Less than two years after their official second album, 2019's Il Risveglio Del Principe, which came over 40 years after their debut in 1976, the classic Principe Di Un Giorno, legendary Italian progressive rock act Celeste are back with their new effort, Il Principe del Regno Perduto. As always led by the multi-talented Ciro Perrino (Mellotron, Solina, Eminent, Elka Rhapsody, Farfisa, Hammond organ, Minimoog, ARP 2600, ARP Odyssey, piano, small percussion, voŃals), Celeste have once again dipped into their lovely, lush, and pastoral bag of tricks, as prog, jazz, and folk collide, the album delivering seven new tracks of glorious Italian music that is just so majestic and easy on the ears. Alongside Ciro we have bassist Francesco Bertone, Enzo Cioffi on drums, Sergio Caputo on violin, guitarists Mauro Vero, and Marco Moro on flutes & sax, with a handful of other musicians & vocalists guest starring to help finish the album.
Opening track "Baie Distanti" is a lengthy piece, chock full of Mellotron, flutes, sax, and melodic vocals, in typical Celeste fashion that 'pastoral' nature is out in full force, as the music just sweeps you off your feet, which they do in even greater fashion on the 24-minute epic " L'Ultimo Viaggio del Principe". Loaded with flute, Mellotron, violin, piano, synths, male & female vocals, sax, and nice guitar layers, this is one adventurous ride you surely won't want to miss. Other highlights include the jazzy "(Il) Ceruleo Sogno" (there's that Mellotron again!), the lovely mix of folk and jazz on "Viola, Arancio e Topazio", the soaring "Tornerai Tramonto", where liquid guitar lines swirl around emotional sax and haunting Mellotron, and the playful closer "Nora".
What a lovely, lovely album, absolutely filled with glorious sounds that just tickle your senses and fill your soul with love. I honestly can't think of any Italian prog band from the '70s who have returned in the present day to create music this glorious and this close to their classic sound. Magnificent stuff here...Celeste have done it again!
Track Listing
1. Baie Distanti (9:04)
2. L'Ultimo Viaggio del Principe (24:28)
3. (Il) Ceruleo Sogno (7:37)
4. Viola, Arancio e Topazio (6:46)
5. Il Passaggio di un Gigante Gentile (3:54)
6. Tornerai Tramonto (5:47)
7. Nora (5:08)
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