Marco De Angelis decided to release his first solo album after many years in the music business, either as a performer or engineer/producer and this experience is reflected on “The River”. Taking on board long-time friend and vocalist Marcello Catalano and a wonderful female vocal ensemble that goes by the name of ‘Vocintransito’, Marco produces a very professional and meticulous work in terms of presentation, sound and production. Being multi-instrumentalist, Marco handles almost everything on the album except for the drums, with the use of chapman stick standing out.
Musically, “The River” is part of the new wave of “light”, commercially-driven progressive rock with many references to (mainly 80’s) Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons; especially the Gilmour-esque patters on the guitars show the big influence they had on Marco’s compositions. Strong points are the performances of the accomplished Catallano, who reminds me at times of the modern Neal Morse “school”, and Vocitransito, maybe a modern aspect of what someone experiences in Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”. Lyrically, the album deals with the concept of duality in many aspects and makes journeys to the past and memories as the short radio spot samples confirm. What is most important is that it flows freely and everything seems to mix successfully, an indication of serious production work.
Elements of innovation or intense variation are somewhat missing and the end result comes out polished and refined to the smallest detail but maybe lacking that extra “kick”. Fans of crossover prog though, as defined here, will enjoy this to the full.
Best moments: One Love, Take it Away