ANTICHE IMPRESSIONI

This CD is a project from multi-instrumentalist Corrado Sardella with the use of three guest musicians. This fine album has strong hints from mid-Genesis, Marillion, Clive Nolan and the Japanese progrock (Mugen and Deja Vu).

1. Antiche impressioni Part 1 (12:07) : After a church organ-like intro, the music turns more into a lush and often bombastic keyboard atmosphere along inspired vocals and some very beautiful pieces with electric guitar.

2. Antiche Impressioni Part 2 (11:20) : First a wonderful classical piano intro, then the sound of dogs and sheep between orchestral keyboards. The final part contains again bombastic keyboards and splendid wah-wah guitar, a great conclusion!

3. Antiche impressioni Part 3 (15:40) : This longest composition features many breaks, shifting moods and soli on guitar (fiery) and Mark Kelly-like synthesizer runs ( and wonderful work on piano and Mellotron). In the end sensitive acoustic guitar and a fluent rhythm with great play on the keyboards.

4. Sorge il sole (6:18) : Here again the sound of animals, this time from seagulls. Then dreamy vocals and soaring keyboards, followed by a fluent rhythm with a warm bass sound and catchy synthesizer flights.

This CD sounds beautiful with great work on the keyboards. If Doracor works a bit more on the maturity of the compositions, on their next CD this band will gain 4 stars!

This "Doracor" album sounds more as the one of a band than the two prior attempts, even if there were always guests invited.

Actually, even if it is the work of a multi-instrumentalist, my fave moments are the vocal parts of "Antiche Impressioni - Part I which are truly related to the great Italian symphonic tradition. And you might know that I quite appreciate this genre.

In terms of music, the main streamline remains ELP, but it is combined with fine guitar (like in the first movement). This album sounds much more melodic and catchy than its two predecessors. It is less pompous and is rather charming at times.

IMHHO, this is the best "Doracor" work so far (but I wasn't really laudatory about the debut and the sophomore albums). Of course, it doesn't sound fully original: on top of evident links with ELP, Tony Banks (while they were four) is also a guide for the music displayed here (second movement).

The third part of this "Antiche Impressioni" is again more diversified mainly thanks to the very good guitar job performed. The interplay between the lush keys and the great rhythmic section is really enjoyable. This epic (over fifteen minutes) offers lots of different moods: from heavy keys to the most pastoral and tranquil mood. Beautiful Italian music.

In all, I have a good ... impression with this record (but the closing number is 100% Banks oriented).Let's hope that the band will dig in the same direction for their next releases.

Three stars.

A music that should, but certainly doesn't work with me. All the elements are there, wild keyboard solos, classical influences (baroque I presume would be the most appropriate description I can guess from what I hear), calm, gentle passages, bombastic parts, dark parts. But also average vocal department, drums that are far from being impressive, any lack of stronger melody line (to contradict the darkness here and there, as one can't live on a water entirely, he has to eat bread too). Yet I, in a feeling of responsibility, cannot bring myself to give it less than 2 stars, as even I don't enjoy it that much, I can still appreciate forementioned elements and their impact. Not one me though.

By January 1999 Corrado Sardella had already composed and recorded a third album, each release finds him becoming even more ambitious in composing terms, this time the album ''Antiche impressioni'' was dedicated to the land of his grandparents called Monti della Laga and located somewhere in the central Apennines.The line-up was expanded to a four-piece, Sardella plays all instruments except for guitars, handled by Massimo Farina (electric) and Marco Fedele (acoustic) with a female singer named Dea contributing the soprano voice and Farina taking the over the male singing parts.The album came out on Mellow Records.

''Antiche impressioni'' is actually a long 3-part suite, reaching the 40-min. mark, and finding Sardella exploring the grounds of dreamy Symphonic Rock with emotional passages in instrumental and vocal lines and reducing a bit the virtuosic E.L.P./LE ORME tendencies, now focusing on the more melodic side of keyboard-drenched Prog Rock music.Of course that doesn't mean that Sardella has abandoned all these bombastic keyboard flashes and layers, but speaking of a 40-min. piece you will see the emphasis now being on piano interludes, Classical keyboard intros and outros, melodic guitar solos and sentimental voices with a more pronounced orchestral feel and less technical solos.As expected the music is very well-composed with the synthesizers and piano dominating the album and a few Mellotron samplers popping out, drum programming is bearable and the sporadic vocals are pretty romantic.On the other hand the sound of keyboards is not always convincing, having sometimes a pale color and weak acoustics.Nice little attempt on long, modern Sympho Rock by Sardella.At the end of the album ''Sorge il sol'' is placed, the farewell six minutes of music sound very Neo Prog-ish, a few excellent melodies, the Electronic-flavored keyboards and the distorted electric guitars combine for a very good outro.

Decent Neo/Symphonic Rock.Again some sampling methods are pretty average, but the centerpiece of the album is well-crafted, grandiose and fairly melodic.Recommended.