Il Ruscello - Paesaggio Solare (Estate 1972)

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2009
Time: 30:36
Size: 70,4 MB
Label: AMS
Styles: Progressive Rock/RPI
Art: Full

TYracks Listing:
 1. Il Cielo In Un Ruscello -  9:58
 2. La Notte Di Una Citta -     3:52
 3. Il Risveglio Di Una Citta -  5:26   
 4. La Quiete -  1:27
 5. Paesaggio Solare (Estate 1972) -  7:20
 6. Orizzonti - 11:49

Here is an album that everybody will want to have in their player: Il Ruscello, a current Italian band whose members happen to be living in England. What they have done is channel all that was wonderful in the beginning of the Italian progressive rock bands.
Let's start with the band: two brothers, Silvio (guitars, drums, vocals) and Giampaolo (bass) Vavallo and Luca Harb (guitars, keys). Despite being a trio, with the layers of instruments they play, Il Ruscello sounds like a much larger ensemble.
Stylistically they are right in the middle of the beat/prog transition. The closest comparison I would make is Le Orme (except for the vocal delivery). You also hear bits of Triade, Garybaldi, and Gli Alluminogeni (the breezy keyboards and psych elements). Some of the acoustic parts are pure Le Orme. The electric pieces show some of melodic harmonies from the 2nd side of the Triade album. You also get a bit of Latte e Miele with some of the keyboards and orchestrations.
This may be one of the best retro albums in recent years. While it sounds like it came from 1972, there is also no question that it is modern. The recording techniques, some of the backing guitar lines are quite contemporary. That makes is a bit different from La Maschera di Cera who keeps the sound in the 70s. This album plays like a compilation of everything Le Orme ever did, but in one album length suite.
It is melodic, gorgeous, energetic. The singing and playing are top notch, although some of the upper registers of the vocal lines are the only weak points. But nothing we haven't heard before in Italian prog.
All I can say is this is a terrific album that needs to land in everybody's collection.

Paesaggio Solare (Estate 1972)