ALGEBRA - STORIA DI UN ICEBERG - 1994

ALGEBRA are an obscure early 80's Italian symphonic prog band who split up without having recorded a single album. In 1993, they gathered three of their former members along with guest musicians for the sole purpose of pressing a cd. Mostly, however, they seem to have made a career of appearing on tribute albums: "The River of Constant Change" (GENESIS), "Harbour of Joy" (CAMEL) "Giant for a Life" (GENTLE GIANT), "Fanfare for the Pirates (ELP), "Songs for Jethro" (JETHRO TULL), "To Canterbury and Beyond" (a tribute to Canterbury Music) and "Zarathustra's Revenge" (a tribute to Italian Prog).

Their album "Storia di un Icegerg" features both 70s and 80s GENESIS-style pieces with a strong Italian symphonic flavour (lyrics are mostly in Italian). The cd is divided into three parts: the drums and guitar lines of the first 4 tracks recall old 70s, classic-era GENESIS whereas the next 7, more upbeat, will remind you of GENESIS' pop days. The last track is a 10-minute medley of authentic GENESIS tunes (with unfortunately accented English vocals). The guys do manage to build their own melodic style without sounding like complete clones, but their work on tribute albums is far superior to their own, which ranges in quality from 'ok' to 'so-so' to downright abysmal.

Certainly not essential but worth a few spins for diehard GENESIS fans.
http://www.progarchives.com