SOLO RELEASES

Marcangelo Perricelli’s "The Anomaly"

Marcangelo Perricelli, former keyboard player of Italian-American Navigator, band still active in the underground circuit of the State of New York (Buffalo, to be precise), after having issued a rock debut EP in 2006 for his work, "It's Only Me, "recorded" The Anomaly "and does his personal and official entry into the world of prog. Again Perricelli proposes only three songs, but this time you can feel a little longer and better artistic work done by the musician.

"Cotton Candy Murder" is the short intro of just one minute, a divertissment sound, tiny circus kaleidoscopic sounds cheerful but distressing and hypnotic at the same time, which leads directly to mini-suite "The Anomaly." Divided into four chapters, however, there is little of the classic prog ultra-virtuoso, and less evil. Perricelli builds a long piece of synth fact, yes, but also melodic and virtuosic keyboard, direct and pleasing. Pity on the drum samples but the ideas are good and executed, and the voice of the keyboard is soaring, indeed.

Last song is closing "I Believe in Myself." Probably useless because of the strong piece before it, "The Anomaly". This simple song sound recalls the'80s, cold, and without any championship ambitions rock. Indeed, the structure is commonplace, with rounds of keyboard that would make a child laugh ... sin, a small drop in Perricelli’s style. The musician has a great potential and very good ideas. He should focus better, however, the direction that would take and crystallized in a job well defined.

"Movementi Prog" Italy, Daniele Cutali

The Former Keyboardist of Navigator "It's Only Me"

Marcangelo Perricelli, clear Italian origin, is a keyboardist Buffalo, USA with a long career behind. In the mid-80s Perricelli had his moment of glory for writing some hit songs with the famed Kool & The Gang, afterwards he decided to follow a path more artistic-oriented in rock. After many years leading the band of Navigator, he followed a solo career by publishing a handful of EP-style Ambient / New Age and some works closer to the progressive music realm. Recently, he linked his name to some collaborations with Jon Anderson, which is expected to be published and released in 2009.

"It's Only Me" is the solo debut of Perricelli in prog. An EP of only three songs that range from melodic, the prog-rock, AOR passage by radio and actually, Perricelli recently managed to gain much attention in his home country. The voice of Perricelli, one of the few cases of keyboardist / singer, is pleasant, with good timbre between rough and deep, which I liked the first moment of listening. "Burned", a beautiful ride, the hypnotic and dark atmosphere is the soul of rock played and composed by Perricelli, always straddling easy melodies and soft-prog. The title track of the EP is a ballad, delicate, arpeggio and melancholic, where Perricelli sings with his trademark vocal. The catchy refrain, full of singers, rests in your ears very easily.

The last song, "Now That You're Gone," is the stand-out track designed for the use and consumption for the radio. A beautiful rock tune at the edge AOR, catchy and fluid, where the refrain from ranking is the ability to highlight how Perricelli composer of "simple songs". An honor that can be seen in the sound of Perricelli is that its keyboards, although always present, not in strabordino useless and ephemeral attempts to encapture virtuoso of the most hardcore fans of the super-prog keybordists, Emerson or Wakeman. Indeed, the music is all Perricelli, tense in search of melody direct, easy to use. A debut more than enough, but it differs from the previous production of the keyboards in solo around the U.S. and prog only very slightly.

"Movementi Prog" Italy, Daniele Cutali

Marcangelo Perricelli’s - Anatomy of an Echo

Marcangelo Perricelli’s, "Anatomy of an Echo" is a refreshingly original, intelligent and moving listening experience.

All four tracks on the EP have an intricate melody and complex arrangement which really grabs your attention and pulls you into the music right from the first note. "Chrissy" , is the standout track on this EP with its strong, flowing melody that travels the emotional soundscape from sorrow to joy.

We highly recommend this EP to any new age/progressive fans looking for something new and fresh.

Shadow Wolf, Lady Pathersess Radio

WITH NAVIGATOR

Navigator: ReEvolution Volume 2
2005 (CD 59:23) Navigator Music RFD80M-75367
Style: Progressive rock
Sound ***
Composition ***
Musicianship ***1/2
Performance****
Total rating: 13 1/2 out of 16
This is the followup to ReEvolution Vol. 1 and further defines Navigator's symphonic, richly textured sound. What's initially impressive about this band is the singing of keyboardist Marcangelo Perricelli. He has a reedy tenor that falls somewhere
between Peter Gabriel and Saga's Michael Sadler. His dicton and phrasing are clear, and he really knows how to ring emotion from a lyric. The band certainly has chops, as the tracks "Call To Conscience" and "Feeding Ground" will attest. But the group instead opts for supporting each song collectively over excessive soloing.

Of the dozen tracks on this album, ballads "The Path" and "The Noble" offer significant pauses in the action as peacefully reflectie interludes. "Harvest in our Passon" possesses nice hooks and catchy melody, while "Unveil the Prize" brings
together a jazzy-type shuffle with asymmetrical beats.

The standout composition is "Sky of Moriah," which squarely places the solo spotlight on singer Perricelli. It's a beautiful song; the atmosphere he creates is stark and cinematic.

Eric Harabadien, Progression Magazine

NAVIGATOR: reEvolution volume 2
2006 Independent release
Style: Symphonic Prog
***1/2
A mainstay of the Buffalo progressive rock scene for some time, Navigator offers up dense, ambitious songwriting and seriously virtuosic musicianship on "ReEvolution 2," 60 minutes of music that will hold significant appeal for fans of early Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.

Robert James Piper's eloquent, legato guitar lines bear a strong resemblance to Steve Hackett's work, and in their ability to weave a strong, sturdy fabric with the synth and keyboard washes favored by singer/keyboardist Marcangelo Perricelli, lend a dreamlike ambience to the record.

Drummer Rob Thurman and bassist Randy Schul lock horns like a modern-day Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins; during the sprawling "Feeding Ground," the two musicians mesh brilliantly, driving the proceedings forward while offering up the touches of complexity that prog-rock fans so adore.

It's all impressive, well-recorded, stunningly performed stuff.

12/3/06 The Buffalo News, Jeff Miers

Navigator: ReEvolution Vol. One


Thanks to weathered, distinct vocals and euphoric, dominant keyboards, the American power trio Navigator (now a duo, by the way) sounds like an organic mating of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis and Neal Morse-era Spock's Beard. Multiple textures, odd rhythms and meters, grand atmospheric melodies and – of course — a concept make ReEvolution Vol. One a classic proghead's sonic fantasy, despite the album being only available on CDR with limited packaging.

That will change, however, when Navigator wraps up ReEvolution Vol. Two and gives both CDs a proper release. We'll save details about the concept until we review Vol. Two — slated to be issued later in 2004 or early 2005, but suffice to say that it's epic in nature. Marcangelo Perricelli, who handled lead vocals, synth basses and keyboards on Vol. One, has since departed the band, leaving drummer Rob Thurman to take over the microphone on the sequel, with Michael Soro on guitars. No word yet on whether the band plans to add other musicians for Vol. Two.

Some listeners may already be familiar with Navigator's work from its appearance on the two-disc CPR project, which features 18 Christian-centric progressive-rock songs. The band contributed “Traveling Through the Earth,” easily the most accessible song from Vol. One. But regardless of this CD's spiritual overtones (and a little self-indulgent rambling) there's plenty here to like.

Here's to Vol. Two …

Michael Popke, Sea of Tranquility

NAVIGATOR — reEvolution Volume 2

Well, I think I'm the first one to make a review for this album. I bought this CD at last years Prog in the Park (NAVIGATOR was the first band to play). I was impressed with good guitar, good keys and a nice voice. A nice blend of symphonic-neo prog with a touch of maybe hard rock (they remind me of HAMADRYAD "SAFE IN CONFORMITY"). "Call to Conscience" and "Through a Scheme" are very good songs and there are a few good instrumental pieces too. It's not essential to your collection but it is a very good addition. 3.5 stars!

Review by pots (gilles potvin), Progarchives.com

NAVIGATOR: reEvolution volume one
2002 (CD:55:23) Independent release
Style: Symphonic Prog
Sound: **** Composition: **1/2 Musicianship: ***
Performance: ***1/2 Total rating: 13

Those who count the time they have awaited the long-rumored new UK album or the next Eddie Jobson solo album could do far worse than buy Navigator's debut effort, reEvolution volume one. Navigator is a trio featuring Marcangelo Pericelli's awesome keyboards, Michael Soro's guitar and Rob Thurman (of Genesis clone Second's Out) on drums. The trio has excellent chops. The album's only weaknesses are Pericelli's less-than-convincing vocals (reminiscent of Jobson's vocals on his Green Album), and songwriting in the vocal passages that is a bit trite and a distinct letdown in comparison to the superb instrumental breaks.

Also worthy of note is the album's remarkable production. Credited to Navigator and Mike Rorick, this disc sounds amazing. All of the drama and evocative effect are transfered from performance to disc with perfect clarity, definition and range – each instrument with its own pocket and all of it perfectly in balance. The quality of the production is particularly noticeable on Rob Thurman's drums.
I will look forward to Navigator's next effort.

Michael A. Gardiner, Progression Magazine