The opening track “L’Ultima Spiaggia” says it all. In fact, it says far more than the rest of the album. While the first track is sincerely massive, with beautiful sounding bass, horns, active vocals, and interlocking grooves, the rest of the album seems timid in comparison. Despite suffering from being very front-loaded, the other songs aren’t dreadful.
“Il Soldato” works as a counterbalance to the opening track’s energy. Horns are subdued, and there’s some wonderful violin work as well. Quiet is emphasized instead, to equally great affect. Each pluck, each guitar can be heard clearly.
Rocky Rissi is a fairly decent singer. While not possessing an extraordinary voice, his delivery is somewhat unique. Plus, his instance of singing in Italian sits well with me, since so many progressive rock bands tried to sing in English in order to gain a larger following (bands like Faust, etc). I like their honesty.
Overall, the rest of the album takes some sinking in work. The first track is an instant winner, the others require more elbow work on behalf of the listener, but they can often be worth it.