Reviewed by ProgCat on 01 Jul 2007
Waterline is a positive surprise; an Italian album in the good old symphonic prog. direction. The album is produced by Dan Shapiro; a physiotherapist and bass player who has played with Shaun Guerin. It took Mr Shapiro 3 years to get this album together.
There is an impressing team of musicians that helps out on the album; the most famous among them are:
- Aldo Tagliapietra (Le Orme):vocals
Paul Whitehead (covermaker Genesis,Yes etc):lyrics,excellent artwork
Neil Bettencourt (Cyrille Verdeaux):drums
Ken Jacques (Atlantis,K2):bass
Tony Spada (Holding Pattern):guitar
John Thomas(Shaun Guerin)
- Track 1:"The siren and the mariner" 4:24 - here you'll find all ingredients of italian symphonic 70's prog. Excellent piano and keyboards by Alex Carpani backed by the vocals of Beatrice Casagrande.
- Track 2:"The levees' break" 4:21 - the track starts out with excellent guitar playing by David Scott & Tony Spada. Nice flutes are added by Cory Wright. True,excellent symphonic italian prog that so many out there love.
- Track 3:" In the rocks" - 5:31 - Le Orme's Aldo Tagliapietra's great vocals starts this track which has everything. One may recall Le Orme,Locanda delle Fate,Il Castello di Atalante and even Genesis. A strong track !
- Track 4:"Reclaimed" 5:23 - Starts excellently with sampled choirs accompanied by el. guitar by Tony Spada + a bunch of other guitarists. Carpani on piano and keyboards. Dan Shapiro adds good basslines.
- Track 5:"Agua Claro" 4:26 - more 70's prog feeling withnice keyboards. One can understand why mr Taglipietra's voice is one of italian prog's best. nice stuff!
- Track 6:"Starcurrents" 4:40 - recalls Le Orme meets PFM. Another great track!
- Track 7:"Song of the pond" 4:34 - nice flutes by Cory Wright. One may recall Focus'Thijs van Leer of Focus here.
- Track 8:"A gathering storm" 5:35 - a fusion track that starts with the sax playing by Cory Wright. Great guitars throughout this instrumental track. a kind of jazz fusion here.
- Track 9:"The waterfall" 5:31 - One may recall Mike Oldfield's Tubular bells at the start. Again great guitar playing.
- Track 10:"Catch the wave" 4:42 - italian symphonic 70's prog mixed with fusion on this track. Nice organ and keyboards by Mr Carpani is accompanied by the sax of Cory Wright.
- Track 11:"Prelude in C min.- 3:16 - the last and shortest track on the album is composed by a Mr J.S. Bach and arranged by Mr Carpani. One may here recall dutch band Exeption. Nice classical guitar.
Lovers of symphonic italian prog in the Le Orme, Locanda delle Fate ,PFM vein will most likely love this album. Check it out !
8/10 from ProgCat.
Reviewed by Tina on 29 Jul 2007
Waterline fits well into the Italian school of progressive rock: very melodic with references to Genesis and ELP and an Italian flavour. This naturally draws reference points such as PFM and Banco. The album was originally intended to be instrumental but vocals were added along the way with help from Aldo Tagliapietra (Le Orme). That said, a good percentage of the album is instrumental.
The music is progressive throughout with some jazz style and classical/rock moments. Song Of The Pond has a gentle classical style guitar start which is joined by the flute to create a notably pleasant track start with some nice interplay following between flute and electric guitar. I particularly like the guitar on this track which does liven up shortly after the start. Song Of The Pond is probably my favourite track. In contrast A Gathering Storm has a jazzy feel possibly aided by some very good playing by Cory Wright (who also contributes flute to the album). The track is upbeat with some good guitar contributions and reminds me a little of a jazzy Maxophone.
The album has strong keyboards throughout, as should be expected since this is where Alex Carpani's main expertise lies.
Overall, this is a good album. Nothing particularly new but it has most things a fan of Italian progressive rock is likely to need.
Reviewed by Ronald on 04 May 2008
I must agree with my colleagues. This is one fine Italian album. The music is old school progressive rock with a hint of modern progresso sort of like the music you'll find with ELP and Genesis; also some Ian Anderson and Van der Graaf Generator.
The only thing i dislike are the sombre vocals. Sometimes too, the production seems what backdated but aside these two remarks I like it very much and so will any listener of progressive rock.
The music consists of subtle and calm prog rock. The concept album - about the thin line dividing two worlds, one above water and one beneath, one familiar and one unknown. Is complex and consists mainly through Instrumental parts with some vocal assistance.
My own favorite tracks are:
- The Levee's Break
- Reclaimed
- Song of the Pond
- Catch the wave
72% from The Doorway Master