OPERA PRIMA

Another vinyl record I was able to get my hands on thanks to my prog-buddy Erik Neuteboom. In Holland the RPI scene is hard to get on vinyl, so I was excited to get this record.

R&B consists only of two member (who would have though that with such a band-name..?). Paolo Rustichelli plays Hammond C3 organ, ARP VCS3 synthesizer and does the vocals, Bordini plays the drums. Both are great musicians with a lot of capabilities. But hey.. and album with only keys and drums, wouldn't you we miss the guitars and bass? Actually I did not. The sound of Opera Prima is already bombastic enough! The tasteful use of key- instruments and the warmth in the recording gives this album a great sound.

The vocals. I have good and bad news. The good news is that he doesn't sing to often. Well.. the bad news shouldn't come as a surprise then: the vocals aren't that likable. A reference to Peter Hammill isn't out of place here: rough, painful, haunting vocals sung in Italian by a not so gifted vocalist. This brings me to my following point: this might be a very very appealing album for those who like RPI and VdGG.

The compositions. The compositions are highly technical, sophisticated or/and bombastic. One could find VdGG to be a good reference for the intense experience of the chord progressions. On the second track I heard some chord progressions reminding me a bit of some of Focus' tracks (like Round Goes the Gossip). Furthermore there are some jazz-rock influences during solo progressions.

Conclusion. As mentioned before, this is keyboard haven. Normally I don't like key oriented albums like Keith Ermerson's or Rick Wakeman's, but this is another league. The music is confronting, haunting and has a certain abstract magical vibe during some moments. The vocals aren't that good, but at least they sound honest and unpolished -> which is good! This could be seen as an important contribution to the RPI genre and a nice Gem for collecters in general of the symphonic prog genre. Fans of VdGG might find a good introduction to Italian prog. Four stars!

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