MEXPROG 2026

 

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PROUDLY DERIVATIVE

 Acqua Fragile took form in Parma in 1971 under the name Gli Immortali. After some personnel changes and a good live activity, in 1973 the band released their eponymous debut album on the Numero Uno label, produced by PFM and Claudio Fabi with a line up featuring Bernardo Lanzetti (vocals, guitar), Gino Campanini (electric and acoustic guitar, vocals), Maurizio Mori (keyboards, vocals), Franz Dondi (bass) and Pier Emilio Canavera (drums, acoustic guitar, vocals). The overall sound of this work is proudly derivative, based on excellent vocal harmonies and obvious musical influences from bands like Genesis and Gentle Giant. Unlike most Italian bands of the early 1970s, Acqua Fragile chose to sing in English rather than in their native language and oddly enough, the original album inner sleeve doesn't feature the English lyrics but only their Italian translation...

The opening track, "Morning Comes", is a reflection on time passing by. Each morning the daylight sweeps away all dreams, the light streams in through the window, killing the shadows and freeing up space for the daily grind. The Genesis influence here is more than evident. Then comes "Comic Strips", a nice piece about the potential of comic book art and its ability to stir the imagination. It's another exercise of style, this time drawing inspiration from Gentle Giant. The acoustic, West Coast ballad "Science Fiction Suite" closes the first side of the original LP, taking you on a surreal journey to Mars and beyond. The main sources of inspiration here are the blue eyes of Judy and CS&N...

Side two opens with the dreamy and nostalgic "Song From A Picture", inspired by a photograph and featuring Genesis influences once again. The following track, "Education Story", initially leans more toward Crimson atmospheres before taking a different course. "Going Out" is a short acoustic ballad that invites you to find the right mood to leave home and embark on a journey to Venice, Redwood or any where you like. The last track of the album is the long "Three Hands Man", which describes a dangerous individual disguised as a businessman. It's probably the most accomplished track of the entire batch, albeit with the usual clear reminiscences of Genesis and Gentle Giant...

On the whole, a work that is certainly pleasant but not exactly essential.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Acqua Fragile: Acqua Fragile (1973). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: This album has some nice music and melodies, but please be aware this is not a true RPI album. It is a collection of impostor originals from the English prog scene, sounding ridiculously like period Genesis, Yes, Giant, and Crimson in various places. Vocals are in English and there is not much Italian tradition or even RPI style in the music or performance. If you don't care about that, read on for what they do get right: some nice songs... (read the complete review HERE)

Paul Fowler: A criticism sometimes levelled at the band is their lack of an authentic Italian sound. This is true as their sound has a much more British feel and parallels can be drawn with early Genesis and Gentle Giant in particular. However taken on its own terms, this, their eponymous debut released in 1973 is a very good album and well worth seeking out. They make good use of vocal harmonies bringing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to mind, perfectly illustrated on Science Fiction Suite... (read the complete review HERE)

AN ACCOMPLISHED WORK OF ART

In 2014 Latte e Miele released on the independent Black Widow label a re-elaborated version their debut album Passio Secundum Mattheum adding some sections and filling some gaps in the narrative parts. The line up featuring Marcello Giancarlo Dellacasa (electric and classical guitar), Oliviero Lacagnina (piano, keyboards), Alfio Vitanza (drums, vocals) and Massimo Gori (bass, vocals) re-recorded the album with the intention to leave the narrative parts to the voice of don Andrea Gallo (18 July 1928 - 22 May 2013), an Italian presbyter, founder and leader of the community of San Benedetto al Porto of Genoa, best known for helping poor and needy people. Unfortunately he passed away before the album was completed and that’s why the album is dedicated to his memory. Eventually, the narrative vocals were provided by some prestigious guests such as Silvana Aliotta (Circus 2000), Paolo Carelli (Pholas Dactylus), Giorgio D’Adamo (New Trolls), Aldo De Scalzi (Picchio dal Pozzo); Sophya Baccini (Presence, Sophya Baccini’s Aradia), Alvaro Fella (Jumbo), Paolo Griguolo (Picchio dal Pozzo), Max Manfredi, Elisa Montaldo (Il Tempio delle Clessidre), Simonluca and Lino Vairetti (Osanna). The new version of the opera features also a string quartet and a choir to add more colours to the musical fabric while the new art work is dedicated to Storm Thorgerson and tries to reflect his style to depict the musical content. In my opinion, this new version is far better than the original one, for many reasons...

Back in 1972, when the original album Passio Secundum Mattheum was released, the instruments of the time, the sound engineers, and the Italian recording studios were certainly not up to par with those of today. Furthermore, the young band had to compromise with their record company and limit the album's running time by cutting some sections. The new version does justice to this complex and intensely beautiful rock opera, recovering what was lost and adding new sounds and nuances. The new version is the fruit of the work of experienced musicians, aware of their abilities and capable of shedding new light on their youthful compositions, bringing them to completion for the listener's delight.

The new version doesn't distort the original plot or introduce any sonic elements that might seem out of place or out of context. It's a work that's extremely respectful of the past, yet looks to the present and modernises sounds and melodies without sacrificing the vintage atmosphere. In fact, for the "Toccata for Organ", a section not included on the original album, an old recording from 1972 was used. The final result is extremely convincing and definitely deserves a place in the collection of any Italian prog enthusiast.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Latte e Miele: Passio Secundum Mattheum – The Complete Work (2014). Other opinions:

Michael "Aussie-Byrd-Brother": Some listeners may find the constant direction changes and multiple narrated guests initially intimidating and off-putting, but perseverance pays off perfectly for those willing to give this work the necessary amount of plays for it to start making sense. `Passio Secundum Matthaeum - The Complete Work' is a gift for fans who cherish the beloved original, as well as a sumptuous aural treat for newcomers to discover. It's possibly one of the finest modern releases from a vintage Italian act, and comes across as a hugely important and defining progressive rock work in general for 2014. Italian prog doesn't come any more grand, lavish and exquisite than this, and it's certainly one of the most sophisticated works to appear on the Black Widow label to date... (read the complete review HERE)

BLOODLESS

After the album Aquile e scoiattoli was released in 1976, Latte e Miele kept playing until the beginning of the 80's with an always more commercial sound but the singles they released were not successful. Their last single from 1980, Ritagli di luce, even took them to the Sanremo Italian song contest but was a flop. An album, recorded in 1979, documents this period of the band but it was not released until 1992 when it was picked up by the Mellow Records label. Titled Vampyrs and played by the three-piece line-up of Gori, Poltini and Vitanza, it's not comparable with the band's previous works...

The album opens with “King Of Darkness,” an instrumental halfway between Goblin and the French Rockets. Then come “Master of the Time,” “I Don't Wanna See You,” and “Burnin’ Out”: sung in English, they are melodic pop-rock songs, not particularly brilliant, shyly nodding to the Italo-dance music that was popular at the time. “Life Is Just a Game” is just a whiff of smoke on the water, while “Nobody’s Comin?” is a bland piano ballad that mimics the more commercial New Trolls. The following songs are sung in Italian and are a bit better, but “Stasera” (This Evening) is romantic, light-hearted pop that, while well-played, has nothing to do with prog, just like the other songs, which at times are close to the style of Umberto Tozzi (“Angela” and “Fumetti rosa”) or Pooh (“Dimenticare, ricominciare”). “Immagini di un porto” (Images of a seaport) is a ballad that reminds me a lot of the New Trolls of the eighties, while “Un colpevole mago”, “Rock’n’Roll Star” and “American Time” are, in my opinion, unremarkable melodic-style pieces.

On the whole, an unaccomplished work that perhaps would have been better left in the drawer and very far from essential for a prog collector.

Anyway, you can listen to the complete album HERE and judge for yourselves.

EAGLES AND PREYS

Aquile e scoiattoli is the third studio album by Latte e Miele and was released in 1976 on the independent Magma label with a renewed line up featuring Alfio Vitanza (drums, percussion, 12 string guitar, vocals), Massimo Gori (bass, electric and acoustic guitar, vocals), Luciano Poltini (Hammond, Moog, clavinet, piano, vocals) and Mimmo Damiani (piano, solina, eminent, guitar, vocals) plus some prestigious guest musicians such as Vittorio De Scalzi (flute - from I New Trolls), Leonardo Lagorio (sax - from Celeste), Aldo De Scalzi (sax - from Picchio dal Pozzo), Divo Gori (violin) and Giorgio Karaghiosoff (flute - from Picchio dal Pozzo). Despite the line-up changes, the quality of the music remains high and anchored to the symphonic prog of their early days. The album cover, provided by Maria Vitanza, almost seems to assert the right to a certain underlying naiveté, at least when listening to music in a social context like that of Italy during the Years of Lead, a time of turmoil and rampant violence...

The album opens with the title track, "Aquile e scoiattoli" (Eagles and Squirrels), a brilliant and well-structured, if short, piece. The music and lyrics paint the image of a beautiful forest after a storm. The protagonist can sense the squirrels hidden in the bushes trembling, while eagles circle overhead, ready to snatch their prey. This leads to a comparison with everyday city life, where, metaphorically, vigilant eagles ensure that no one can ever choose between sleep and freedom, where life is scheduled and there's no room for novelty or variation, where you have to run, work, eat, consume the products offered to you, and go to bed early to then resume your daily routine the next morning: if you slip up, sooner or later an eagle will get you...

“Le vacche sacre – Il falso menestrello” (The holy cows – The false minstrel) is a caustic critique of hippie ideals and of those seeking a better world in Indian culture and philosophy. The music and lyrics evoke a person who, upon returning from a journey to India, locks himself into his house and opens a closet of memories, memories provoking a profound disappointment when confronted with the truth of everyday life. The protagonist is then invited to look at himself in the mirror and face the real world. It's clear that life is difficult, which is why he tried to escape, but telling fairy tales doesn't change the situation. The protagonist thinks he's a poet, but he's merely a prophet of falsehood, responsible for those who believe in him. Sacred cows, incense, and necklaces are not what people need; you have to fight for your bread, and it's not right to deceive people by renting artificial paradises...

“Menestrello” (Minstrel) begins with a calm, dreamy atmosphere. The music and lyrics portray a lonely minstrel singing his songs to the moon, trapped by old hopes and past joys that can never return. Then someone urges him not to open his childish eyes, so that if his truth lies in dreams, no one can disturb his inner peace. In the central instrumental section the pace accelerates and a beautiful electric guitar solo intertwined with synthesisers conveys a sense of mysterious unease. At the end, the pace slackens, and the figure of the dreaming minstrel from the beginning of the song reappears...

“Opera 21” closes the first side of the album and is a cheerful instrumental piece that reworks part of Beethoven's First Symphony while the second side of the original LP is entirely occupied by a long and complex instrumental piece of classical inspiration, "Pavana" (Pavane). The pavane is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance), in slow duple time with a long -short - short pulse, perhaps taking its name from Paduan (Padovana) associations (quote from The New Penguin Dictionary Of Music, London, 2004). In any case, despite starting from classical inspiration, the band here does not limit itself to reworking classical forms and effectively presents its own musical ideas, characterised by great technique and taste, blending classical music with rock and a touch of jazz...

On the whole, an excellent work that deserves to be listened to and which at the time would have deserved more success.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Latte e Miele: Aquile e scoiattoli (1976). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: Despite the very good sound quality and fine performance, it feels like a prog keyboard exercise that goes on far too long while hitting very few of my musical pleasure receptors. I'm truly surprised by this as I enjoy Basso's "Voci" and certainly tons of albums that are not so far in style from this. I urge RPI and symphonic prog fans to check out this album for themselves because many other like it a lot, some like it more than their two earlier albums. Just not my cup of tea, or rather not my glass of vino... (You can read the complete review HERE)