ROCK'N'ROLL STARS

Mass-Media Stars is the second album by Acqua Fragile and was released in 1974 on the Ricordi label with a confirmed 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 album, produced by Claudio Fabi (best known for his work with PFM), has a good sound quality and the musicians seem more aware of their songwriting abilities. In my opinion, the tracks on it sound more personal and mature if compared with those on their self-titled debut. However, the final outcome is somewhat hampered by the band's stubbornness in insisting on singing their songs in English, against the wishes of their record company and an Italian market that was at the time unreceptive to such a proposal. This led to a commercial flop, despite the quality of the album...

The fine opening track, “Cosmic Mind Affair”, evokes astronomical laws that serve as a guide for our minds, inviting us on a journey into the depths of the cosmos while walking on the thin line of madness. The mysteries of the universe are too profound to be fathomed or understood by our limited human capabilities: what if we were nothing more than strange, incredible creatures generated by the brains of other worlds? Like the aliens that populate our dreams...

The following “Bar Gazing” is at times musically reminiscent of Genesis while its somewhat surreal lyrics draw inspiration from the observation of the customers of a bar located in a town square. An unruly driver, a bee inspector, a couple of pharmacy lovers...

The instrumental intro to “Mass-Media Stars” is strongly reminiscent of PFM. Then, the festive atmosphere is paired with sarcastic lyrics about rock stars and their diva-like attitudes: vain artists who bark loudly in the air, with a political touch and the gift of the gab; frivolous Lolitas who think they can do rock'n'roll better than Elvis while flaunting a thousand gimmicks that you have to admire with the blessing of the media...

“Opening Act” starts by a vocal part a cappella that might bring Gentle Giant to mind, but the music soon shifts toward a West Coast sound. The track brilliantly and wryly depicts life on the road for an obscure rock band trying to make a name for itself by opening the concerts for major stars. There are no press clippings about the unknown band, no groupies waiting for them, no personal roadies and their cheap instruments keep going out of tune. Yet, every night brings the thrill of performing, fuelled by the hope of catching the audience's eye and perhaps even getting called back for an encore...

“Professor” is an interesting, caustic piece that paints in music and words the portrait of an austere, know-it-all man who delights in picking out others' mistakes and point out what an artist is lacking; a ruthless critic who poses as an expert without truly being one. With weary eyes and a black bow tie, he takes pleasure in denigrating the work of others. Yet, one has to wonder: what is the point of dwelling on trivial errors when it would be far more useful to highlight what is actually working? The protagonist is merely a professor who teaches nothing; his petty attitude will ultimately lead him into oblivion, while the people he criticised go on with all their mistakes and their enthusiasm...

The last track, “Coffee Song”, is a melancholic acoustic ballad about the passing of time and the need to be ready for every new opportunity - despite any despondency or sadness - because there is nothing worse than looking back with regret at having lost the winning path simply because one was tired...

On the whole, a very good work.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Acqua Fragile: Mass-Media Stars (1974). Other opinions:

Conor Fynes: Like Acqua Fragile's self-titled debut, "Mass Media Stars" shows tact and potential, but it lacks any sort of unique personality or identity. First impressions are certainly brighter than the album's lasting impact, as some of the album's weaker aspects- Lanzetti's vocals especially- tend to wear down the enjoyment before too long. They may be little more than a Genesis clone, but they do manage to recreate the style faithfully... (read the complete review HERE)

Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: Bernardo Lanzetti's vocals are extremely hard to love here. His English pronunciation became stronger and clearer on the PFM albums, but here his words often seem to run together in an increasingly inane way, very difficulty to understand and focus on, and attention starts to wander from the decent music behind them. Just notice the way the album suddenly picks up whenever the vocals calm down for a moment and the band launch into lengthier instrumental passages. Sadly these sort of more magical moments are few and far between... (read the complete review HERE)

MUSIC AND THEOLOGICAL THEORIES

Teodicea is a band from Livorno that came to life in 2020 on the initiative of keyboardist and composer Enrico Filippi after he stepped out from Aliante with whom he had previously recorded two albums. The band's name refers to a theological theory (Theodicy) that shows that it is reasonable to believe in God despite evidence of evil in the world and offers a framework which can account for why evil exists. In 2024 they released an excellent debut album entitled Il mondo esausto (The exhausted world) on the independent M.P. & Records label with a line up featuring Enrico Filippi (keyboars, piano), Jacopo Morandi (bass) and Giacomo Putrino (drums, percussion, keyboards). It's a completely instrumental work that might recall some Italian bands of the seventies like Le Orme, Goblin or il Banco del Mutuo Soccorso but that blends vintage sounds with a contemporary musical landscape. The drawing on the cover is by Luca Di Pietro while in the booklet you can find some pictures that offer a glimpse of the music's inspiration...

“777” is an excellent track that at times recalls Le Orme and, above all, Aliante. The title could be a reference to the model of a passenger plane. In fact, the 777 is the world's largest twin jet and the most-built wide-body airliner. Are you ready for a musical journey to new territories to discover? Well, get ready for take-off...

“Gioia e risoluzione” (Joy and resolution) is another wonderful track beginning gently with a dreamy piano intro and then progressing through numerous changes in rhythm and mood. Although the title seems to paraphrase a well-known Area piece, the music is devoid of edgy experientialism and avant-garde overtones. Rather, it's in line with the previous track, cinematic and dreamy...

“L’ineluttabile” (The inevitable) begins with a subdued rhythmic pattern that then intersects with restless melodic lines. The dark central section, with strong classical overtones and prominent piano, precedes a final part in crescendo...

“Weltschmerz” opens with a melancholic atmosphere and the piano in the foreground. The title refers to a literary concept describing the feeling experienced by an individual who believes that reality can never satisfy the expectations of the mind, resulting in a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering. According to an interview with the band, "this piece was born to attempt to represent in music that malaise, so common today, caused by the dissatisfaction of living in a society where injustice and violence of every kind, both physical and mental, are everywhere. Those who identify with this malaise are unfortunately aware of their inadequacy in the face of the world's evils and suffer for it"...

“Ripresa di coscienza” (Regaining consciousness) brings back a bit of positivity. After a dreamy start, the rhythm becomes more intense and fast-paced, almost as if to mark a reconciliation with life and reality...

The following “Intro 442” is instead slower and darker, with the keyboards and piano weaving almost hypnotic textures that can bring to mind Goblin...

Teodicea, 2024

“Lofoten” is calm and dreamy. In fact, the title refers to an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. The Lofoten Islands boast unique landscapes, with towering mountains and peaks, open seas and sheltered bays, beaches and unspoiled lands. Landscapes that somehow inspired this piece...

“Punto di fusione (Fusion point) is a beautiful track that recalls Banco del Mutuo Soccorso with some classical inspiration, a lot of energy and a remarkable melodic touch...

“Il viaggio del Moro” (The Moro's voyage) closes the album with a cinematic and evocative atmosphere that recalls the opening track. The title seems to refer to the Moor of Venice, a famous regatta vessel, but this voyage proves far more adventurous and unpredictable than a simple sailing competition...

On the whole, an excellent work!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Teodicea-61565908830080/

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MASTERS

Vacuum is the second studio album by The Watch and was released in 2004 on the independent Lizard Music label with a renewed line up featuring Simone Rossetti (vocals, flute, tambou), Roberto Leoni (drums, percussion), Gabriele Manzini (keyboards, synthesizers), Ettore Salati (guitars), Sergio Taglioni (piano, organ, Moog, Mellotron, synthesizers) and Marco Schembri (bass, guitars). Genesis from the early seventies are still the main source of inspiration and the band demonstrates not only to have studied their style in depth but to have absorbed it and, in some ways, made it their own...

The opener, “Hills”, is just a short introduction that depicts a mysterious, peaceful place in the dark surrounded by distant traffic lights. All around little shining cars seem dancing like dolphins in the sea. It's a secret time...

Then, in “Damage Mode” the music and lyrics evoke a young man recalling a youthful trauma. He can't deny the anger and hatred toward the man who caused it. In his mind, he sees the images of a film where the female protagonist is ready to run to escape the attack of a lion that wants to devour her...

“Wonderland” paints a beautiful city full of lights and signs. It's a world that invites you to spend your money with the illusion of achieving happiness through parties and slot machines, easy women and alcohol. But all this is just an illusion and isn't enough to hide the inner emptiness of those who allow themselves to be seduced by the sirens of a merciless consumerism...

the Watch, 2004

“Shining Bald Heads” describes a strange character, someone who appears like a rainbow when your day seems over: Mr. Doubt. During the day, his bald head shines in the suburbs and outlying neighbourhoods, but when the workday ends he reappears with his claws planted in your dreams. He's a sign of life and sometimes it would be better to heed his friendly advice...

“Out Of The Land” tells of the solitude and peace one can experience in a small town far from the hectic life of big cities, and of the strange and contradictory feelings experienced by those who leave the chaos of a metropolis to take refuge in the tranquillity of a distant and all-too-silent place...

“Goddess” depicts the image of a man singing the praises of his beloved, a woman who for him is a true goddess to be adored and loved blindly and unconditionally, and without whom his life risks losing all meaning...

“Deeper Still” is a lullaby for a child born on a cold winter morning. White snow falls on the newborn troubled life while his future is taking form. The parents sense a kind of passing of the baton in the relay race of life. The prevailing feeling is small and fragile: it's simply love...

The long, complex title track, “The Vacuum”, is a suite divided into five parts that was inspired by the character of Serge Abrahamovitch Voronoff Voronoff, a French surgeon of Russian origin working in the 1920s and 1930s best known for his practice of transplantation of living cells, tissues and organs from animals monkeys to men to increase sexual power and as an anti-ageing therapy. The piece opens with the excerpt from the report of a patrol of the French Gendarmerie. A strange creature was seen running outside Voronff's castle, near the border with the Italian town of Ventimiglia. The piece continues with excerpts from Voronoff's diary, which address the ethical implications of the scientist's work. The third part is a surreal exposition of the creature's sensations. The fourth part contains a warning about the excesses of experimentation: those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones! The fifth and final part features the creature's discovery in a pool of dreams...

On the whole, a very good work in pure Genesis style!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.thewatchmusic.net/

INSPIRING PEACE

Corporesano took form in Brescia in 2015 and soon started composing original music inspired by seventies prog. In 2019 they released an interesting eponymous debut album on the Mellow Records label with a line up featuring Lorenzo Ussoli (keyboards, backing vocals), Francesco Marchina Ares (lead and backing vocals), Simone Sandrini (guitars), Giordano Porta (bass) and Marco Dolfini (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Their music is dreamy, soft and pleasant though not particularly challenging. The art work by Giordano Porta, inspired by the fantastic landscapes by Roger Dean, tries to describe the musical and lyrical content...

The opener “Alle porte di Zion” (At the gates of Zion) is a slow, reflective piece that evokes the end of a man's earthly journey at the gates of Zion and his liberation from pain, which leads to a state of infinite peace. It's an ideal place, where you can listen to music while sitting on green meadows and get lost in a deep sense of well-being surrounded by a flow of transforming souls...

“Labirinti retorici” (Rhetorical labyrinths) is an introspective and dreamy piece where music and lyrics evoke the figure of a man in search of inspiration, lost chasing his fantasies through the alleys of an ancient city or in splendid gardens (the lyrics refer to the Boboli Gardens in Florence, a large park originally designed as the garden of the Medici family's Pitti Palace in the mid-16th century that houses statues of various styles and periods, large fountains, and artificial grottoes). Then, the protagonist finds himself composing melodies on the beach in Rimini, applauded only by dolphins. Useless thoughts are dispersed by a wind that carries with it the voices of insensitive sirens...

“Nel bozzolo” (In the cocoon) tells the story of a man who can't find his place in a shattered, hopeless world and withdraws into himself. He seeks protection in a cocoon where he can sleep and dream. Upon awakening, however, a metamorphosis occurs: the cocoon opens, and the protagonist soars like a butterfly, reflecting on his past and trying to savour the nectar of life, leaving behind the shards of his shell...

Corporesano, 2018

“Statim vivus fierem” (I would immediately become alive) is an introspective piece, titled in Latin, that speaks of the need for reconciliation between humanity and nature. Under a starry sky in the Taiga, the protagonist experiences visions that blur with reality. In that place, he feels part of an ancestral history and in balance with the universe...

“Sulle rive del fiume Giordano” (On the banks of the Jordan river) describes a traveller sitting in silence on the banks of the Jordan river, a river that flows through the tormented lands of the Middle East and ends into the Dead Sea. The protagonist dives into its waters, and when he resurfaces, time and space lose all meaning for him. He experiences an angelic peace and is overcome by celestial visions...

“Lupo solitario” (Lone wolf) describes a man with a rebellious spirit who reflects on his past and his mistakes. Now he realises that he must move forward with humility and courage, without heeding siren songs that might divert his path. For him it's time to start over and make sense of his new role as a father, with transparency and honesty...

In “Onda inarrestabile” (Unstoppable wave) the music and lyrics evoke a powerful wave, capable of tuning cells, causing chaos, and instilling vibrations, vertigo and happiness. The lyrics were partially inspired by The Sirius Mystery, a book by Robert K. G. Temple supporting the pseudoscientific ancient astronauts hypothesis that intelligent extra-terrestrial beings visited the Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times...

“La zavorra inutile” (The useless ballast) evokes the image of a man crushed by an unbearable weight. What weighs him down is anxiety about the future and regrets about a past that can never return. To move forward, he clings to the habits, judgments, and clichés that give him security. When a memory of childhood games timidly surfaces, however, the protagonist senses that within him there is still a great life force and an ocean of energy. He regains his balance and forgets the fears of the future and the regrets of the past to live in the flow of the present, the only true aspect of reality...

“Lo spirito della montagna” (The spirit of the mountain) describes the strength and beauty of nature by identifying with the benign spirit of a mountain that teaches us to honour life. The spirt bestows peace, silence, and serenity upon those who appreciate it and its magical songs resonate throughout the valley, bringing joy to those who listen...

The closing track, “I venti dell'inverno” (The winds of Winter), is a piece suspended between nostalgia and hope for the future. The protagonist turns his thoughts to a past love, hoping that the sweet moments they shared will return. He feels almost swallowed up in a dark vortex where icy winds blow. Then, he becomes aware of the need to overcome the past and look to the future with confidence. New encounters and new ideas can still shape a new path in his life...

On the whole, a really good work that deserves listening to. Unfortunately the band split up soon after the album was released, but you never know. In Italian prog reunions can always happen.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Corporesano: Corporesano (2019). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: Listening to Corporesano is the chance to let your mind wander and drift off to a sound that will never jar you or disturb you. The speed of the songs is nearly constant and slow, the template consistent, the verses leading to the payoff electric guitar solo, very melodic, over a surrounding atmosphere that is the aural equivalent of the beautiful skyline colors shown in the background of their cover art. They take you there as efficiently as any band ever has, and, if you dig it, this album could end up on your "favorites" shelf. So, why the long face, Jim? Well, every positive attribute I just laid out for you is also, ironically, the same criticism that many an RPI fan will have with this album. If you need your music to be adventurous or take risks---even occasionally, even a little bit---to provide some contrasting mood or excitement, you'll need to look elsewhere. That's why I would describe this as a kind of lovely daydream, like a perfect nap that delivered a really good dream. It's nice, but for adventurous listeners, I doubt that's enough... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/177964355871210/

BRIGHT LIGHTS

Sunlight is the second album by Drift Lab, a jazz rock project based in Rome and led by Manuele Montesanti. It was self-released in 2026 with a completely renewed line-up featuring, along with founder member, composer and leader Manuele Montesanti (piano, synths), the new members Marco Pistone (bass), Guido Della Gatta (guitars) and Roberto Porta (drums) plus the guest Carlo Maria Micheli (sax). According to the official website, this is music "written with rigour but performed with freedom, where improvisation finds its home within intricate harmonic architectures". Drift Lab is an open, constantly evolving project, aiming to shape a sound that blends "jazz roots and contemporary imagery, instrumental virtuosity and electronic curiosity, composition and experimentation". The art cover tries to give a visual form to the musical content...

Electronic sounds and a brief drum roll introduce the album's title track, "Sunlight". It's a bright piece, full of frenetic energy, ready to wake us up to face a new busy day. A kind of urban ride illuminated by the sunlight...

The following "Yellow Fire" is a piece with a jagged rhythm but full of warmth and melodic flares that leads to "Bump" a jazz rock track full of nocturnal and disquieting atmospheres with excellent interweaving of guitar and keyboard that share the solo parts, supported by a never banal rhythm section...

"A-M-M-I-M" somehow revisits and reinterprets a piece from the previous album ("M-I-M-M-A"). It's a relaxed track that at times invites you to dance the night away while "Serendip" is a slow, sensual piece featuring guest saxophonist Carlo Maria Micheli and a certain oriental exoticism. The title refers to the ancient name of the island of Ceylon...

"Chaste Countrywoman" starts with the bass in the foreground that traces a funky rhythm, then the electric guitar outlines melodic paths that take the song in other directions... Next comes "Bleep" is a complex and fast piece where all the musicians showcase great technical skills and a notable interaction.

"bYpOLAR" begins with an old video-game atmosphere and continues with irrepressible freshness, alternating more relaxed moments with others where the pace becomes pressing and lively. Ten, the dreamy "Evolving" concludes the album. A beautiful official video was shot for this piece, completing the sonic universe the band has evoked with images of a disturbingly beautiful dystopian future...

On the whole, an excellent fusion work!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://driftlabmusic.com/