PASSIO SECUNDUM MATTHEUM

It would be easy to write Latte E Miele as an ELP clone at this stage of their career based on their guitarist-keyboardist-percussionist lineup and their quoting from Bach (at points they even borrow the exact same bits from Bach that ELP do!), but there's a bit more to them than that. Drummer Alfio also whips out a mean flute from time to time, and guitarist Marcello is a bit more diverse than Greg Lake, branching out into the violin on occasion. Musically, the group also draw on inspiration from Genesis for their quieter, more acoustic and pastoral sections, and also include some properly operatic vocals here and there. The result is a synthesis which is entirely unlike anything ELP ever did, and makes their adaptation of Christ's Passion (as told in the Gospel of Matthew) one of the better early concept albums from the RPI scene - though not quite on the divine tier occupied by Banco, PFM and Le Orme's works from 1972.