ZARATHUSTRA

Quite well known, beloved and acclaimed as an essential of Italian Prog, Zarathustra is the album (seriously the only release until 2000) by Museo Rosenbach. Coming at this in the digital age of music and of streaming, years ago now I had only ever heard its 2012 in-studio live re-recording, though I recall being thoroughly impressed then. Even now, peculiarly enough, Zarathustra on Spotify at least is available as an EP specific only to the title track, which in turn had been divided into its 5 parts. I can't find any information on this, even with the attribution given there to "1973 Black Beard Records".

"Zarathustra", the aforementioned epic title track (purportedly inspired by Nietsche's Superman), begins with "L'ultimo Uomo" ("The Last Man"), out of the gate at first booming, yet melancholic. Vocalist Lupo Galifi has a softness to his voice that really warms us in this frigid mood; big fan of his later rough timbre, too. In an instance, the track crescendos with a whirlwind, like a contemporary passage from Hackett-era Genesis, mostly thanks to the Mellotron. Fade to the weary piano track "Il Re Di Ieri" ("The King of Yesterday"), the Mellotron matched with a warbling keyboard, eventually warming and brightening with fuzzy chimes. A huge return occurs with a truly symphonic orchestration from this [otherwise standard] Rock ensemble. Impressive and triumphant, it's even now a fairly unique delivery (of the subgenre). Hammond organ angrily changes hands with fuzzy, beefy guitar on "Al Di La Del Bene E" ("Beyond the Good E(?)"), out in front of a wild gallop from the drums. At their heaviest, earlier King Crimson may be an appropriate comparison. This is a killer section, lasting a perfect sub-3 minutes. Just as heavy is the continuation at the start of "Superuomo" ("Superman"). It falls away and returns with a brutal rage. If I haven't made it clear, which I don't think I have, I am loving the synth sounds from Pit Corradi especially. Sort of that Keith Emerson level of sonic choice (at the start, the wildness reminded me also of Dave Stewart's work in Egg and Khan). The guitar is quite strong in this category as well, even when the fidelity causes it to break and distort. This is delicious Prog, changing at every turn to some other form, yet continuing wonderfully in its purpose and clear theme. I decided to listen through this section twice haha. After all the assault and heaviness of the last, finally "Zarathustra" comes to a close with the swooping and wonderfully full "Il Tempio Delle Cles" ("The Temple of Cles"). Slow fade to black for Side 1. [An overall track-specific rating of 4.75/5.00]

We have a delightful return to the festivities on "Degli Uomini" ("Some Men"), with soaring guitar and huge keyboards, once again with the drums just blazing away. Another moment that feels like Genesis, here in the middle section, it feels like a glowing Tony Banks homage; however likely that is I don't know. Up next is "Della Natura" ("Of Nature"), featuring some of my favorite hallmarks of this era of Symphonic Prog. Another triumph which gives way to a soft, emotional passage. Then we return to wildness. This one is a lot haha. Definitely look forward to the section starting around minute 3; it has a cool sort of jazziness, I guess, which I just love. If anything, the wordless vocals in this section may be a little corny, but it sounded like they were having a damn good time. The bass at the end was certainly notable, when comparing to tracks preceding. The theme here is very classic and I would think would have pretty wide appeal. We get a now surprisingly eerie intro on "Dell'eterno Ritorno" ("Of the Eternal Return"), which funny enough turns into this really sweet beauty, with what I thought was flute (but now I'm genuinely unsure haha). This track is another which, seemingly throwing all caution to the wind, jumps wildly from thought and section to the next. The softer passages are really wonderful, especially approaching minute 3. Everything is just so well balanced and it gets you ready for the victory to come; even when it's brief, we get our reward. For me, this is up there with the title track in a way that the two that preceded did not (though they were far darker, as it was). What a fun and interesting song! Great closer to a well-rated album.

True Rate: 4.75/5.00