Michael Salvatori's Waiting for Autumn is a magical folk-prog rock album that conjures the beautiful memory of the occasional pastoral tune hidden in an early-'70s record's rigorous midst of tough rock, lengthy keyboard drenched epics, and of course, weird time changes galore.
Greg Lake's "From the Beginning" is the template tune, but there are others like Gentle Giant's "Think of Me with Kindness." Even the hard-rocking "Easy Livin'" Uriah Heep included "What Should Be Done" on its Look at Yourself album because, as Ken Hensley wrote in his liner notes, "You know, the 'heavy' thing gets, well, heavy sometimes."
Waiting for Autumn, which was originally recorded in 1982, also justifies the inclusion of the word "except" found in any edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. More about that later.
For those of us who have never contemplated attending a Progressive Rock Lovers Anonymous meeting, Michael Salvatori was the guiding light behind The Castle by the very excellent '70s band Apocalypse, which was finally issued by the very wonderful Spanish Guerssen Records in 2022. Not only that, but Waiting for Autumn will certainly appeal to lovers of Mike Rutherford's Smallcreep's Day and the more acoustic (and not new-age!) music from Anthony Phillips.
The title track certainly bleeds with the beauty of descending fall leaves and warm memories of the very first touch of frost. "Waiting for Autumn" catches the patience of contemplative thought and a memory that delves into prog rock's ephemeral depth. This is sublime stuff. Then, there's more melodic mystery: "Throw It to the Wind" juxtaposes a melody (worthy of the previously discussed Ken Hensley) with a complex seven-minute labyrinth journey with lovely drama. This is euphoric, with a guitar solo that oozes of Steve Hackett's soul.
"Letter from the Front" is even better, with an earnest melody and a yearning instrumental backing, with yet another lovely and sympatico electric guitar solo that morphs into a classical coda with antiquity to burn and a passionate vocal return with dramatic keyboard halo. "A Matter of Time" rocks a bit, with celestial sounds and an aggressive electric guitar. Perhaps it sounds like Yes, before they wandered in rather deep topographic oceans. The song is short and to its progressive rock point.
Now, about that Merriam-Webster Dictionary word, "except": Fans of Apocalypse's before-mentioned The Castle will raise a white flag while hearing the first song from Waiting for Autumn. "When I Look in Your Eyes" begins with a Doobie Brothers' "China Groove" groove and then morphs in to an '80s commercial (and very danceable!) tune with the chorus, "I need my baby now." To be honest, it's a well-done song, with a pulsing bass, keyboard ride, and nice electric guitar solo. But "When I Look in Your Eyes" has nothing to do with the really great music that follows in its juxtaposed and lovely musical wake.
So, put down that white flag and love the rest of Michael Salvatori's Waiting for Autumn. "Epilogue," the nine-minute final song, is sheer sonic grace bestowed from prog-rock heaven. Again, Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips are conjured with patient acoustic beauty. Pathos oozes, as the song gathers strummed steam. Keyboards swirl. An electric guitar again evokes Hackett drama. There a Romantic longing with the words "I'll wait for you" which begs for an autumnal Peter Cross cover art painting.
Salvatori's album is always "waiting for autumn." Give that first song a quizzical glance, but then float on the melodic mystery of the record as it sings with the colors of memory - like the sound of distant broken branches and the crunch of aged leaves under foot during an October evening on a deeply contemplative forest walk.
