LINEA DI CONFINE

After the ambitious work Hybla Act I, italian singer/songwriter/multi instrumentist Nicola Randone comes back with another concept album. Linea Di Confine has a more simplier approach than on the previous efford, but it is equally as good, if not better than everything else Randone has done so far. it is a long CD (almost 79 minutes) and when I saw that I was a bit suspicious of some self indulgency and/or lots of filler material. Fortunatly this is not the case. Ok, this record takes some time to be fully enjoyed, but right away I could see that this is a fine piece of italian prog music.

Linea Di Confine caught my atention from the very beginning with its beautiful melodies, tasteful arrangements, clever choice of tracks and the terrific musicanship of all involved. But above all, one has to be in awe of Randone´s knack for writing great, memorable songs, in the school of Italy´s best. It´s a shame that his name is still not so widely known. In terms of italian prog this essemble is in the same league as the great names of old like Le Orme, PFM and Banco. And Nicola Randone is probably the single most important prog artist of italian modern prog of the new millenium. This CD is proof of that.

If you like the mix of symphonic prog, traditional italian songs and classical music, with bits of more modern styles here and there to spice it up, then Linea Di Cofine is a must have. It´s timeless music for all music lovers: emotinal, convincing, moving. Very well played and arranged. Production is quite good too. Just listen and you´ll be in prog heaven. One of the best releases of 2010. Rating: 4,5 stars.