IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE

I found out about this one through ProgBrazil site. It is no secret that the italian prog groups were always very much appreciated in Brazil since the early 70´s. So I was naturally curious by the prasing I saw at the site´s forum. And even more so when I read some of the PA reviews. I can assure you all, they are right. Ok, it was not as accessible as much of the RPI stuff I´ve seen lately. The music is quite complex and it took me alittle time and quite a few spins to really get it.

First and foremost I was atracted to this CD when I heard that singer Stefano "Lupo" Galifi was on it. He was a member of the italian cult band Museo Rosenbach in the mid 70´s and I always thought he had such a fine voice and a very emotional delivering that made such an impression on me when I heard their Zarathustra album. I am really delighted to say that he is in great form after all these years. His vocals are one of the highlights of this CD: beautiful, emotional and precise as ever.

The instrumental parts are also great. It´s a good mix of the traditional and the modern. A lot of the keyboards have a vintage sound, and yet this is not a retro record, much on the contrary: You won´t see long displays of virtuosity or big solos. Elisa Montaldo, the mastermind behind it all, has a style of her own, with extensive of the piano as the main instrument. The guitar and bass parts in particular are quite different from what you might expet from a symphonic prog record, but are equally good. The tasteful arrangements, the tight perfomances and the jazz influences top it all making Il Tempio Delle Clessidre a quite unique album, even if many parts sound familiar and in league with the italian tradition of prog music.

The production is superb. Songs like La Stanza Nascosta, with its basicly piano and cello accompaniment, is a fine exemple of the powerful tunes included here, while Il Centro Sottile is a 10+ minute epic that shows all the excellency of the musicians involved. There are no fillers, all tracks are at least very good.

Rating: 4 strong stars. I´m looking forward to hear their next work. Highly recommended.