LINEA DI CONFINE

I was attracted enough to start my pursuit of Randone's studio albums after I heard their work with Spaghetti epic and others in this series. But their studio albums somehow disappointed me, as I expected a lot after what I hear in previously mentioned albums.

But this one is different. Maybe I was too hard on them before, and/or didn't spend so much time with them as I probably should, but with this one, I've fell in love on first sight (read hear).

Melodic, calmly wild (you can hear the music all the times being as living organism, mostly because of synths (organs / keyboards, whatever you call them). Many short songs, but they all sounds together as concept album (by which I mean theme concept, similar sounds), almost like a parts of one big song (quite a lot big song). The music is unstoppable (you can't stop progress they say), vocals are pleasant (as it mostly is in RPI).

5(-), strong represent of modern Italian prog with strong chance of being more than just better average for Prog loving people.

EDIT: Changed rating. Because of melodic element (this record is really pleasure to listen), different viewpoints, repeated listens (this album really grows better by each listening), because I understand it better now, am in better mood (not really important point as long as I give album more spins) and also I now heard and reviewed more music so I can adjust these here.

When we sum all these impossible reasons, the result is masterpiece. Finally, Nicola Made it.

It's long, but not long enough, because this is far from being "way too long".

By the way, really nice artwork, but I've already said that somewhere.

By t

'Linea Di Confine' - Randone (8/10)

It was a very pleasant surpise to see this waiting at my doorstep one day. Having not even heard of the work of Nicola Randone and company (or even listened to any Italian-scene symphonic prog) before this, I think I am able to consider this piece without having any existing expectations or bias towards it.

Dressed in a very attractive 'novel' (yes, there's an accompanying novel that comes with it- too bad I can't understand the language!) form, the production standard is evidently high, probably not hurt by the fact Randone is a graphic designer in real life. Having compiled both the visual and musical aspects of this project, this is an album really made his own. While on one hand, I can't understand the words the man is saying, phonetically speaking; Italian is a beautiful language and Nicola does it justice with a very pleasant sounding voice.

Musically, this is symphonic prog with obvious Italian flourishes, sounding at times like it is soundtracking a Spaghetti Western flick. Operatic influences can also be heard in the way that the songs are sung; if you took away the rock instrumentation, you could be sure you were listening to a classically-based work instead.

Clocking in at a relatively long seventy-nine minutes, this can be a big bite to chew off unless you have the time to sit down and really enjoy it. The only reason that the length may affect the cohesion and love of the album is the fact that throughout the majority of the album, things are kept relatively mellow and almost 'balladesque' in nature. There is no shame in that however, as the arrangements and performance is almost always thoughtful and intelligent. It also only adds to the enjoyment of the uncommon moments where things pick up the energy, sometimes even using the sort of riffage you might hear in a progressive metal album.

Due to the wealth of different things that are going on here, 'Linea Di Confine' can take a little while to grow, although I personally loved it from first listen. Randone proves that there is certainly potential to create a real classic with a little more variety and dynamic, but as it stands, this is a near-masterpiece album and I thank the man greatly for bringing this new, beautiful music into my life.

I love this website so much, especially when you win stuff, like this album.

I woke up today, and was suprised to see a big package in the post. I noticed it was a book? What the hell, I knew I won an album from a band called Randone, but I didnt know it was a book.

Yes this album does come with a book...in Italian.

Now, I did like the idea of a book accompanying an album (The Tangents Not As Good As The Book was quite funny.) But because it was Italian, a language that I do not know, I was sad because it looked to be quite good, and I couldn't be arsed to learn Italian just to read this book ( I do know enough French & Spanish t guess some of it).

Now, onto the album.

It was suprisingly great. It really was a super dooper album from a really unheard of guy in my opinion. (Maybe he is quite big in Italy)

This album has a very neo prog vibe to it, like Marillion & IQ, but at times, splots of Genesis can be heard.

Nicola's voice is pretty interesting and the Italian language realy does flow well with singing, as you would notice with Italian arias.

This was also sent to me by Nicola Randone himself, which is quite cool, but I feel sorry I didn't pay for it, oh well, his loss, my gain hahahaha.

1. S.I.B. (Prolouge) - Amazing build up in atmosphere. Fantastic instrumental work. 9/10

2. Primo Dell'Anno - Very Marillion. Great use of mellortrons. The vocal harmonies are very beautifull. Love the circus song at the end. 9/10

3.Differenze - Just an amazing piece of melodic prog. The synths in this song rule. Great vocals from Nicola. Was nice to hear a Martin Luther King speech at the end. 9/10

4. Promesse - Whispering in Italian always sounds quite sinister and almost archaic to me. Amazing use of keyboards and weird use of sound effects. 8/10

5. La Cella Degli Amori Estinti - Very nice & timid. Lovely acoustic solos. 8/10

6. Spreanze - The instrumenal section sounds like Tetris haha. Quite eccentric but still great. 8/10

7. Emanuela - Wow, what a vocal performance. Just overall an amazing piece of music. Quite beautiful as well. Again, some amazing spanish acoustic work. 9/10

8. Linea Di Confine - Suprisingly very catchy. Just amazing in every possible way. The vocals really show some amazing emotion. The video for this song is also pretty cool. 10/10

9. Devresti Non Scordare - A beautiful cheesy ballad. Great chorus. 9/10

10. Buona Notte - Reminds me of an Eels song. Love the toy piano in this song. The ending is weird. 8/10

11. Preghiera Di Un Re - Incredibly beautifull intro. The piano work in this song is amazing. I love the electronica like backbeat of the song. Again the mellotron is used wonderfully. 9/10

12. Ritorno -Very Genesis. Great changes in mood throughout. 8/10

13. 22 Aprile - Quite laidback and soothing. Great organ work. 8/10

14. La Caduta Della Mia Stella - Beautiful atmospheric guitar and mellotron work. Suprisingly eerie at times. Mostly another laid back, almost ballad like song. 8/10

15. Amori - Again it reminds me of the Eels, although everybody does. It's a wee bit too similar to the last song. The instrumental section is very weird and has a very Genesis meets latin vibe to them. 7/10

16. Epilogo - A nice way to end the album.Very beautifull ending. 8/10

CONCLUSION: I'm now able to look without fear into the world of Italian prog. Thank you Randone.

After the ambitious work Hybla Act I, italian singer/songwriter/multi instrumentist Nicola Randone comes back with another concept album. Linea Di Confine has a more simplier approach than on the previous efford, but it is equally as good, if not better than everything else Randone has done so far. it is a long CD (almost 79 minutes) and when I saw that I was a bit suspicious of some self indulgency and/or lots of filler material. Fortunatly this is not the case. Ok, this record takes some time to be fully enjoyed, but right away I could see that this is a fine piece of italian prog music.

Linea Di Confine caught my atention from the very beginning with its beautiful melodies, tasteful arrangements, clever choice of tracks and the terrific musicanship of all involved. But above all, one has to be in awe of Randone´s knack for writing great, memorable songs, in the school of Italy´s best. It´s a shame that his name is still not so widely known. In terms of italian prog this essemble is in the same league as the great names of old like Le Orme, PFM and Banco. And Nicola Randone is probably the single most important prog artist of italian modern prog of the new millenium. This CD is proof of that.

If you like the mix of symphonic prog, traditional italian songs and classical music, with bits of more modern styles here and there to spice it up, then Linea Di Cofine is a must have. It´s timeless music for all music lovers: emotinal, convincing, moving. Very well played and arranged. Production is quite good too. Just listen and you´ll be in prog heaven. One of the best releases of 2010. Rating: 4,5 stars.

First of all this is more than an album. The CD comes into a plastic envelop inside a book. The book and the CD are about the same concept but they are totally different.

The book has its origin from a short story published by Nicola Randone (Nicola is a male name in Italy) on his website that's about the end of a love for somebody very important for him. The story was written in the form of a fairytale located in Norway, a land where he has spent some time. Later he added new chapters and they have become a book. The writing style reminds to Peter Hoeg, with the characters moving to different levels of reality, similarly to Zelazny's Amber princes. It's not a fairytale, neither SciFi even if you can find the main character "throwing stars into a black hole".

The album approach is totally different. The songs are still about that love story, or better, its end. Both the book and the album are the result of an introspective work taken from different points of view.

Said so, the music.

"S.I.B. (Prologo)" - (Prologue) is an instrumental which starts with some low volume noises followed by a synthetic flute, then for a couple of minutes the music is at the level of the best PFM. When it stops, coming back to where it started, Randone speaks "there's no pleasure without sufference and there's no sufference without pleasure, only when you understand it you can enjoy pleasure and accept sufference".

"Primo Dell'Anno" - (First (day) of the Year) Is strongly melodic, between Battiato and Le Orme. Fans of RPI, this is your pot at least for two minutes, as the last is occupied by the trivial noise of the year's end celebration.

"Differenze" - (Differences) is introspective and shows all the influence that Le Orme seem to have on Randone. The love it's about is ended because of "differences". He sings "This dark sky doesn't let me look inside myself". While the singing and the lyrics appear influenced by Le Orme, the instrumental parts remind again to Battiato, specially the keyboards and the final part of the song.

A note: I'm used to compare an artist to somebody more known in order to give the readers an idea, I'm not saying that's cloning anybody.

"Promesse" - (Promises) starts with a phone and some speaking. It's a poetry, too long to be translated here. The music is slow and melodic with a good hammond base. The lyrics are about the promises made before that end. The arrangement is remarkable even if this song is a bit too melodic for my tastes. Quite sad, too. "if they could bring you to me, they would be more than just four notes and two words cried in the night".

"La Cella Degli Amori Estivi" - (The Jail Of Summer Loves) sounds very close to Battiato and surprisingly Nicola's voice on this song makes me think to Angelo Branduardi (not in the chorus). Good acoustic and classical guitar in the interludes. Still melancholic but not sad as the previous one.

"Speranze" - (Hopes) is particular. The signature and the singing are unusual. It's grotesque. It seems to represent the useless illusions of the main character. The instrumental part which follows is very good and very proggy.

"Emanuela" - is like a letter to the woman who left him. Musically is still very close to Le Orme, with good parts of acoustic and classical guitar also this. Another song that who is used to RPI will surely like a lot, specially the chorus.

"Linea di Confine" - (Borderline) is about suffering and introspection. "She's not wrong, she has her reasons...." The song is uptime and very pleasant but not very "innovative" from a musical point of view.

"Dovresti Non Scordare" - (You Shouldn't Forget) has a piano base and reminds a bit to Branduardi in the singing style. It's the song that fits better with my tastes.

"Buona Notte" - (Goodnight) is very melodic, maybe too much, but it is a sort of lullaby so it's how it has to be. In the second half of the song there's a surprise. A true lullaby starts after some dreamy sounds. It's a Sicilian traditional that's amazingly arranged. I don't know for sure but this may be the first time that it's recorded by anyone.

"Preghiera Di Un Re" - (A King's Prayer) is one of the few songs with a direct connection to the book. The vocals are almost whispered. This is the melodic side of RPI.

"Ritorno" - (Homecoming) has the eclectism of the early Battiato in the lyrics' metric and the odd signature. It's one of the few songs in which an electric guitar can be heard and the most complex from a musical point of view.

"22 Aprile" - (April 22nd) is another sad love song. It's mood is between the RPI of the early 70s (i.e. Banco and PFM) for what concerns the melodic line and the lyrics and Battiato of the 80s in the electronic arrangements.

"La Caduta della Mia Stella" - (The Fall Of My Star) is another reference to the book. I'm not sure that it's the same kind of stars that a character throws into a black hole, here is more a messenger, a true falling star in the summer night's sky. The stanzas are very dark and the chorus is very melodic. In the last chorus, the story of the "King watching the ashes" is the kind of imagines described in the book.

"Amori" - (Loves) Is just a love song, or better a song about loves. Totally out of my pot, sorry. However the arrangement is impressive.

"Epilogo" - (Epilogue) is light. The sadness has gone. "Now that I catch the pieces of my heart and my pain, nothing remains else than a light melancholy". The pain is gone, the story ends and life goes on. "I won't search for anything else than my music". It's light also from the musical point of view. 12-strings guitar and piano make the base. a coda of piano and voice closes the album.

It's an introspective album. Good but you have to be in the right mood for it. I'm not a fan of this subgenre so having had the wish to listen to it several times and having appreciated many of its parts means that it can be good for everybody, not for RPI fans only.

For this reason I round up to 4 the 3.5 stars that I think it deserves. The only advice that I give you is that it is totally melodic. Don't expect anything heavy else than the atmosphere.

The majority of the press considerded ''Hybla Atto 1'' to be Randone's most ambitious and mature effort.The same thing applied for Nicola Randone himself and a live transformation of the album on stage was captured and released in DVD in 2006 under the title ''Hybla: A Live Barock Opera'' by Electromantic.Soon after Nicola started working on a fifth studio album, his most personal work as he claimed back at the time.Inspired by the end of a love and the depth of human senses, the new album saw the light in 2009 on Electromantic, entitled ''Linea di confine''.His long-time bassist Livio Rabito was now out of the picture and a few guest bass players helped him with the recordings of this effort, among them Giuseppe Scaravilli from Malibran.Once more Beppe Crovella appears playing all vintage keyboards in several tracks.

A succesful recipe never changes and the same thing occurs with the music of Randone.''Linea di confine'' consists of plenty of short tracks, tightly connected to each other, resulting a long music story along the lines of Classic Italian Prog, always delivered with a contemporary flavor.The album is another sensitive, romantic and deeply melodious offering by Randone & Co., characterized by his drawn but warm vocals, the alternation between orchestral, grandiose instrumental moves and laid-back passages with interesting melodies, and the evident references to the 70's via the use of analog sounds.PFM and similar bands immediately spring to mind listening to ''Linea di confine''.Atmospheric symphonic arrangements, careful use of acoustic guitars, nice instrumental diversity and lovely Italian vocals are all over the place.And next to the fine synthesizer runs the listener will have the chance to listen to heavy loads of Mellotron and organs (to a lesser deegree), that are cleverly used without any mood to drive the music to the past.The Italian identity is obvious throughout the release, bands like SITHONIA, MALIBRAN, NUOVA ERA or MONTEFELTRO being the best comparisons from the recent past.The only flaw of the album seems to be the ballad-esque mood that pops up in plenty of moments, these again are nicely offered through good orchestral music and rich, melodic textures.

Seems like every Randone's work has something good to offer.Except for the music, the album came out in a collector's edition, featuring a book written by Nicola Randone himself, following the concept of ''Linea di confine''.This should be definitely a must have.Even if you don't find this, the album, as it is, belongs among the well-crafted offerings of melodic Italian/Symphonic Prog.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Randone is the musical brainchild and multi-instrumentalist Nicola Randone. Their previous effort Hybla Act 1 sounded wonderful with exciting vintage keyboards (by Nicola and legend Beppe Crovella), but to me a bit too fragmentic in some tracks.

On this successor from 2009 Nicola Randone and Beppe Crovella deliver again a splendid vintage keyboard sound in more mellow oriented progrock:

a lush symphonic rock sound with Hammond organ and a violin-Mellotron solo in the opener S.I.B. (Prologo),

a pleasant blend of soft Hammond , warm Italian vocals, soaring Mellotron and finally a howling guitar solo in Promesse,

a slow rhythm with acoustic guitar runs and classical orchestrations in the titletrack,

Grand piano, intense vocals and majestic choir-Mellotron eruptions in Preghiera Di Un Re

and impressive violin ? and choir-Mellotron waves in Ritorno.

But don't get the impression that this is music to get asleep because on the right moments Randone delivers some surprising and exciting breaks like in Speranze (catchy synthesizers and fiery guitar), Buona Notte (cheerful climate and female vocals) and Ritorno (blistering guitar work and delicate choir-Mellotron). My highlight on this pleasant album is the final composition Epilogo: it starts mellow with acoustic rhythm guitar, fragile electric guitar and wonderful piano, then the music slowly culminates in a compelling grand finale featuring breathtaking vintage keyboards and a sensitive guitar solo with howling runs, this is Prog Heaven!

My rating: 3,5 star