DESTINAZIONI OBLIQUE

1."Il Mondo di Fronte" (9:24) gentle solo piano is replaced by dirty bluesy guitar riffs before full band joins in. Awesome synth-saw solo to open the festivities, then taken over by guitar. Very nice--and tasteful. At the end of the third minute we move into a beautifully melodic motif; the instruments are all woven together so nicely! Then it's back to the blues rock for the second half of the fourth minute. Great drumming. Man! this keyboard artist excels! (Alfonso Capasso) Expansive space-synth solo in the sixth minute. Eventually Alfonso is joined by band in a slow, very spacious late night weave. Gradually the guitarist's play comes forward and becomes the focus of attention. A simple but tasteful solo over some nicely-embellished drumming. At the end of the eighth minute the guitarist's intensity--his passion--really ramps up until relaxing at 8:35 whereupon synth and rest of band jump in to even out the distribution. Nice. A top three song. (18/20)

2. "Frammenti di un Giorno" (7:03) full-band participation in this excellent melodic RPI piece. Keyboard play, guitar soli (especially the second one in the seventh minute), and drummer's embellishments are again highlights with the addition of flute in a very humble, supportive way (even during its extended solo in the fifth and sixth minutes). The flaw is in the rather simple, boring rhythm track. (13.25/15)

3. "Home Trip" (9:10) slow, soft jazz-bluesy bass-led "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"-like music within which bassoon and "distant" electric guitar gently solo. Then, at 2:46, we shift into a very moving guitar slo which elegantly combines David Gilmour's "Time" solo with Steve Hackett's famous riffs from Genesis' "Firth of Fifth." In the fifth minute we return to the "Papa/ Rolling Stone" motif for a bit before opening a door to a completely new passage--one that is initiated by prolonged solo church organ. This ends at 6:56 and is then followed by a Hammond organ into a heavier blues-rock section (with DAAL-like low end melodic base) over which synth solo until all quit for the final 30 seconds of gentle Fender Rhodes notes. Weirdly disjointed song which must be very personal to its composer. (17/20)

4. "Destinazioni Oblique" (3:17) gently played/picked acoustic guitar is soon joined by the narration of Serena Andreni--whose message is lost to me due to its delivery in Italian. As a guitar instrumental, it's okay--nicely meditative. (8.5/10)

5. "Cartimandua" (9:10) I love the more acoustic start to this but then get bored with the middle third in which a long bluesy jam band guitar solos. The third motif established for the final third allows the keyboardist some frontline time to shine but it's weak. Too mundane and straightforward. (15.5/20)

6. "Coda Marea 04" (6:04) delivered in an odd time signature, violin has its turn as the leader until the hostile takeover of the Arp synth at the one-minute mark. At the end of the second minute we move into the heavier, more dramatic "chorus" for some wild (though notably restrained) violin screech playing. Jacopo Giusti's drum solo pretty much fills the fourth minute. (Personally, I think drum solos on studio albums are a thing of the distant past and should not exist--unless they are something extraordinarily ground-breaking or innovative--which this one is not.) After the solo, we dive back into the rock format for a semi-passionate guitar solo. (8.5/10)

7. "L'ultimo Riflesso" (7:42) opens with the first four minutes as a very pleasant, jazz-loungey exposition of pretty background music. Then the lead guitar enters in the fifth minute and slowly teases some powerfully nostalgic emotions out of us with its bluesy somewhat David Gilmour-like solo. Very pretty. Almost a top three. (13.25/15)

8. "La Salita" (7:23) what starts out as a kind of upbeat bluesy psychedelia finishes in full glory of German Kosmische Musik. Nice drumming. (13.25/15)

9. "Tra Cielo e Terra" (9:03) mood-manipulating, steady-on "lounge prog" similar to the music on MAD CRAYON's 2009 masterpiece, Preda. There is a smooth, jazzy feel to this enjoyable RIVERSIDE-paletted song, though instances of PINK FLOYD influence are present as well. I love the horn synth in seventh minute! A top three song, to be sure. (18.25/20)

10. "I Pomeriggi di Armida" (8:03) more laid back lounge-like smooth jazz with some very gentle pacing and even mostly gentle, unpretentious soloing. Very pleasant and relaxing if not so very memorable. Again, the mature confidence of the keyboard player is very impressive--a thing that becomes even more evident in the sixth and seventh minutes. He might be my new favorite--heir to the "Jørgen Grüner-Hagen Award" for consummate-yet-unobtrusive keyboard support. My final top three song. (13.5/15)

Total Time 76:19

B/four stars; an excellent addition of very pleasant and melodic progressive rock music. Nice work, Aliante!

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