Il Cerchio d'Oro
Il fuoco sotto la cenere

THE REVIEW

The Italian progressive scene continues to be an inexhaustible mine of surprises: in the '70s, there were numerous groups that, although very respectable, were not able, for various reasons, to release an album. Among these, we must mention Il Cerchio d'Oro, a group from Savona that released only a 45 rpm record in 1977 when the tide had changed - it was the full punk and disco music era - for the fate of prog. The only testimony to get an idea of this project was a CD released by the historic Mellow Records of Sanremo which presented 12 tracks recorded in 1976. In 2006, however, Il Cerchio d'Oro reunited with renewed vigor and, under the aegis of Black Widow, released 2 new albums respectively "Il viaggio di Colombo" in 2008 and the splendid "Dedalo e Icaro" in 2013. The lineup was the original one with Franco Piccolini on keyboards, Giuseppe Terribile on bass, acoustic guitar, and vocals, Gino Terribile on drums, Piuccio Pradal on the 12-string guitar, and Roberto Giordana on guitar. Their sound remains typically anchored to the '70s with musical references to Le Orme, I Trip, and the New Trolls. Now a new album is out titled "Il fuoco sotto la cenere": for the occasion, we find new members like guitarist Massimo Spica and keyboardist Simone Picolomini, son of Franco Piccolomini, along with a series of prestigious guests like Pino Ballarini from Osanna, Paolo Siani from Nuova Idea, and Giorgio Usai. The proposed sound does not change, offering a temporal journey to the mythical period of the '70s: great space is given to keyboards in the small suites "Il fuoco sotto la cenere" and "Thomas" while the guitar solos are truly incisive. There is also a cover of Ivan Graziani's "Fuoco sulla collina." Perhaps only the vocal parts seem a bit weak. Anyone who loves Italian prog will absolutely not remain indifferent to this proposal and to a group like Il Cerchio d'Oro.

Available at http://blackwidow.it/