Carpani is an Italian artist who has been about for a fair old while, but this is the first proper listen I have had. I was drawn to the album by the news that a cover by him of Crimson’s timeless classic Starless was on a Tribute to John Wetton by Celebrating the Dragon (available at https://maracashrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-tribute-to-john-wetton). Now, as regular readers of my reviews know, I am not generally a fan of tribute albums or artists, but I gave it a whirl. It is fine for what it is, and is played and sung very well, with some interestingly different slants in the effects, but it is, to these ears, almost criminal that the song finishes after the three-verse section and completely misses out the second half, which featured some of the most essential guitar and mellotron ever committed to vinyl. Sorry, but I don’t understand.

Anyhow, let’s concentrate on the more important stuff, which is the original material Carpani provides us with. There are eleven other tracks, none of which are any longer than 6 minutes long, and there are a host of guest musicians backing Carpani, who sings and plays keyboards and drum loops/effects. They include such giants as David Cross on violin, whose evocative tones on When The Tears Fall Down are wonderful, David Jackson and Theo Travis on wind, and Yes vocalist Jon Davison singing the words on second track, Kiss and Fly. This track is, possibly quite deliberately, very reminiscent of recent Yes material. Carpani’s piano and overall keyboard work clearly stands comparison with Geoff Downes (I state this as a compliment, and witness his delightful piano passage three minutes into Redemption) and the song overall, as with everything here, is very much lifted by the woodwind contributions, and, in all honesty, how could it not, given the personnel involved? Towards the end, the track rocks out more, even Davison, who has in my experience never sounded as strong as on this sequence.

Elsewhere, a shout out to the superb drum work undertaken by Bruno Farinelli. A hugely enjoyable performance throughout. The collective is completed by Andrea Torresani on bass, who plays with the altogether famous Vasco Rossi, and Davide Rinaldi & Emiliano Fantuzzi on guitar. The album pre-release publicity stated that Microcosm is a concept album about a world in miniature, opposed to macrocosm - human beings can be viewed as an epitome of the universe, small-scale models of the universe, with all its variety and contradiction. The title track, which is the last on the album, describes this perfectly with its description of humanity as beings with no sense of reason, and I think all of us concerned at the various calamities hitting us now would agree wholeheartedly.

There are plenty of highlights on this album.

The Mountain of Salt has the feel of Drama-era Yes, and Carpani’s voice is not dissimilar to Trevor Horn, actually. What lifts the track is the sax, which is jazzy and delightful.

We Can’t Go Home Tonight is excellent, with a lovely vocal set against sax and then a thoughtful guitar. Beneath this, the crashing drum and bass keep time most effectively. When the track expands some two minutes in, we are treated to an example of just how unique the song writing is capable of being.

Footprints In The Heart is a very pleasant ballad and the sax at the denouement is simply lovely. In terms of progressive rock, the overwhelming favourite is Prime Numbers, five and a half minutes of pure delight. The opening section is as jazzy as you will get, and I love the dark and mean guitar solo which follows the sax. Throughout, you are tapping feet and nodding head to the relentless beat, which is expansionist, thoughtful, intelligent, and simply a joy from start to finish. One for fans of Crimson’s more jazzy moments.

What Once Was is more rock orientated with a pulsating beat and the final minute features a fantastic guitar riff against the crashing rhythm and swirling keyboards. A good track.

My favourite is the aforementioned When The Tears Fall Down, which features Cross, some lovely guitar licks, a sensitive vocal performance, and a drum performance up there with the best. The closing section with the effects and simple piano keys is really very nice.

When I started writing notes for this review after the first couple of listens, I included the “damning with faint praise” passage “this is an hour of perfectly good music”. Having listened a few more times, it is a fair comment that there is far more to the album than that. No, it is never going to set the world on fire, but that is not a criterion for every single album. The fact that Carpani has attracted such stellar company speaks loudly about how much respect he is clearly afforded, and, indeed, the wind instruments really are at the heart of the best here. There is a satisfying mix of jazz and progressive rock (possibly best exemplified on The Outer World which carries with it commerciality, dark jazz, and lighter moods), and it is most certainly an album I think those who appreciate the lighter side of the genre will enjoy and you can listen to it at https://alexcarpani.bandcamp.com/