87/94

The six compositions on this compilation CD from the Italian band Cage sound very melodic, pleasant and alternating. The English vocals are decent but no more than that. The strong point is the tension between the mellow parts with classical piano and the more fiery and bombastic parts with harder-edged guitarwork, tastefully layered with duo-keyboard play (organ, piano, Mellotron, synthesizers). The highlight is the long track "The feebleminded man" (20.57) featuring many shifting moods, a strong and dynamic rhythm-section, fiery electric guitar and many fluent synthesizer flights. The most captivating moment is the final part: first tender piano and soft vocals, then ominous guitar that gradually culminates in biting, the atmosphere turns into very bombastic and finally there is an exciting duel between spectacular guitar and flashy synthesizer. This is a good and entertaining progrock CD but I would like to make a deal with every Italian band: please sing in Italian, I will award this with an extra star, OK?