1.What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Oh hai Italian prog! It's not bad at all really: the production has a lot of clarity for an early 70's record, and it doesn't sound like most of the other RPI albums coming out around '73 either.
2. What did you think of the opening tracks?
'Peccato D'Orgoglio' is fairly interesting, with a great middle section that lets the band show off a bit in the virtuosity department. 'Dopo L'Uragano' wasn't as interesting: comes off as one of those honky tonk ELP-inspired jams that never really goes anywhere.
3. What did you think of the later tracks?
A real hodgepodge of what you'd expect out an early 70's progressive rock record: I love all the synths in 'La Mente Vola' in particular!
4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Strong voice, and as others pointed out he's got a great range on top of that. The fact I don't know Italian at all doesn't really detract from his vocal quality: might not have been a bad idea to try getting him to sing in English to reach a larger international audience though.
5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
It appealed to me, but on the whole its not cohesive or interesting enough from start to finish to measure up to any of the classic progressive rock records of the era, so I'd say the appeal was somewhat limited.
6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Better to one degree or another.
7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Mama mia!
8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Yep.
9. What did you think of the production?
Probably the best aspect of the album overall. Reminds me a lot of
Gentle Giant's debut on that note, especially in how the drums are mixed.
10. How well do you already know the band/artist?
I already knew of them as a 2nd tier RPI band long before I listened to this album the first time.
11. What sub-genre, if any, would you assign this music to?
Rock Progresivo Italiano, of course.
12. On repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Meh.
13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
Probably 'La Mente Vola'. Very spacey, very fun!
14. And the one you liked least?
N/A
15. Did the fact that this album is a debut allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (Note: if the album is or was NOT a debut, ignore this question or put "n/a")
The production and general flow of the album is good enough to where I wouldn't normally see it as a debut: the professionalism is actually fairly unusual and really says a lot about the people involved.
16. Are you now looking forward to hearing other albums by the band/artist?
Since there really wasn't any direct follow up, probably not.
17. Did you get, thematically, the idea behind the album if there was one?
N/A.
18. Did the album end well?
As others have pointed out, 'Ombra Muta' was a fairly nice closer with a bit of crunch in the right areas to leave a solid impression.
19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Even more keyboard emphasis would have been interesting, but besides the suggestion of recruiting in a sax/horn/flute player for some flavor, I don't have any major improvement suggestions that might have helped a whole lot.
20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
More miss than hit: it's not melodically cohesive as a whole, which is an important feature for me in progressive rock. These guys aren't quite there for me, and kind of a representative from my point of view of why there's no real record in the RPI canon of music that measures up to Yes's
Close To The Edge or the classic Genesis stuff. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. :P
Overall Album Rating: 7 out of 10.