WINTER DAY'S NIGHTMARE

It is not hard, really, to understand that this brilliant, over-looked album had a hard time being promoted and accepted. Firstly, it was on the Motown label, and one has to wonder if they had any real idea how to market an Italian progressive rock band in the first place. And for the music itself, it is something that was probably "too mainstream for the progressive rock listeners, and too progressive for more mainstream taste". But in giving this record a complete listen, one realizes that it had a lot more going for it, musically and lyrically, than it was given credit for, and that it was special in a way.

Yes, the album does include main songwriter/guitarist/singer the late Federico D'Andrea, who was the main force behind the band, and his at times quirky yet always passionate singing and playing make this still a true Libra album. It is somewhat mainstream, i say somewhat, because that element of the sound is never present in a blatant or annoying way, and Winter Day's Nightmare is still progressive enough to be a great companion album to the band's first and best English sung album "Libra".

The music in Winter Day's Nightmare is quite beautiful, but never trite, and all the songs in it fit in quite nicely. There are a whole plethora of influences in the music, without one of those influences dominating over the others-rock, jazz, funk, folk, etc. One can always make out what D'Andrea is singing about despite his somewhat Italian accent, and his unique, almost philosophical perspective is fascinating to listen to (especially in Nothing Comes, Nothing Goes) And then there is the sad story of a woman whose life is a lie in Lucy Squirrel, a tale that really rings home for the listener.

Instrumentally, the band plays tight, and unites their whole host of influences in a way that is accessible without being a blatant sellout. I have the feeling that this album could have made a bigger impact than it ended up doing, and it is a shame that absolutely nobody, the band included, promoted Winter Day's Nightmare very much. Given a serious look at the music therein, that was definitely a mistake. I give the record five stars.