Here is another group belonging to the myriad of Italian progressive rock bands from the period between 1970 and 1975. These Semiramis have only one album to their credit, the one I'm reviewing, but, in its own small way, the album is worth listening to without boredom taking over. A curious detail is that the lineup of Semiramis includes a character known throughout Italy for his successful (I would say) Pop career: Michele Zarrillo, who in this album we see him skillfully playing the guitar but also behind the microphone as the main voice, although there he leaves something to be desired, I assure you, if you don't know it's him it wouldn't occur to you at all. And I thought that here Michele Zarrillo didn't sing, he only played, but no.

Well, the album. The album is typically Italian progressive rock, you can tell, the transitions are very beautiful, pity for the overuse of that instrument that was very popular among the progressive bands of the '70s, the mini-moog, which, if I may say, I literally hate. I hate it to nausea, luckily the album is not one of those played only by keyboards, but there are also vast spaces left to the guitar, a fundamental rock instrument. I was amazed to listen to the parts played by Zarrillo's guitar: is it possible that he is so good? The saddest thing is precisely the fact that he turned to pop, a real pity. A career that vaguely reminds me of Phil Collins of Genesis (albeit smaller). Well, the rating speaks for itself.

Tracklist and Samples

01   La bottega del rigattiere (06:01)

02   Luna Park (04:29)

03   Uno zoo di vetro (05:57)

04   Per una strada affollata (05:01)

05   Dietro una porta di carta (05:42)

06   Frazz (05:09)

07   Clown (04:34)

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Other reviews

By Alphy86

 "The album is a fine example of Italian progressive, with dreamy symphonies conveying the protagonist’s almost childlike naive vision."

 "My only heartfelt advice is to take it and listen to it from beginning to end to transport yourself to a magical world, seeing it through the eyes of a child."