All Prog From Italy Appreciation Thread

The Family tree of ERIS PLUVIA, ANCIENT VEIL, and NARROW PASS is fast becoming like a miniature FAIRPORT CONVENTION in terms of members and guests floating in and out apparition-style. When ERIS PLUVIA disbanded some time after their landmark 1991 "Rings of Earthly Light", 2 of its main men, Alessandro Serri and Edmundo Romano, formed "The Ancient Veil", often incorrectly assumed to be a rebranding of the original group, but actually an offshoot. A few years ago, Romano and Valerie Caucino (who guest vocaled on "Rings"), were hired to perform on the NARROW PASS project debut, and both reappeared on that group's sophomore release. While all of these permutations retain certain hallmark characteristics, none has been able to match the original incarnation, and that is why "Third Eye Light" has been widely anticipated since its imminent arrival was announced over 2 years ago.

To add to the intrigue, neither Romano nor Serri have returned to the fold. Marco Forella, Paolo Raciti and Alessandro Cavortati remain, and recruited several other members and guests to help fill the void. Add to these upheavals the passage of 17 years and I can only marvel at the degree of continuity. not to mention the quality of the compositions and the pervading sense that this is another remarkably complete work.

The overall mix of gentle RPI, medieval folk, and classical influences remains a key trait of ERIS PLUVIA. One aspect that has changed is the introduction of heavy, almost metallic elements at times, these being completely absent on "Rings". Even mellower concoctions like the impeccably textured "Rain Street 19" and the instrumental "Shades" occasionally lose their lid and expose a darkly sinister brew. More overtly, "The Darkness Gleams" and "Fixed Course" sound like a quite different band, admittedly still proposing harmonic guitar leads and even jazz fusion influences. "Fellow of Trip" strikes more of a balance between all these aspects, even incorporating growling vocals in a couple of instances along with ethereal passages, but half buried in the rich arrangement. Here I think of the 1980s German group AMENOPHIS and their self titled debut.

My suspicion is that Romano's absence on sax is missed relative to "Rings", where this brass was often the take-charge instrument, and as a result lead guitar is more prominent here. But the flutes of Roberta Piras and Raciti's keys do play critical roles, and reach absolute fruition on the divine "Peggy", mostly sung by Diana Dallera, with several different verses and instrumental choruses alternately played on flute, synth and CAMEL like guitar. The ageless melody bears witness to the awe of progressive balladry. One final twist in the guitar work near the fade out takes me just a few heartbeats away from passing to another plane of existence.

By comparison to "Peggy", the two other full fledged ballads, while reminiscent of early work, and beautifully produced, are characterized by a certain lack of follow through, a sense of spent energy, lacking the final thrust of even short songs like "Pushing Together" and "You'll Become Rain" from their debut.

While this is not a flawless work in the manner of its predecessor, I daresay it will appeal to more progressive fans due to its moodiness. Moreover, the pedigree of ERIS PLUVIA remains unblemished by the pedestrian, and more than salvaged by a commitment to the musical equivalent of Ikebana. This Eye believe.

A rare and unique album that up until a few years ago was a mystery, as with some other early Italian bands the identities of the musicians were not certain. But now they are known thanks to the work of some good sleuths. Triade were from Florence and came together to make this keyboard saturated album in 1973. The band also opened dates for PFM and Banco but broke up shortly after this release like so many other Italian groups. The album was split into two halves: Side 1 was an entirely instrumental and heavily classical suite of keyboards written by Coccimiglio, while side 2 was more typical classic Italian prog written by Nobile. Because of this the album does lack a certain overall cohesiveness but it certainly has some nice moments. Furthermore the sound and production are really pretty good for '73 thanks to the efforts of noted producer Elio Gariboldi.

The "Sabazio" suite is quite simply a classical music and keyboard lover's dream. Organ, piano, cello, bass, and percussion drive the piece. I suppose in spirit it could be compared to keyboard-heavy Italian albums like Rustichelli Bordini, Toto Torquati, and to a lesser extent Tower but Triade has its own charm. The cello gives parts of the suite a dark heaviness. The drum playing is quite good and this keeps the piece moving well. Some of the piano portions are simply gorgeous in the fourth part. The suite is an enticing and elegant piece of music. I'm not sure how good it is in comparison with classical music as my knowledge in the classical realm is quite limited. But I certainly find it appealing. "Il Circo" is quite a shift to a rocking beat and heavy organ but it works. "Espressione" sounds more like typical classic Italian with synths, acoustic, and piano leading to warm, pleasant vocals. It's the softer and more romantic side of Italian like early PFM, in this case with no drumming. Great piano song and nice acoustic work that would appeal to anyone. "Caro Fratello" is similar to "Il Circo" being an uptempo rocker with the organ, but here it expands to include mellotron, acoustic guitar, and the mellow vocals. Nice jamming early with organ, drums, and some pretty good bass playing that you can hear perfectly in the mix. Bands that actually know how to mix the bass so you can hear it get points from me-it's sad how so many bands now bury the bass and have the drums too loud. After the vocal section it ends with a dramatic organ run, this is a very cool track. "1998" begins with a wash of acoustic strumming panned back and forth in the stereo spectrum. Soon the gentle vocals, bass, and drums are back and then well played acoustic sections mix with nice keyboards. All of the music on side 2 is rather upbeat in mood, not really dark or heavy. This is Italian that aims to please musically more than it aims to shock you or push your buttons. It ends rather abruptly but at least not as a fade-out!

The album takes much heat for not being very original and perhaps it isn't in the sense that people note ELP influence, but in another sense it is somewhat unique. While perhaps not a thorough representative of the complete Italian sound the dual nature of the two sides does provide an interesting experience to me. I also find the sound to be expressive without being overly, intentionally gaudy, which is nice sometimes even though I also appreciate those kinds of albums too. I do agree there are more well-rounded Italian classics you should own before getting to this one but I personally find this quite enjoyable. It has spirit and high quality performances throughout. For classical music buffs and keyboard nuts this album is recommended, for others there are other Italian classics to check out first. 3 ½ stars, round up if you're an Italian fan, round down if not.

Greg Walker recommended this to me a some time ago and on his site he refers to it as "Killer 70's style prog".Even the cover art is classic Italian don't you think? The emphisis is certainly on the variety of keyboards used plus there's lots of flute.What i'm most impressed with though are the vocals,just the tone of his voice which thankfully are in Italian. I like the way "Eclisse" builds as drums join in followed by piano.Organ then takes the lead.A calm with flute after a minute are contrasted with outbursts of organ.Pulsating synths with drums,bass and vocals before 2 1/2 minutes.Great sound here.Strummed guitar comes in later. "Delirio" is uptempo with flute,drums and piano standing out.Vocals after a minute.Love how this sounds.The organ comes in screaming before 3 minutes. "La Torre Dell'Alchimsta" is flat out amazing! Mellotron to open as flute joins in.It turns uptempo as organ and drums take over.Vocals arrive as it settles before 1 1/2 minutes.Some nice bass and organ follow.A heavenly soundscape 2 1/2 minutes in.Mellotron is back.This is absolutely gorgeous and moving.Vocal melodies before 6 minutes. "Il Volo" opens with acoustic guitar as fragile vocals join in.Some atmosphere here.A change after 4 minutes as the tempo picks up with strummed guitar. "L'apprendista" is uptempo with drums and flute to open.Organ comes blasting in around a minute.A change to a darker sound a minute later.Nice.It settles as reserved vocals come in.It kicks back in at 3 1/2 minutes.Lots of organ late.Amazing song! "I Figli Della Mezzanotte" features keyboards,light drums,flute and bass.Vocals before a minute.The organ sounds great here. "La Persistenza Della Memoria" is filled with these inspiring piano melodies throughout. "Lo Gnomo" is uptempo to start with flute,drums and organ standing out.Vocals before a minute as it settles.Contrasts continue. "Acquario" opens with a powerful sound but it lightens quickly with flute,synths and drums.Vocals and organ follow.Beautiful. Deep bass lines 3 1/2 minutes in with piano and cymbals.Cool section.Some heavy organ after 5 minutes.Jazzy 7 minutes in. I tried to reason out why this isn't a 5 star album, but in the end there are no reasons.A classic.