ACQUA FRAGILE - MASS MEDIA STARS - 1974

Musically speaking, this is a beautiful album featuring medium-length songs ranging from the pastoral to the powerful. At their best, Acqua Fragile achieves an exquisitely elusive magic that is usually only found on classic Genesis, Gentle Giant or PFM albums.

2 "words of warning" however.

Warning #1 - Vocals: If you have heard PFM's Jet Lag or Chocolate Kings, then there is little doubt you have already formed a strong opinion on the vocal styling of Bernardo Lanzetti. On the one hand, he has a certain classic-era Peter Gabriel timbre to his voice that is almost irresistible. On the other hand, the pitch warbles incessantly. Is he gargling or is he singing? In the end, I've decided that it is a distinctly unique sound, a 'trademark' type sound. You just don't hear it duplicated almost anywhere, so I take it as a plus. Not all feel the same way. Lanzetti is a very polarizing vocalist. Some simply cannot stand abide it, so be forewarned.

Warning #2 ? Lyrics: These lyrics were obviously written in another language and then translated (or should I say transliterated?) into English. The end-result is cringe-worthy. i can only hope that these lyrics were nowhere near as awkward and insipidly shallow in the original language. That said, I've discovered that these lyrics provide a great source of amusement for family and friends. Certainly this comedic accomplishment should count for something!

And so, if you can tolerate a most unusual warbling vocal style, and you don't demand much in the lyrics department, you will be richly rewarded with some very high quality 1970's Italian and Symphonic prog on this disc. This band often gets compared favorably to bands as diverse as Genesis, Gentle Giant and Yes, and not without reason. This is good stuff. Check it out!
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