PER UN AMICO

If you'd heard ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull and Yes before, this album will not impress you much (apart from the fact that these guys were not english, but italian... plus the lyrics are even less understandable hahaha). This is not me implying that these guys were bad, but they were not pioneers, even being almost contemporaries along the "supergroups" of the 70's. They can evoke emotions with one simple verse, without having the necessity of understanding the lyrics. The title track ("For A Friend" in italian) has a sample of very powerful melodic pop in it's verses and a very Yes-ish bridge. Appena Un Po begins and adopts the form of early chamber baroque music and then a very Gentle Giant-like segment comes in with some atonal chords thrown in, interesting drum patterns and flute, and the mellotron really evokes Genesis and early King Crimson. "Generale!" is mostly ELP-influenced with some violins in the vein of GG. "Il Banchetto" also mixes Yes with Genesis, and a very interesting Emersonesque piano break in the middle toward the end. Geranio is also Gentle Giant sounding, with vocal harmonies like the rest of the songs.

However, this is a fine example of symphonic progressive (Italian just refers to the place, in my opinion; they were symphonic progressive in the same vein as the English bands of that time), in spite of it being a mixed bag of pre-established sounds. I even dare to say that this band could outplay their contemporaries in composition at times, and that's a HIGH compliment.

In conclusion, although the song-per-song review was largely vague, each and every one of these songs are very worthwhile to listen through... and they have a very recognizable sound as a product of the styles they blend, proving that mixing is innovating as well; after all, prog comes from a mix as well. 4 stars. Excellent addition to you all.