IL CORPONAUTA

3.5 stars. This is album number two for this young Italian band. The first record(2011) was pretty good but that's about it in my opinion. Enter Fabio Zuffanti to guide the proceedings and not surprisingly they've improved in almost every area. We get the usual instruments plus sax, flute and mellotron. The vocals are in Italian and are half decent. I must say that the almost 79 minute running time has influenced my rating because I'm just not that into this so it's been a challenge. There's so much great music here though and I count three tracks that I really like, while there's also three songs I'd skip if I wasn't listening to review this. Clearly I'm in the minority here as this has been getting a lot of praise in Prog circles but I'm not feeling it myself, just in spurts while listening to this.

"Il Mondo Dei Pensieri" is a good opener and a top three. They hit the ground running with vocals. The guitar is fairly aggressive at times then the mellotron joins in. Nice. I like the flute at 2 1/2 minutes along with the bass and drums as the guitar continues. Check out the extended guitar after 5 minutes as he lights it up. "Il Corponauta" the title track is disappointing. It's fast paced with vocals which I'm not into here as he sings with a bit of theatrics. I do like when the guitar enters the picture as it's quite adventerous but then the vocals return. The mellotron sounds amazing after 2 minutes but the vocals not so much, and we get an intense ending.

"Selenzi" is a top three and probably my favourite. These guys in my opinion create some incredible romantic Italian music bringing PFM to mind. I just wish there was more of it because this is their strength. This one is fairly laid back with soft vocals and sound. Some nice flute and the mellotron is gorgeous before 2 minutes along with the whole sound. Some emotion when the vocals return before 4 1/2 minutes, nice bass too. "Specchio" is another good one that features strummed guitar and bass to start as the vocals join in. They will contrast the mellow with the more fuller sections. A feel good tune. "Pioggia" reminds me of PFM's "Celebration" tune with the pulsating sounds that also bring THE DOORS to mind. A change before 2 1/2 minutes though when the vocals arrive and they will come and go. Nice guitar 6 1/2 minutes in as the tempo picks up. Not really a fan overall. "Volare Via" has a sound I enjoy. The drumming and mellotron sound really good along with the guitar when it joins in. Vocals after 2 1/2 minutes as it settles down but the tempo will continue to shift.

"La Stanza Dei Ricordi" is one I can't get into. It's uptempo with some excellent sounding bass. I'm not into that sound after 2 minutes as it brings a Celtic vibe with flute. It's much better when it settles down after 3 1/2 minutes and the vocals arrive. Lots of mellotron too. "Addio Al Corpo" is a top three. I like the distorted guitar as the flute and spoken words join in. It turns powerful including the vocals as the tempo picks up and the drums gallop away. This is urgent and intense with some killer mellotron. Check out the guitar before 3 1/2 minutes as he rips it up. "Il Volo" opens with multi-vocals, no instruments until just before 30 seconds when a beat kicks in and the vocals stop. Vocal melodies before 2 minutes. Catchy stuff.

"Deserto" is over 18 1/2 minutes in length. It's pleasant and melodic with flute, a beat and more. Relaxed vocals join in. It calms right down with percussion only around 7 minutes then kicks back in without vocals this time as the guitar leads the way. Spoken words after 10 minutes then it settles back again with flute. A nice flute/ mellotron section after 15 minutes with a beat that goes on for some time thankfully. Vocals are back after 17 minutes but more passionate this time. "Il Gran Finale" is the over 9 minute closer although I thought the previous epic would have been the perfect closer. This one is fairly punchy and energetic. The vocals arrive after a minute as it settles right down. It kicks back in with mellotron this time. I like the aggression. Vocals stop and we get a guitar solo around 4 minutes. The song continues to change as we get multi-vocals and atmosphere(wind) only before 6 1/2 minutes, then it kicks back in sounding really good with that mellotron. The guitar starts to solo after 8 minutes pretty much to the end.

Man I'm conflicted with this album but I just don't enjoy it enough to pull the trigger on 4 stars. For me it's closer to 3 stars than it is to 5 stars, lets just say that. So much music and as I often say about double albums, they could have cut the time almost in half making it more about quality. Please check this out though as most seem to love it. For me "Warm Spaced Blue" stands alone in 2016 as the best RPI album.