Clepsydra - 1994 - More Grains Of Sand [224]

Clepsydra - 1994 - More Grains Of Sand [224]

Genre: Neo Progressive

Country: Switzerland

Official website: http://www.clepsydra.ch/
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CLEPSYDRA — Biography (at Progarchives)

Excellent Neo Prog band from Switzerland. Many aspects feature in their beautiful music, mainly the outstanding voice of Aluisio Magini, which fits perfectly on top of a well structured instrumentation.



The style on "More Grains of Sand" is also very typical of the melodic rock produced by British bands since the '80s (ex: MARILLION, PENDRAGON, IQ). On their third album "Fears" CLEPSYDRA’s main influence is still very much the Fish-era MARILLION. I think this is a fantastic album. It is a very powerful abum with great vocals, a very tight sound with the bass and the dynamic drumming and some stunning guitar playing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!





Album review on CLEPSYDRA — More Grains Of Sand (at Progarchives)

Review by semismart (Duane Daum; PROG REVIEWER; 5 stars out of 5)



Clepsydra labors in virtual obscurity in the Italian Alps of Switzerland. They have recorded four brilliant albums which are, in chronological order Hologram (1991), More Grains of Sand (1994), Fear (1997) and Alone (2001).



Clepsydra's music falls in the neo progressive rock vein along with bands like Genesis, Marillion, King Crimson, Iluvatar, Mostly Autumn, Pendragon and many, many other great timeless artists. The songs are sung in English and their singer, Alu Maggini has a wonderful, relatively high pitched, emotive vox. What is it with Neo Prog Rock bands that they all have high pitched, comparable sounding vocalists? Anyway Clepsydra projects a similar sound to their English contemporaries and in my opinion they out English the English bands.



Clepsydra is: Alu Maggini - vocals Marco Cerulli - guitars Philip Hubert - keyboards Pietro Duca - drums Nicola De-Vita - bass guitar



KILLER SONGS



"Moonshine On Heights" This brilliant medium slow number begins with a mild ethereal feel like twinkling stars which continues intermittently throughout this seven minute gem featuring strong guitars and keyboards. The last two minutes the pace picks up slightly for an impressive finish.There are also some sound samples in this song as well.



"Birthday Party" is another seven minute jewel, starting slowly with a piano, it is joined by the whole band for another medium slow variable paced song with more guitar work than previously.



"Hold Me Tight" is a short very pleasant ballad with strong emotive vocals and understated instrumentals.



"Fly Man" is a medium paced number and has a large accessible rock sound. This song could fit right in a top forty radio program - If they ever heard of Clepsydra



"The River In Your Eyes" Nice slow acoustical vocal start slowly building up and then evolving to an exceptional mid tempo song. At 8:45, it is the longest and maybe the best song on the album, though it's hard to pick a best.



"The Last Grain" a very nice instrumental with a generous portion of electric guitar throughout.



CONCLUSION



One of the things I really like about Neo Progressive Rock is that, even in this era, they have not forgotten the power or an organ or a piano or now days a synthesizer. It is a powerful musical weapon and Clepsydra keyboardist Philip Hubert seems to be aware of that. Hubert is a master at emphasizing great keyboard melodies that are a big part of Clepsydra's repertoire.



Another strength of Clepsydra, not that they have weaknesses, is their songwriting which is sublime. It really is amazing how pleasant Clepsydra is to listen to. They are a basic five man band but their sound is mighty and each band member is a master musician. As Neo Progressive Rock goes they are at the pinnacle for clever catchy songs just full of hooks and great lyrics.



I'm so impressed by Clepsydra that I went ahead and ordered two more of their albums, believing they would be a great as More Grains of Sand. A band this great doesn't all of a sudden get bad!



Track Listings



01. The First Grain (Setting The Hour Glass) (0:45)

02. Moonshine On Heights (7:13)

3. Birthday Party (7:17)

04. Eagles (5:55)

05. Hold Me Tight (3:18)

06. No Place For Flowers (8:04)

i) Darkness

ii) The Return Of The Light

07. The Outermost Bounds (2:54)

08. Fly Man (4:10)

09. The River In Your Eyes (8:45) 10.Grain Dance (2:05)

11. The Prisoner's Victory (7:15)

12. Vienna (4:40)

13. The Last Grain (You Can Always Turn The Hour Glass Again) (3:28)



Total Time: 61:42



Line-up/Musicians



- Aluisio Maggini / vocals and back vocals

- Lele Hofmann / guitars

- Philip Hubert / keyboards

- Pietro Duca / drums & percussion

- Andy Thommen / bass, bass pedals & sfx

GUEST:

-Nick Barret / vocal on "Moonshine of Heights"



Releases information



CD CCD 4109 / SPV 084-15392 CD