The debut album of Nicola Randone is a good collection of songs with a slightly “progressive touch” that every now and again reminds me of the early works of Alberto Fortis (not exactly progressive works indeed, but featuring PFM and Mauro Pagani in the line up)… But it would be unfair try to classify this sensitive musician as an “imitator” of someone’s else work: in this album you can find suggestive and beautiful melodies well underlined by the music while the lyrics are personal and “drenched with poetry”…

The opener “Visioni” (Visions) is a bittersweet ballad where lyrics draw the imagine of an old house in ruin… Melodic vocals soar upon piano chords, intertwined with more experimental sounds… “There was a house on the hill, an old ruined house / Covered with the roots of great pines darkening the sun and the light…”… Just a metaphor to describe the time passing by in a world where too often we are not aware of how fast the hours run out…

“Il pentimento di Dio… Dopo la fine del mondo” (The repentance of God… After the end of the World) features a reggae rhythm blended with church choirs and theatrical vocals… The lyrics are ironic and enraged (their mood make think to a short story of the Italian writer Dino Buzzati called “The End Of The World”, though the content is not the same)… “How much insecurity is hidden behind the ancient mystery of faith / That makes our fears sweeter since several centuries…”: an original way to make you wonder about God and Faith and one of my favourite tracks in this album…

“Tutte le mie stelle” (All my stars) is a dreamy and acoustic ballad with beautiful melodic vocals… “I will pick up all my stars and I will sing the most beautiful of my poems / To the music alone I will dedicate my fantasies… / If only the dawn would not arrive / Remembering to me how incomplete is the memory / And swallowing up my last and sweeter word…”

“L’infinito” (The Infinite) is more troubled, with a dramatic mood and lyrics about the need to look for God and “Infinite”… “And dreaming of her, living for her, only with her / Is not enough, not enough anymore / Because I’m just a man / Therefore I go on searching for the infinity / Wishing the infinity in every occasion / And that’s why I, now, die…”… Good the electric guitar solo…

“Un Cieco” (A blind man) begins softly with just vocals and acoustic guitar, but then the rhythm goes up, while melodic vocals warn you about the “dangers” of appearances… “I would like you to understand / How useless are the properties / In a world of shadows and sounds / Our ethical values are our real suits / Along with the colours of feelings that dance within us / With memory’s infinite greatness…”

“La Giostra” (The round-about) is theatrical and dramatic, with a “klezmer” finale… Lyrics are about a man who finds an old round-about in the garbage… Then, four ghosts come out of the fog and begin to ride the horses of the round-about: they’re four spirits of inmates dead in Auschwitz during World War II… A good track and an original way to remember the horror of holocaust…

“Strananoia” (Strangeboredom), according to the notes in the booklet is dedicated to “Love”: love for a woman, love for life… The rhythm is almost joyful and contrasts curiously with the bittersweet flavour of the lyrics…

“Amore Bianco” (White Love) is a beautiful and original song about a fading love, where “Acid dreams tint the sweet and folly truths of life / A life passing away like sand between the fingers…”

In the long and complex final title track “Morte Di Un Amore” (A Love’s Death) Randone’s love for progressive music is more evident (Le Orme and BMS)… After the melodic and soft beginning there are more aggressive parts featuring a good electric guitar and even operatic-like vocals… After 6:10 there’s a vocal passage that reminds me of Biglietto per l’Inferno’s “Confessione”, but it’s just a short break before the long instrumental tail featuring experimental sounds and noises… “Every brick counts in your wall of silence / Because time snatches every passion / Bury your sad heart without hesitation / And tomorrow will be a better day…”

In the whole “Morte di un amore” is definitely a good album, although not an essential one in a prog collection…

P.S.: You can find the complete lyrics of the album and their English translation (that is not included in the booklet) on the following site: mortediunamore.randone.com