RESPIRI LUNGHI 1000 MIGLIA

This unknown Italian band hailed from the city of Acqui Terme, having a core of four musicians.Original formation appears to have been Valter Camparo on keyboards, Roberto Camparo on bass, Davide Pronzato on guitar and Roberto Maggiotto on drums, later to expand to a five-piece line-up with Maggiotto switching to the vocals, Fabrizio "Biz" Genta replacing Pronzato on guitars and Fabio Zorgno jumping in as the new drummer.Only release of Plenilunio came as a digital purchase in 2012 under the title ''Respiri lunghi 1000 miglia''.

Plenilunio were extremely influenced by the 70's scene of Italian Prog, not much of the Banco or Le Orme school, but more of the FORMULA TRE, ERRATA CORRIGE and similar bands' stylings, which was an undisputed Symphonic Rock of the softer side with slight poppy injections.Their debut contained twelve short tracks with mellow keyboards, smooth guitar plays and excellent vocals, all obtaining the classic romantic sound of the Italian tradition and le by some exceptional melodies, refined orchestrations and light electric tunes.Despite the relaxed atmosphere the armour of the band comprised of Mellotron, organ, acoustic and electric piano and synthesizers towards a flexible instrumentation.About 1/3 of these pieces are very accesible with Melodic Rock sensibilities, driven by the background keyboard parts and the emotional solos, while the rest of the album is good, albeit a bit secure, Italian-flavored Prog Rock with symphonic interludes, spacious textures, sentimental vocal harmonies and Classical-tinged piano themes.But even these cuts tend to be very memorable with focus on solid songwriting than complex moves, not necessarilly a bad thing, because the music is pretty great with Maggiotto being a fantastic frontman and the instrumental core performing at a sufficient level switching from symphonic to artistic to ultra-melodic deliveries.

I guess with this album the band was done for good with no further updates on their FB page, but the document left behind is a fine example of melodic, soft Italian Prog with symphonic orientations and a discreet old-school aura.Recommended.