LE ORE I GIORNI GLI ANNI

Wonderful Canterbury jazz in the vein of HATFIELD AND THE NORTH (without The Northettes)--all this from a quartet from Brescia!

1. "Le Ore I Giorni Gli Anni" (7:22) is a great jazz tune in the Canterbury/CARAVAN/HATFIELD AND THE NORTH tradition using many of the same instruments and sounds as well as constructions and stylings as those bands. Great song. And a pretty good voice from drummer Marcos Dolfini! I LOVE the both of the two different guitar soli in the fourth minute. Such a fun song! There's even a bass solo! (9/10)

2. "Classe 21" (6:38) The drumming is so 1970s! So are the keys, rhythm guitar and bass lines. Wonderful replication and execution--yet sounding fresh! I love the second section with its vocals being run through an effects box and the awesome lead guitar sound. (9/10)

3. "Il Perche' Di Esser Me" (5:48) great song: pacing, melodies, mood, performances, and vocals. One of my favorite songs from the year! (9.5/10)

4. "Gli Arroganti" (instrumental) (7:18) has the definite vibe of 1970's Black Sexploitation movie soundtrack music. Herbie Hancock doing a Bill Cosby show soundtrack. (8.5/10)

5. "Responsabilità" (4:30) has such a HATFIELD sound and feel to it--thought the vocal is so AREA/Demetrio Stratos! My favorite part of the song is the instrumental soli! (8.5/10)

6. "Lunalia" (instrumental) (4:41) is a gentle, simple, pretty, four-chord, keyboard-driven soft-jazz instrumental. Nice but nothing earth-shatteringly new or beautiful here. (7.5/10)

7. "Moogugni" (instrumental) (3:06) another soundtrack that could easily come from the 1970s--AREA or some African-American funk-jazz band. Very tightly performed. (9/10)

8. "Welfare Botanico" (14:41) opens with an almost DEODATO "Also Sprach Zarathustra" sound and feel to it before everything quiets down and restarts with a hypnotic organ, bass, and drum line over which the electric guitar solos. By the end of the second minute, we've heard some bridges, transitions, and shifts which allow the keyboard a turn in the solo position. At 2:15 it turns back to the elgtr. until a stop-and-start bridge at the end of the third minute leads into a very pretty CAMEL-like section. This part could've been on Moonmadness! The fifth minute takes us through a few twists until at 4:35 Marco's mellifluous voice sings us into the palm of his hand. Beautiful! And powerful. Then, at the six minute mark, we turn into an awesome kind of KHAN Space Shanty-like jam section-- which goes on at a great speed for over three minutes before we slow down at the 9:10 mark for a return to the Deodato electric piano sound and another spacey, jazzy hypnotic section. Nice drum play in this section! At 10:42 we move into a little more upbeat, almost disco-beat section. How HATFIELD-ish! Nice! Even the ensuing 'delicate' vocal section is fitting--especially as it precedes the crescendo of voice, synths and band into one of the high points of the album. How perfect! Not the most sensibly constructed song but it is an awesome rollercoaster ride--one that should not be missed! (9.5/10)

These guys have not only picked up the torch on some amazing sounds and influences from the 1970s but they've embraced and made it their own. Definitely a band to keep one's eye on for the future!

4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and a very welcome revival of all that was great with 1970s Canterbury style music.