FROM THE VAULTS

Maxophone's From Cocoon To Butterfly is a special deluxe box set including a CD with 10 vintage tracks recovered from out-takes and alternate demo material from 1973-1976 plus a DVD with live footage from a 1976 concert at the RAI studios in Turin. The booklet is very rich and includes old pictures of the band, a complete biography and detailed information about the content of the CD and DVD (in Italian and English). 

 

All the recordings on the CD have been carefully remastered but even a good remastering can't perform miracles when the sources are demos or home-made recordings... Nonetheless you can find here four very interesting tracks never appeared before. Particularly good are the opening track "Kaleidophonia", a long instrumental where the band showcase their great musicianship blending classical influences and jazz, and "Dadaida". Both tracks had been composed for a second album that was never completed and, although they're just demos, the recording quality is good. "L'isola" and "Il lago delle ninfee" are two good tracks that didn't find room on their 1975 eponymous album and it's a pity that the sound quality of the original tapes was so poor... The other six tracks are just alternative versions (sung in English) of material originally released on their aforementioned 1975 eponynous album.

 

The DVD footage was professionally filmed by Italian TV in 1976 and there’s also a bonus video track of the re-formed Maxophone in 2005, playing one live track at Radio Popolare studios in Milano, an instrumental version of "Mercanti di pazzie". The DVD also includes bonus features such as interviews with all the members of the band (an English translation is available). The quality of the video is really good. Maxophone were one of the most interesting "one shot bands" of the Italian progressive scene in the Seventies. As you can read on the booklet, "Maxophone's first and only album matured over the years like a bottle of expensive wine, becoming exquisite in taste and has gradually gained prestige". This work is complementary to that album and its aim is to give you a full overview of the band's activity... If you like Maxophone this could be an excellent addition to your prog collection.