From: borella@cs.ucdavis.edu (Mike Borella)
Newsgroups: alt.music.progressive
Subject: ProgRock Reviews 9: Some current bands from Italy
Date: 4 Jan 1993 22:12:13 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


        ProgRock Reviews 9: Some current bands from Italy
                        by Mike Borella


Ezra Winston - Ancient Afternoons (1990? - LP only)
===================================================

Ezra Winston deserves more from their label than this LP-only release.  They
are one of the most promising up and coming bands from Italy.  If this, their
second album, is any indication of where they're heading, I hope their further
releases see the light of CD.  Another of the new-progressive (notice I didn't
say "neo-progressive") Italian bands, they don't approach the artistry and
magnificence of their 70's counterparts but they are one of the top three 
currently recording in that country. 

Their music has been described by other reviewers as "gorgeous," and
"beautiful."  I can see where these comments come from.  Led by guitars,
keyboards and flute, they evoke a magical soundscape.  The non-accented
English vocals add to the symphonic majesty of this release.  The major 
observation that I can make from listening to this album (and the only caveat 
I have) is that each musician is quite proficient and plays complicated parts 
well.  However, only one bandmember plays a complicated line at a time.  In 
other words, the individual tracks have complicated parts, yet when taken as a 
whole, the writing is straight-ahead.  For example, while the drummer is playing 
fills, the other musicians bang chords.

Compared to other bands, Ezra Winston is something of a "Misplaced Childhood"
era Marillion / Step Ahead / Men of Lake combo with "Fanfare For the Common
Man" styled Emerson keyboards thrown in.  Ancient Afternoons will please most
prog-head, neo-fans and otherwise.  If you can find it, get it.


Edith - Ice (1991)
==================

This is the second release by Italy's Edith.  A band firmly entrenched in the
neo-progressive mold, Edith offers a more conservative approach than classic
Italian bands of the seventies.  One of the reasons I tend not to appreciate
the neo-progressive bands is that many of them sound way too much like
Marillion.  Some lack any originality altogether.  While Edith does sound
primarily influenced by Marillion, their music does have it's own style, albiet
highly derivative.  

The new-agey cover is representative of the feel of the music - Rothery styled
guitar riffs backed with keyboard washes.  The rhythm section seems capable of
doing a lot more than the snare-bass plodding and occasional fills that it
does.  Sung in English, the vocals sound vaguely like Fish or Peter Gabriel and
tend to fit the music well.  While not un-talented, the band seems to avoid
making their music overly complex.  Some listeners will appreciate this
approach, but I fall into the camp that grows bored with straight-forward,
lyrical writing.  After the fifth or sixth song I have trouble listening to the
rest of the album, because there is little change or variation.

After several listenings Ice hasn't grown on me, though I find some of the
songs catchy.  Catchiness in music tends to lead to a short shelf life.  There
is nothing unpleasant about this band but I still can not recommend them to
anybody but the neo-prog fans.  Ice isn't a bad album, but when compared to
the progressive classics of the past and their contemporaries, it still falls 
short.  Even compared their fellow countrymen, Nuova Era, Ezra Winston,
or Eris Pluvia, they don't stack up.  Edith seems capable of much more as a
band, and I hope they achieve their potential some day.


Atmo - Atmo (1990 - Cassette Only)
==================================

This two piece neo-progressive outfit features keyboardist Salvo Condorelli
along with vocalist / guitarist Mario Gulisano of Edith.  The two share drum
programming chores.  While sounding similar to Edith, they are more
experimental than that band.  Missing is the simplistic Marillion wannabe
style.  Instead they opt for an approach reminiscent of Pink Floyd.
While I find the music more interesting than Edith's Ice, it lacks the
complexity and virtuosity that I listen to progressive music for.  But the
programmed percussion isn't much of a detraction, in fact it occasionally
sounds more talented than the average human drummer!  

Most of the tracks are simple keyboarding and picked guitar chords with a few
guitar solos and various effects.  Atmo seems to be opting for a Floydian,
neo-prog new-age sound.  If this sounds like something interesting to you, you
might want to check this out.  However I can't recommend this to the average
listener.  Atmo has moments, such as the tracks "Living Forest" and "Nature
Forces Bent".  "Sinfoniko" is particularly good, probably the best on the tape.
Unfortunately these moments are few and far between.  With all the wonderful
music being released and re-released these days, Atmo falls far down my list of
bands to listen to.


Calliope - La Terra dei Grande Occhi (1992)
===========================================

Yet another newcomer from Italy.  Calliope combines vocals that hearken to
bands like Banco and Museo Rosembach with heavy metal styled power riffs and
frantic keyboard leads.  This is a strong release, but I can't list it among
my favorites.  While containing firey musicianship, the actual note patterns
they play are very repetitive.  They impress you with raw speed, but don't
carry through with mature writing.  Not to say their writing is bad, however.
This is a good album.  Solid metal-styled progressive rock, not unlike the US
band Dream Theater, maybe a bit less virtuoso. 

They remind me most of the Japanese band Gerard in the way their instrumental
passages are blistering, though not terrifically difficult to play.  The music
as a whole lacks the compositional skill of PFM, Yes, or even Genesis.  You can
think of them along the lines of an Italian version of Camel on speed.
Nonetheless I give this a weak recommendation to fans of the new Italian bands
and/or progressive metal freaks.