes quiet with some soft wind instruments, nice acoustic guitar, then a thumpy bass going loud then ending softly. a wonderful track. "Gil Vangelo?" sounds like the bastard son of King Crimson's "Moonchild" odd voices, bongo beats and that hollow sound with weird sound effects and mellotron reverbing all over the place. Heaven!! "40 Gradi" has nice flute work with an ominous Black Sabbath-like bell ringing throughout with the bluesy guitar returning. Spooky! Finally, my favorite track, "No!". A classic Italian symphonic song that ranks with the best. Awesome keyboards, excellent guitar, great drumming, and Alvaro singing his guts out. Kicks a**! What else can I say. If you collect Italian prog and had your fill of the classics listed in the beginning of this review, give this album a try. I'm sure after a few spins it too will belong in your top ten as it is in mine, so far. A minor masterpiece for sure!