The Trip, a band mostly comprising English musicians who traveled to Italy in search of success during the ’60s (even a young Ritchie Blackmore figured in the very first line-up!), were lucky enough to debut on RCA Records in 1970 with a blues-oriented eponymous album, just to suddenly
change their musical route towards progressive rock with the next “Caronte” and “Atlantide”.
With “Time of Change” the band also entered the Trident roster, a fourth album in four consecutive years, the highest peak in an exceptional evolution mostly led by singer/keyboardist Joe Vescovi. ‘It’s time to change’ says the title of the album, that shows a brilliant illustration on its gatefold cover with the three group members fly towards new paths. Here, even more than in the past, the classical elements mix with a progressive rock clearly influenced by EL&P and Yes, sometimes landing into jazz-rock; the compositions, in particular the long “Rhapsodia” that occupy the entire side A of the LP, are rich in shades, athmospheres and rhythm changes.
By some irony of fate, “Time of Change” would also become the last studio album produced by one of the very few Italian bands who could compete against the giants of international progressive rock. It’s been very hard to find on LP even in recent times, and it’s therefore reissued on GDR label, in a faithful reproduction of the original 1973 edition, on black vinyl and with a bonus CD attached.