WELCOME TO EDO'S LAND

"Welcome to Edo's Land" is lovingly dedicated to Edoardo Anfossi, a friend and fellow musician who had a great impact on the members of this group judging from their words in the CD booklet. Reading their loving words to him it is obvious that all of us who have lost close friends too soon are going to be able to relate to the sentiments. But the album is not completely about Edo despite the title. Many serious topics are addressed in the lyrics which are quite good. The band is fronted by two friends Massimo Mazzeo and Andrea Romano, multi-instrumentalists who go all the way back to high school. Daniela Blundo is the vocalist and there are two guest musicians. The music is hard for me to describe well but I'd say it is neo-prog based with several songs that are flat out just folk-rock. It's a nice album if you're not looking for Relayer level prog. The Mellow Records website has a nice bit on the group's history if you are interested in more detail on that. The CD booklet features lyrics and nice photos of the band and also Edo.

The lyrics in this set deal with soul-searching (I'm a Dreamer), troublesome friendships (Double), staying close to your children (Never Alone), and the brotherhood of good people who refuse to turn their backs on the new lepers of our society, the poor (The Good Guys.) In "Never Alone" they say that children, given the choice of having their father in the next room under dire circumstances, or far away but content, will choose the first option. They don't care about your wallet or your status, they just want you, here and now.

"Welcome" begins with sound effects as someone presumably comes home and fires up a cig before picking up the acoustic. Bass and keyboards join a rather unnerving melody. "I'm a Dreamer" is a more conventional pop song but a real charmer with delightful melody and impressive guitar work. There are many different sections of music and all are interesting, along with shared vocals. One of the standout tracks for sure. "Double" features Maurizio Falcone in the first of three acoustic duets with Massimo. "The Remains of the Night" is a good instrumental with guitar over some very nice keyboard textures by Andrea Romano. Romano really shines here as an amazingly accomplished guitarist with some killer soloing. "Mare D'inverno" is written by Paolo Sommariva and shines to my ears because they sing this one track in Italian and it's very beautiful. This one is again accompanied by duel acoustics, mellow and very relaxing. "The Fault is Mine" features a guest vocalist performance by Stephanie Bejma. "Beyond the Fog" is the third of the dueling acoustic tracks and very nice albeit short. 'The Good Guys" features Daniela Blundo on lead vocals in a rather quirky pop song with pleasant bass and guitar accents throughout. "Never Alone" is an introspective ode to parenting with vocals by Daniela and Massimo and relatively uneventful music. "The New Day" closes the album with another instrumental this time written by Romano. It is upbeat and inspired. They then tack on a couple of Camel covers at the end, "Drafted" and "Camelogue." All in all the playing on the album is quite good although they could definitely use a full time drummer on future projects. Programmed drums can zap the zest from an otherwise good song.

When searching the haystack of lesser known, smaller groups from around the world, we must realize that we can't compare every local/regional band to Floyd and DT. Many of these people probably aren't full time musicians but working people who have sacrificed much to have a chance at recording an album, doing something they love without profiting much. I'm not saying we shouldn't judge them fairly but just that one has to keep in mind that Chris Squire can spend 24 hours a day in his home studio working on his stuff. He also has an unlimited production budget comparatively. While I can't know for sure, I'm guessing the musicians of bands like Nostalgia and others don't have the same luxury. They've done a damn fine job anyway. Take the time to find their music and give it a fair chance.

"In touching the strings of his guitars I tried to build a bridge to the unknown..to Edo's land. Ciao Edo, ciao my friend. My memories of you I'll treasure them in my heart." [Massimo]

CAMEL meets folk rock somewhere in the middle of the 1970s, not a bad idea even in the mid 1990s. NOSTALGIA by this time had been progressing from a professional perspective, but the price is a certain loss of innocence, which was a quality that paradoxically elevated every aspect of "Is Your Spirit Free". This means that I have to judge "Welcome to Edo's Land" against other progressive rock of its time, and, while it's by no means a failure, I'm a little disappointed.

While the overall dreamy atmosphere and somewhat tinny quality remain, the melodies are less impressive as the duo goes singer songwriter, settling for ponderously strummed guitars and minimally persuasive bass patterns a little too often, as in "The Good Guys" and "Welcome" respectively. If one focuses on the lyrics and arrangements, the first are hard to hear and the second rather simplistic on "Never Alone", one of the longer cuts here.

The major highlights are the dynamically superb "I'm a Dreamer", with many phases and phrasings, and the delicate acoustic and vocally staggering delight "Double", while "Remains of the Night" shows off a more overtly keyboard dominated prog side for one of the few times, reminding me of some of ANYONE'S DAUGHTERS slightly fusion-y work in the early 1980s. The only Italian sung piece "Mare D'Inverno", and "Beyond the Fog" stake out a comfort zone without being pat.

After the free spirit soared in the previous album, this seems mundane by comparison, but still grounded enough to warrant 3 stars and a wistful sense that the band, like Edo, may have reached its ultimate landing.