The Rome Pro(G)ject, discographically speaking, turns 10.
Not bad for a project that should only have been limited to an album, released in 2012, and
which, instead, not only represented the fuse for the third relaunch of progressive rock,
literally starting the collaborations between young musicians and the great masters of the
genre. , but it has turned into a great record success in spite of numerous factors, usually
decisive in the world of music: there is no real band; there are no live events accompanying
the publications; the production and distribution of the albums is completely independent
and self–managed.
The Rome Pro(G)ject has been defined by Vincenzo Ricca as “an observatory on prog” and
its potential. The “fil rouge” that binds this project is represented by the events of ancient
Rome told through – now – five albums, all linked by a narrative thread, mostly instrumental,
which constitutes the longest concept album in the history of music, such as such worthy of
an inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records.
And so, after “A Musical Walk Through the History and the Places, the Greatness and the
Beauty of the Eternal City” of 2012, II – “Of Fate And Glory” of 2016, III – “Exegi Monvmentvm
Aere Perennivs” of 2017 and IV – “Beaten Paths Different Ways” of 2020, the fifth incarnation
of this long story is entitled “TRP V – Compendium of a lifetime”.
The inspiration of this album is threefold: on the one hand the reflections on the harsh military
discipline, on the other the dramatic events of the eruption of Vesuvius and finally the
intuitions of Julius Caesar as well as the Roman emperors opposed to the bloody events of
the gladiators.
Together with Vincenzo Ricca, Steve Hackett and David Jackson – present on all four
previous albums of the project – the fantastic contributions of John Hackett, Nick Magnus
and Bernardo Lanzetti return. The great and prestigious surprise of this album is the
participation of Tony Levin who characterizes four of the eight tracks that make up the work.
And then some “delightful talents”, including a new entry, the voice of Tony Patterson, and
longtime collaborators such as Franck Carducci (bass and guitar 12), Daniele Pomo
(drums), Paolo Ricca (electric guitar) and Roberto Vitelli (low), each with their own valuable
and effective contributions.
“Compendium of a Lifetime” consists of eight new unreleased songs. In each of the songs
which, albeit linked by a theme, live their sound independence with conviction,
reminiscences and quotes emerge, as in the other works, for progressive lovers. But this is
a decidedly different record from its predecessors.
The length of the album is around 42 minutes (which gives hope for a quality vinyl version)
to which a revised and shortened version of “Exegi Monvmentvm”, from the third album, is
added as a bonus track.
All the pieces were composed, arranged, performed and produced by Vincenzo Ricca. The
lyrics of the two sung pieces were also written by Vincenzo Ricca. The disc is mixed by Piero
Vena, assisted by Vincenzo Ricca. Also this time the cover is a painting by the artist Maria
Grazia Spadafora while the graphics are, as always, by Gabriele Morelli of Weblogo.it. All
the photos, except those representing the musicians involved in the project, are by Vincenzo
Ricca, most of which were taken in Pompeii during the exhibition of the sculptor Igor Mitoraj
in 2016. Tony Levin, who is also an excellent photographer, sent a his self–portrait for the
well–kept 16–page booklet.