Celeste - The Complete Recordings 1969-1977 (4CD Box Set) (2010)

"Celeste" is an RPI band from Sanremo, Italy that formed in 1972. The band put an album in 1976, disbanded in 1977, and reformed in 2016. There were 2 other albums, one released in 1991 that featured tracks from 1977 before they disbanded, and 1992 which was music for a soundtrack released in 1974. Since then, they have reformed the band with mostly new members, and in January 2019, they finally released a new album called "Il Risveglio del Principe" with new material.

"Qual Fior di Loto" starts with some nice atmospheric effects and a child reciting spoken word vocals. The child is actually singer and founder of the band Ciro Perrino's son. When the music starts, it is quite pastoral and lovely with a childs choir singing wordless vocals. The rhythm starts and a nice acoustic guitar, piano, flute and other soft instruments play a nice melody. Vocals begin with both male and female singers, the lyrics are in Italian, but the vocalists are great singers and fit the music quite well. "Bianca Vestale" starts with mellotron and bass joined by guitar later. This is a prog lovers dream, especially lovers of great Rock Progressivo Italiano. The music is very reminiscent of pastoral progressive rock of the 70s, but it doesn't sound like it is trying to hard to sound that way as the sound just comes natural. A few violins join in when percussion starts and later the sax also joins. As the track continues, the music gets a nice gypsy and folk vibe to it. Love it!

"Statue di Sale" begins with acoustic guitar, violin and piano. Later, this turns to violin and synthesized strings giving it a small orchestral feel. Percussion comes in giving flow to the track. Vocals don't come in until after 4 minutes, and when they do they are accompanied by violin and flute. The vocals are led by Ciro with female harmony I believe is done by guest Elisa Montaldo. When the vocals stop, the sax becomes the focal instrument. "Principessa Oscura" begins with mysterious sounds and wordless vocals from Elisa. The feel is dark and mysterious until the band starts to add in instruments which are led by violin. The feel of the track brightens as the melody is established. Vocals start at 3 minutes. The instrumental break features flute, mellotron some guitar and a small brass section.

"Fonte Perenne" begins with a heavier sound with drums, electric guitars and mellotron. When the vocal begins, things mellow back down to the pastoral feel that is the rule for this album. There is a sax solo followed by violin later. A female choir comes in later and then more sax and violins. "Giardini di Pietra" starts with solo mellotron later joined by bass, piano and percussion. This is the shortest track at 4 and a half minutes, and is an instrumental where different instruments get short solos.

"Falsi Piani Lontani" begins with meandering piano, bass and percussion giving their pastoral sound a jazzy feel. The meandering finally gets a rhythm and vocals pop in later. A Hammond organ makes an appearance as the vocals turn wordless. This is a nice touch. The melody gets taken over by the various instruments as the song builds a bit. There continues to be jazz undertones to this track. "Porpora e Giacinto" is the last track, but is not included on the vinyl version. A violin plays a sad solo interrupted by piano and the sound of laughing children. Soon, the drums start with mellotron, flutes and acoustic guitar. Things intensify as brass joins in, but soften again for a piano solo accompanied by mellotron and bass.

This is excellent Italian Prog that has a lot of classical influence and undertones of folk music and jazz. The music is mostly pastoral, but it is anything but boring. It is quite beautiful and relaxing and it never seems to get cliché or stale. The music is very professional and in many places, original. I am very surprised at how great this is. Once again, 2019 has delivered us another excellent album. Yes, the music sounds simple, but it is a lot more complex than it seems on the surface and has plenty of surprises to keep you listening. Very nice! A very strong 4 star album that could even become 5 stars.