Cherry Five
Il pozzo dei giganti

Black Widow is confirming itself as a label of absolute significance in proposing the return of old glories of Italian prog. After Latte e Miele and Delirium, it's now the turn of Cherry Five, a group remembered mostly for being the first incarnation of Goblin. The original lineup indeed included Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, and Massimo Morante, in addition to the singer Tony Tartarini and drummer Carlo Bordini. It is precisely these last two who have resurrected the old title and, along with new members including the capable keyboardist Gianluca De Rossi, the excellent guitarist Ludovico Piccinini, and the experienced Pino Sallusti on bass, have created a new work. "Cherry Five" was released posthumously in 1976 (today it's highly sought after by collectors) and constitutes the first real album of Goblin. The new record is titled "Il pozzo dei giganti" and is clearly related to the “Divina Commedia.” It's not new for Dante's masterpiece to be plundered by Italian prog groups. In this regard, I remember the Metamorfosi trilogy "Inferno", "Purgatorio", and "Paradiso", but also “Caronte” by Trip. Then there’s "La Divina Commedia" by the lesser-known Il Giro Strano. The first track – a suite of almost 25 minutes – is the title track and is drawn from Canto XXXI of the Inferno. The music is very fragmented, the keyboards are prominently featured, and the influences are those of classic progressive groups like Genesis. The mood and atmospheres are dark and have that particular local touch typical of Italian '70s prog. Honestly, if they had played me the album without knowing the release date, I would have surely thought it was an album from that golden era, also because the instrumentation (Hammond, Minimoog, and Mellotron) is strictly vintage. The other two tracks are in the same vein. “Manfredi” and “Dentro la Cerchia Antica” complete the album without any loss of tone. In my opinion, we are faced with a great album. Highly recommended to genre enthusiasts. "Il pozzo dei giganti" is currently released in a limited and numbered edition, but a vinyl release is also planned.