ATLANTIS PHILHARMONIC

Starting in early-70's from Cleveland, Ohio, (originally named Atlantis) Atlantis Philharmonic were a talented duo, who had performed alongside King Crimson, Wishbone Ash, Styx and Tim Buckley among others.Joe DiFazio handled all keyboards, guitars, bass and vocals, while Royce Gibson was the drummer and backing vocalist.Their sole LP released in the 70's was a self-titled one on the Chicago-based Dharma label.

Hard to imagine that just two people performed such powerful and tight Progressive Rock, as delivered on the opening ELP-ish ''Atlantis'', which is characterized by the dominant organ jams and the hard guitars of Di Faio.''Woodsman'' though is another story, much in the vein of THE MOODY BLUES or BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, this a soft and romantic piece of Classical- influenced piano work accompanied by DiFazio's voice until the Mellotron-drenched dramatic end and its bombastic atmosphere.Even more bombastic is the following ''Death Man'', in the vein of the opening track, with powerful guitars and swirling organ all the way.The decent performance continues on the flipside with ''Fly-The-Night'', based on melodramatic vocals and the multiple keyboard work of DiFazio on organ, synths and harsichord, really great composition.''My Friend'' is a second soft track with light harpsichord, piano and Mellotron waves in a PROCOL HARUM/BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST style with also some melodic guitar work.''Atlas'' will not spoil the satisfying delivery of the band.A mix of Hard guitar-Prog with sharp riffing and softer vocal moments create a track of shifting moods and inner power.

If keyboard-based 70's prog is among your preferences, ''Atlantis Philharmonic'' was made for you.Huge amounts of organs, Mellotrons and harsichords with occasional hard guitar bursts are sure to please all nostalgic fans of the sound.A pair of CD reissues will make your attempt to find the album a lot easier.Recommended.