“Some loves don’t end, they make immense turns and… then they come back”, say the verses of a well-known singer-songwriter. I take my cue from these words to introduce the return of an interesting reality of Italian prog, the Italian band Tale Cue.
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun: welcoming back Tale Cue
Their recent album Eclipse of the Midnight Sun, released by Freja Music is a declaration of love for prog. And inaugurates a new season for this combo whose traces had been lost for several years. After the fascinating album Voices Beyond My Curtain in 1991, the paths of the protagonists had separated. Albeit without any friction, and above all without losing contact with a repertoire of unfinished music that lives again today, with new momentum. And ready to compete brilliantly with current trends.
A repertoire with varied dimension
Vocalist Laura Basla, guitarist / bassist Silvio Masanotti and keyboardist Giovanni Porpora are the protagonists of this story. Today joined in their journey by the new drummer Alessio Cobau. Although certainly influenced by the first legendary imprints of the 70s and the subsequent neo prog, their repertoire has a varied dimension. It opens up to a fusion of styles: symphonic prog, art rock and Canterbury vein. In which it finds a counterpart in the Mediterranean liveliness.
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun: the plural soul of the album
We immediately understand this plural soul of the album. With Voices From The Past that opens the track list mixing many instrumental sensations from different corners of music. The crescendo dynamics of the song are brilliant, which is in fact the intro to the gritty incipit of the following The Rage And The Innocence, to open the curtain on the first performance of the talented vocalist. She takes the central moment of the piece with a very delicate symphonic singing, finally collected by a last burst of energy to involve all the performers. Porpora‘s keyboards alternate with the vigorous riffs of Masanotti, who in turn is excellent in dosing the power of his inventions with arpeggios and solos (the Floydian one of … Tides). They sometimes brings back reminiscences of Genesis and Pink Floyd, to hints of Renaissance, but also to the neo-prog groove of Mostly Autumn.
The value of time
Tale Cue‘s new sound has certainly benefited from the experience gained over time and has turned into a sound that is more modern than ever. Laura Basla‘s expressive and iridescent voice manages to evoke in some moments the theatricality of Kate Bush or the velvety tone of Annie Haslam between ballads and sudden peaks of intensity. Almost sometimes touching the impetus of metal. Her performances in songs such as For Gold and Stones and in the flashback of tormented memories of Lady M are worth mentioning.
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun is an exploratory journey
The album is an exploratory journey for a sound that comes from the nineties, awakened as in a futuristic vision that has projected it into a very different era. You can perceive in the development and production of the work. The intent not to exhibit a mere nostalgic operation while not losing contact with the coordinates of the most classic prog as, for example, in the very effective mini-suite Vertigo. Or in the electronic and sharp ideas of Masanotti and Porpora in Suntears.
The narrative of the album
The narrative of the album rightly coincides with the themes of rebirth (We Will Be Back Once Again) and memory (… Tides). But it is also able to touch on a more intimate poetics, such as the inner conflicts of The Rage And The Innocence.
Always with an eye to the past, the song Gordon Sinclair, tells the true story of the British actress and aviator Elsie Mackay, the first woman to attempt (under a male pseudonym) a transatlantic flight in March 1928, preceding the most famous feat of Amelia Earhart who managed to complete the crossing the following month. Although Elsie’s flight was more unfortunate, the song tries to give an open ending to her story by transforming this story into a manifesto of courage and freedom.
Closing words
Eclipse Of The Midnight Sun is an album full of intuitions, which rekindles the creative flair of this band and gives international prog a rebirth destined to leave a tangible mark in the macrocosm of the genre. An exciting music that also raises a pinch of regret thinking about what the career of this group could have been if it had not interrupted the path. Now that the eclipse has passed, fans can finally savour the magic of an ensemble of exceptional calibre and ready to relaunch itself. Perhaps managing with this album to attract a new generation of admirers among those who appreciate quality music.
Track list
- Voices From The Past
- The Rage And The Innocence
- For Gold And Stones
- Suntears
- Gordon Sinclair
- … Tides
- The Cue
- Lady M
- We Will Be Back Once More
- Vertigo
Line Up
- Laura Basla – Vocals
- Silvio Masanotti – Guitars / Bass / Programming
- Giovanni Porpora – Keyboards / Programming
- Alessio Cobau – Drums / Percussions