A LATE HARVEST

Biglietto per l'Inferno’s second album, Il tempo della semina, was recorded in 1974 but, on account of the financial troubles of the Trident label on which it should have been released, it was left unrefined and unavailable for the music market until 1992, when the Mellow Records label took the old master tapes out of the drawer. Finally it was remastered and re-released in 2004 on La Vetraia-BTF label with the supervision of the band. The original sound quality and production was very far from perfect and it was rather difficult to fix it up after almost thirty years, but they tried hard...

 

On the remastered edition the sound quality is really improved and the final result is not so bad. The long, complex title track, “Il tempo della semina” (The time of sowing), I think is the best piece on this work. The music reminds me of the band’s debut album, with its marching drums and evocative keyboards, while the filtered recitative vocals conjure up a kind of “revolutionary dream”. “Why would we still have to put up with you / We won’t wait for a tailor-made sunrise / To break down the bars of your prison...”.

“Mente solamente” (Mind, nothing but mind) is a kind of experimental nursery-rhyme based upon a calambour and, in my opinion, is by far the worst track on this work... The following “Vivi, lotta, pensa” (Live, fight, think) is definitively better. The producer of the album, singer songwriter Eugenio Finardi, pushed the band to write committed lyrics dealing with social problems and the political system and this piece goes in that direction. The music and lyrics invite to reflection by comparing the poor and the rich, all human beings but one different from the other...

  

Next comes “L’arte sublime di un giusto regnare” (The sublime art of a righteous reign) with its medieval influences (and a light “Jethro Tull’s flavour”) and the flute in the forefront. The lyrics depict the life of a king who doesn’t pay attention to the poor people who live outside his palace. “That’s what I call to rule / Happiness in dominating, that’s it...”.

“Solo ma vivo” (Alone but alive) is another committed track, that invites you to choose to fight instead of fighting because to have to choose. It describes a jaded friend who walks on many roads but who have no real goals... It’s not an outstanding piece and I prefer by far the introspective vein of the songwriting of Claudio Canali in the closer “Canzone del padre” (Song of the father), a long track full of energy, autobiographical and bitter, where the music and lyrics describe the difficult relationship between the singer and his father...

On the whole, Il tempo della semina is less inspired if compared with the excellent debut album of the band, but it’s still a good work that was luckily saved from oblivion.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Biglietto per l’Inferno: Il tempo della semina (1992). Other opinions:
Paul Fowler: Il Tempo della Semina is the second album from seventies Italian prog rockers Biglietto per l'Inferno. It's failure to be completed and released at the time was to shortly lead to the band splitting up and it didn't see the light of day until 1992 unfortunately. Not surprisingly it's a bit rough round the edges... While not being in the same league as their excellent debut still has enough of interest to make it a worthwhile purchase for RPI lovers though not essential listening by any means... (read the complete review HERE)

JAZZ FROM THE XIII CENTURY

Ars Antiqua World Jazz Ensemble is a project that took form in Ferrara in 2021 on the initiative of director and composer Roberto Manuzzi, teacher at the Ferrara Conservatory, with the help of some colleagues and students. In 2022 the ensemble self-released an interesting debut album, entitled L’amore è una fiamma (Love is a flame), with a wide line up featuring Roberto Manuzzi (sax), Rachele Amore (vocals, percussion), Stefano Melloni (clarinet, flutes), Erica Ruggiero (acoustic and electric piano, harpsichord, backing vocals), Raffaele Guandalini (double bass, electric bass), Stefano Guarisco (drums), Davide La Rosa (electric and acoustic guitar), Pietro Boarini (electric guitar), Davide Zabbari (viola da gamba), Fausto Negrelli (vibraphone, percussion), Antonio Stragapede (mandolin) plus the guests Ares Tavolazzi (double bass - historic member of Area) and Paola Tagliani (piano). The aim of the musicians involved in this project was mixing classical and folkloric influences with jazz and electric instruments. In some way, they tried to do with Medieval music what The Pentangle did with British folk and the result is an excellent album that contains original compositions by Roberto Manuzzi on poems by artists of the thirteenth century as well as some modern arrangements of Medieval scores and songs from the Sephardic Jewish tradition...

The first three tracks, “L’aire claro”, “Quand’om ha un bon amico” and “Chi non avesse mai veduto foco” are original compositions based upon the verses of Jacopo da Lentini, an Italian poet of the XIII century. Jacopo da Lentini was a notary at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and is credited with the invention of the Sonnet. His poetry was originally written in literary Sicilian, though it only survives in Tuscan. The music blends in a very effective way medieval atmospheres, Mediterranean colours and jazz contaminations while the wonderful vocals of Rachele Amore breath a new life into timeless words about love and friendship...

The long, complex “Ondas do mar de Vigo” is a beautiful elaboration of a XIII century piece by Martin Codax, a Galician medieval joglar (a non-noble composer and performer). It starts by a delicate guitar arpeggio and soaring vocals, then it slowly turns into something different, with bass, piano and sax drawing dreamy, exotic landscapes...

Then come “Sonetti barbarici, parte 1”, “Sonetti barbarici, parte 2”, and “Sonetti barbarici, parte 3”, other three original compositions on verses of Jacopo da Lentini, this time based only on piano and vocals. The first prises the beauty and the virtues of the beloved woman, more precious than any gem on earth, the second expresses the pain provoked by envious, treacherous or haughty lovers that are compared to snakes and dragons while the third depicts the feelings of a shy lover in front of the desired woman...
 

The dreamy “Alta, alta es la luna” and the Oriental flavoured “Sien drahmas al dia” are two elaborations of traditional Sephardic songs. Sephardic Jews are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the Iberian Peninsula and their vernacular languages are mainly variants of either Spanish or Portuguese...

The following “Santa Maria strela do dia” might recall some works by Angelo Branduardi and is the elaboration of a piece credited to Alfonso X the Wise, king of Castile, Leon and Galicia who commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign, from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. Among them, The Cantigas de Santa Maria (for the most part about miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary) form one of the largest collections of vernacular monophonic songs to survive from the Middle Ages...

The lively “La tarantella” is a charming piece that ends the album with its particular celebration of nature and God through almost pagan, obscure rites and dances under the moon. The middle section with the double bass in the forefront might recall The Pentangle...

On the whole, an interesting work. Folk prog lovers should have a try...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078192930051 

FLYING ACROSS A DARK VOID

Daedalus is the seventh studio album by Daal and was released in 2022 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash Records label. The line up features, along with founder members Alfio Costa (Mellotron, Moog, piano, organ, synthesizers) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion), also Ettore Salati (guitars) and Bobo Aiolfi (bass) here promoted to effective members while they were credited just as guests on the 2018 album Decalogue Of Darkness. The art work by Davide Guidoni in some way reflects the musical content with its dark, oneiric figures loosely inspired by ancient Greek mythology...

 

The long opener “Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part I” begins with a slow pace. The cinematic intro conjures up a creepy atmosphere and might recall Goblin, then hypnotic notes take you across mysterious places where the world under your feet suddenly seems no more real than the world of a dream, apt to dissolve without warning and send you tumbling into a great, dark void... (the short quote is from Lightning, a novel by Dean Koontz).

“Icarus Dreams” begins by a surge of energy. As the rhythm rises you can set off on an interstellar journey on the wings of fantasy. In the open space, as the dizziness of the departure dissolves, darkness becomes an excellent screen on which the mind can play out its architectural whims. For this track the band provided a video to give you an idea of what the music is about...

 

“Painting Wings” starts softly, the atmosphere is relaxed and dreamy but after three minutes the music takes a different direction and dreams seem almost turning into nightmares as the rhythm becomes more obsessive and threatening. When the calm comes back you could feel scared by your own lethal visions...

Then it’s the turn of the long, complex “Labyrinth 66 Part I & II”. Here the music depicts a sinister place, where some evil and malignant force lurks behind sombre corners, a kind of dark presence coming in steady, inexorable waves. You’re prisoner of your dreams and waking up will be hard...

 

The ethereal “In My Time Of Shadow” starts by the sound of the wind and a delicate piano pattern. It’s a calm piece with beautiful melodic lines and a nocturnal mood. For this track the band shot an interesting video where two statues come to life in a deserted atelier. They’re like sleepwalkers dancing to a surreal choreography, assailed by their own inner demons... Eventually they turn to stone again, after all, a moving statue becomes grotesque, it only has majesty in immobility... (quote from Le Roi Squelette by Serge Brussolo).

“Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part II” ends the album and closes the circle by taking back the atmosphere and the melodies of the opener. The dream reaches its climax in a crescendo of tension and desire, then slowly fades away...

On the whole, a magnificent album that, in my opinion, might be a perfect score for an adventure in the crazy, ancient world of Brussolo’s characters Shagan and Junia...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Daal: Daedalus (2022). Other opinions:

Nick Hudson: All labyrinths have an inherent duality, embodying simultaneously great artistry, design, and order; and confusion, chaos and dissonance. Daal’s music has also always had the same duality, being both beauty and beast chasing itself through complex patterns that beguile and bewilder in equal measure. Without ever really sounding like either, there is surely a good deal of influence from Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and for added colour, perhaps a little Tangerine Dream. I could probably draw a list of A to Z of artists I’m reminded of – or, at least Art Zoyd to Zappa. But Daal really do sound like no other band, and for that I’m glad as I doubt I’d keep coming back to them otherwise... (read the complete review HERE)

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC 

HYPNOTIC SOUNDS

Hypnophonia is the second studio album by Marchesi Scamorza and was released in 2015 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash label with a confirmed line up featuring Lorenzo Romani (guitar, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals), Alessandro Padovani (drums), Paolo Brini (bass), Enrico Bernardini (vocals) and Enrico Cazzola (keyboards, piano, synth, organ). Inspired by Italian seventies prog, it was recorded using analogue recording techniques and tapes to recreate a vintage sound which carries on the tradition of bands like Le Orme or Premiata Forneria Marconi adding a touch of originality and freshness. In my opinion, this work represents a step forward for the band. The beautiful art work by Lorenzo Romani and Julia Mahrer tries to give an idea of its content...

The opener, “1348”, today might sound almost like a gloomy prophecy. In fact, the title refers to the year of the Black Death, a terrible bubonic plague pandemic that stormed through Italy and created religious, social and economic upheavals. It starts by a drum roll and a threatening marching beat, then the music and lyrics depict apocalyptic visions. The Black Death dances and ruthlessly hits without distinction between the poor and the rich while the wind gathers words and carries them on the gallows. Only a far sound of bells tears apart the gloomy silence, the Black Death has a thousand ways to creep in, frightened courtiers cling to a prayer like wild beasts but nobody can escape...

The long, complex, “Il cammino delle luci erranti” (The path of the wandering lights) goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere as the hermetic lyrics conjure up strange images. A thousand stories vanish into time and stone faces carved in the clouds melt, swept away by the wind. Dark, heavy, pagan shadows lurk in the night while under a pale light, in an incense mist, lonely wandering souls float in the air. Grey thoughts fall dawn on a poet who has lost his inspiration and, as the wind, bangs against immovable things destined to disappear...

Next comes “Campi di Marte” (Fields of Mars) where the music and words invite you to set off for a kind psychedelic journey where you have to follow light trails under the rain without looking back, leaving behind tears and worries. The light carries you beyond greedy streets, towards deserts where words are worthless...

The title of the reflective “L’uomo dal fiore in bocca” (The man with the flower in his mouth) refers to a play of the same name written in 1922 by Luigi Pirandello telling of the meeting in a bar, late at night, between a man who is dying of a cancer (the flower in the mouth) and a businessman who has missed his train. The dialogue between the two characters marks the contrast between someone who intensely lives the little time left to him and someone who has plenty of time to spend, waiting for the morning and completely absorbed by trivial mishaps, taken by his daily grind. Imagine people without a goal who are waiting for their death, waiting for the end with no escape...

The oneiric “La via del sognatore” (The dreamer’s way) ends the album. It’s a long, complex piece divided into three parts. The first is subtitled “La notte” (The night) and depicts in music and words a devouring dark, a black space dotted with stars that laughingly melt into oblivion. Shadows thickens around you, the night is falling, tired limbs can rest as the mind can’t switch off and overflows... The second part is subtitled “Il sogno” (The dream) and conjures up the realms of dream, an ever changing place where tears of opals cross the streets between high stone columns and the lights of a new life show the way while strange sounds surround you... Then the last part, “Il risveglio” (The awakening), describes the come back of day light. Reality is still fuzzy when dawn begins to snatch the dreams from the night to let them fade out in a silent world...

On the whole, a good mature work that is worth listening to.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Marchesi Scamorza: Hypnophonia (2015). Other opinions:
Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: It would be easy to place Marchesi Scamorza alongside numerous other low-key modern Italian bands that fly under the radar, but at the same time, `Hypnophonia' is the sound of what was an already promising band stepping up in a big way and delivering a superior work that easily eclipses their earlier effort, carefully showcasing their influences but also offering unexpected surprises. It boasts a fuller production, more confident vocals that aren't afraid to step back and let the thrilling instrumental passages take the focus, and gifted musicians playing with boundless enthusiasm and sharp skill... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Marchesi2016/ 

A NEW CONTAMINATION

Contaminazione 2.0 is a live album by Il Rovescio della Medaglia that was released in 2020 on the independent Jolly Roger Records label. It captures a very particular performance of the band with a line up featuring Enzo Vita (guitar), Pino Polistina (guitar, backing vocals), Nicola Costanti (piano, keyboards, vocals), Carmelo J. Arena (synth, Hammond, vocals), Andrea Castelli (bass) and Andrea Bruni (drums). In fact, the album was recorded at Abbey of Saint Galgano in Chiusdino, Siena on September 11, 2018 with the help of a string quartet formed by Federico Galieni (violin), Francesco Gemo (violin), Emanuele Guadagni (viola) and Katie Bruni (cello) plus the special guests Vittorio De Scalzi (flute) and Marco Fusi (Scottish hornpipes). As you can guess from title and the art work by Carmelo J. Arena and Piera Arena, it’s all centred on Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s 1973 album composed with Maestro Luis Enriquez Bacalov, Contaminazione...

The location of the concert is surrounded by a magic aura. The Abbey of Saint Galgano was a Cistercian Monastery whose construction began in 1220 around the site of the former hermitage of the saint, in the valley of the river Merse, between the towns of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena, Tuscany. It’s a place full of mysticism and spirituality, despite having been deconsecrated since 1789 (the first year of the French Revolution), and is related to the Arthurian cycle of the Sword in the Stone. In fact, nearby lies the hermitage of Monte Siepi where, according to legend, Saint Galgano retired to life as a hermit in 1170 and, as a symbol of peace, stuck his sword into the rock, where it is still today. The roofless walls of the Gothic style 13th-century Abbey church still stand and it’s exactly inside those walls that the stage was set...

Contaminazione, a concept album telling the story of a mad musician who think to be the heir of Bach, was conceived for rock group and orchestra and it’s not easy to play it live. For this concert the band re-arranged and played the whole work without the orchestra and in a “rockier” but effective way, with amazing harmony vocals and the classical touch of the string quartet. The sound quality is perfect and all the musicians involved showcase great technique and passion. The result is astounding and, in my opinion, this live album should be considered a good complement to the original one...

As bonus tracks, on the Cd were included three other pieces taken from Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s debut album, La bibbia, that were recorded on May 5, 2019 during a concert in Barberino Tavarnelle, near Florence.

Overall, a great document of the band’s vitality on stage.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/ilrovesciodellamedaglia/ 

 

TIMELESS ARCHIPELAGOS

After their debut album “Dolce acqua” and some commercial singles (“Jesahel”, “Haum” and “Treno” - in my opinion weak, but very successful), singer and flutist Ivano Fossati left the band and Martin Grice took his place in the line-up. In 1972 the band turned back to prog and released “Lo scemo e il villaggio” (The fool and the village), their second album, a kind of “concept” about “foolishness and reason”, where the fool is someone that always finds a way to tell the truth. In 1974 they released “Delirum III – Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo” that many prog fans consider their best work. It’s a kind of confused concept album about time and reality with not always inspired lyrics by Mauro La Luce and beautiful instrumental moments. It’s more symphonic compared to “Dolce acqua” and “Lo scemo e il villaggio”, here there’s less flute, more strings and saxes... In other words, a sound more distant from Traffic or Jethro Tull and closer to PFM, BMS and Le Orme. Nevertheless Delirium are still able to keep a touch of originality and the result is not bad at all.

The opener “Il dono” (The gift) is a delicate ballad introduced by acoustic guitar and flute. The mood is dreamy and the lyrics describe in some way the relativity of time... “Because of the desires of distant gods / You will live thousands of years in just one hour / Eternal keeper of a pale civilization filled with its own goodness... On account of the wishes of distant gods / You will be able to understand your role / And then mould time as you like / You will rule moon and sun / There are strange colours deep in your eyes, drops of fire set in the sky / Young face, time will reveal nothing but ashes of glances and then...”.

“Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo” (Journey through the archipelagos of time) is more complex and features dark, gloomy atmospheres, changes in rhythm and jazzy interludes “leading to the house of the king in the land of Focus”. Our journey through time and space begins, in awhile you will see passing in front of you centuries and centuries of wars... The Earth is burning, you can hear the dark sound of weapons resounding all around you and steel clashing against iron, you can see silver rostrums coming out from the sea, the glow of thousands armours and the light mirrored by thousands swords... “The Earth still smells of blood... I can’t hear anything but Death in front of me...”. “Fuga N.1” is an excellent instrumental track featuring a good organ and sax work, many changes in rhythm and mood that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the previous piece...

Then comes “Dio del silenzio” (God of Silence), an amazing short acoustic ballad featuring a great sax solo... “I’m the merciless blaze in a moment of eternity / My body is made of nothing but wind / Bright is the moon in sapphire waters / There are only stars in my singing / God of silence, please don’t go away... My God, do you think it was just an act of goodness giving me the gift of eternity?”.

In “La battaglia degli eterni piani” (The battle of the eternal plans) after a quiet intro, the battle rages on and... the rhythm rises! The sound is more symphonic despite a slightly jazzy interlude... “The whole landscape is rigged and we could not be sure of anything. This jagged cliff, perhaps it is a fortress bristling with guns, this rocky outcrop: a missile on its launch pad. All is suspect, the tiniest stones, the smallest grove... I’m not even sure that the clouds are real...” 1. I think that a beautiful novel by the French writer Serge Brussolo, “Rinocérox”, could perfectly provide the images you need to completely appreciate this piece dealing with eternal plans of destruction and an eternal wish to build more and more powerful weapons... “The battle raged on in the eternal plans / Where men chose weapons able to kill more / I will conceal the evidence, I will obscure reality / I will forget what’s the truth...”.

“Un uomo” is a short, introspective melodic piano ballad. After so much trouble and fighting it marks a pause for reflection... “I will find again in my thoughts the faith in me / Or I’ll run away... A man can never stop / He has to find his reality in himself...”.

It’s time to set off on another journey leading away from wars, towards a new dawn of peace. The last two tracks are the instrumentals “Viaggio N.2” (Journey nr. 2) featuring good sax work and a jazzy feeling. The music takes you away for a night ride on the shoulders of a gentle giant, then drops you off for a rest and allows you to admire a spectacular new dawn on the notes of the quiet, symphonic “Ancora un’alba” (One more sunrise). After so many centuries of wars passed by in awhile, peace and silence at last!

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Delirium: Delirium III - Viaggio negli arcipelaghi del tempo (1974). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: "Viaggio" is a good Italian album with some very beautiful sections scattered throughout and these parts are very endearing. But I was less convinced by their more dramatic, harder edged sections which seemed a bit forced and as I mentioned already, somehow unfocused. Fans of Italian prog who love saxophone and flute will likely enjoy this enough to purchase but I don't think of it as highly as some others do. Then again, the sheer beauty of the opening track is enough for an Italian zealot like myself put this one on the shelf... (read the complete review HERE)

BRILLIANT EXPLORERS

In 2006 Roby Munciguerra set up a new Procession incarnation for some live performances and from June to September 2006 the new line up featuring, along with Roby Munciguerra (guitar, backing vocals), also Samuele Alletto (vocals, flute), Stefano Carrara (keyboards, 12 string guitar, backing vocals), Enzo Martin (bass) and “Herman” a.k.a. Max Aimone (drums) plus the guest Danilo Pala (sax) recorded in the Overtone studio in Turin the new versions of the old pieces and a brand new one. Procession’s new album, produced by Dario Todesco and Ernesto Ausilio and entitled Esplorare, was released in 2007 on the independent Electromantic Music label with a nice art work that in some way depicts the intricacies of its musical content...

The opener “C’era una volta” (Once upon a time) starts by a beautiful new introduction with piano and electric guitar in the forefront. From the very first notes you can appreciate the clear sound and the care that the band put in the new arrangements revitalizing the old repertoire with respect and competence. The new vocalist is absolutely up to the task and breaths new life into the story of the child who wasted his time looking for the sense of life, getting old without reaching his goal...

To better underline its apocalyptic, tense atmosphere, the new version of “Uomini di vento” (Men of wind) gives more room to dark organ passages while the hieratic vocals depict the terrible wind that rules on the world and bends nature, guided by its blind will, sweeping away terrorized men and a blurred reality...

Then it’s the turn of the melancholic “Un mondo sprecato” (A wasted world) where Samuele Alletto delivers in a very effective way the caustic reflections of the jaded clown protagonist of the piece, perfectly backed by a band able to add colours and emotions in the instrumental sections.

“Esplorare” (To explore) is the only new track on the album and it’s a pity since the vitality of Procession’s new course is great. It’s a piece that deals with the illogical but nonetheless powerful belief that things will change for the better in a new place. The music and words describe a young man that looks for another world to explore, a place where his fantasies will come true. He wears his dreams and sets off but later realizes that is all in vain and begins to feel lonely and desperate while his certainties fade away. He will have to take a step back to find the meaning of life...

The new arrangement of “Il volo della paura” (The flight of fear) is excellent and succeeds in conveying the disquieting feelings that a flock of birds provoke darkening the sky and the need to overcome the gloomy omens that they could represent...

Next two tracks reshape brilliantly, with good taste and respect, Procession’s first album, Frontiera, a conceptual work telling the story of a young man who leaves his home and family in Southern Italy searching for a job and a better life in a big city of the North. “Suite 1” includes “Ancora una notte” (One more night), “Uomini e illusioni” (Men and illusions), “Città grande” (Big city), “Incontro” (Meeting) and “Anche io sono un uomo” (I’m a man as well) while “Suite 2” includes “Un mondo di libertà” (A world of freedom), “Un ombra che vaga” (A wandering shadow) and “Solo 1” (Alone).

Then “Fiaba” (Fairy tale) ends the album by painting with new vivid colours the surreal landscape of an imaginary village perched on a mountain that hosts dreamers, poets and musicians. The inhabitants do not need money nor gold to be rich since happiness and peace are their real treasures...

On the whole, an excellent work that gives new life to the old repertoire of the band and leaves some hope for the future.

Procession: Esplorare (2007). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: The new musicians are superb players as is the vocalist... What one takes away from this disc is the love they have for the old material, mixed with a dynamic new energy and forcefulness that updates this material successfully. It must be very challenging to attempt to re-do your classic material decades later and bring something new to it without messing with the original magic. Procession have succeeded as well as I could imagine... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/ProcessionRock/

ONCE UPON A TIME

After their debut album “Frontiera” released in 1972, Procession released their second album for the record label Fonit Cetra in 1974 with a different line-up featuring the original members Gianfranco Gaza (vocals) and Roby Munciguerra (guitars) plus Maurizio Gianotti (sax, flute) and Paolo D’Angelo (bass). In studio they were helped by some guest musicians such as drummer Francesco Froggio Francica (Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno), keyboardist Ettore Vigo (Delirium) and vocalist Silvana Aliotta (Circus 2000). The result was excellent. The overall sound is less raw and aggressive compared to the previous album and dreamy acoustic atmospheres prevail while the lyrics by Marina Comin perfectly fit the music blending dreams and reality.

The opener “Uomini di vento” (Men of wind) starts with a rhythm percussion pattern, then an electric guitar comes in... “The wind blows strongly now / Men run away because they can’t stand it...”. Sax, flutes and vocals depict a world battered by the wind where scared shadows are looking for shelter. Reality and its hypocrisies are swept away...

“Un mondo sprecato” (A wasted world) is more reflective and darker and features good electric guitar and sax solos... “I wasted a world trying to understand / But I don’t know how to begin / Man, you look at me and you don’t understand / I used to live like you / A bitter life like many others / But I made up my mind and now I know / You’re laughing at a clown / That has stopped playing with the wind now... You are laughing without asking yourself what this tale could mean...”.

 

On the long, complex “C’era una volta” (Once upon a time) the band tries to explore the “dark side of the moon” and the sax and vocals every now and again run after Pink Floyd’s shadows... The lyrics are about a quest for true life: a child sets off looking for the sense of life and when he thinks he has found it he realizes that he’s now old and that he has wasted his time...

 

 

“Notturno” begins softly, with acoustic guitar and flute drawing a strange, disquieting dreamy atmosphere... “A boat sails lightly on the sea / There’s a man on the edge / And the breeze wets his face / And the night gets darker / The man seems to be looking for life / But what is he looking for? He’s not a fisherman... And the sea gets darker and darker / And the man leaves the edge / Now the boat is lighter...”.

“Il volo della paura” (The flight of fear) is another beautiful dreamy track. The lyrics depict a flock of seagulls that darken the sky. When they land all together the earth is shaken. Men, who can’t fly, are scared and remain on their shaken world where there’s only a wall left, so hard to climb... Just a thousand wings and so much fear!

The final title track “Fiaba” (Fairy tale) describes a village on top of a hill where live people refusing the rules of the world and enjoy their peace... I think that the inlay painting featuring classical and rock musicians climbing the hill describes this track better than words...

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Procession: Fiaba (1974). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: Fiaba is a well rounded and musically satisfying album that will certainly entertain you even if it doesn't make the top of your list. A fabulous painting on the gatefold mini-lp edition shows the band and orchestra traipsing up a hill for an apparent jam at a medieval castle. It may not be the most representative album of the Italian scene but I doubt this album will disappoint anyone looking for good music... (read the complete review HERE)

LOOKING AT A LOST WORLD

Zed & I Bolidi Lenti came to life in Naples in 2011, in love with hard rock, progressive and vintage sounds from the seventies. After a long time spent composing their original stuff, some personnel changes and some concerts on the local scene, in 2022 they self-released an interesting eponymous album with a line up featuring Benny Casola (keyboards, backing vocals), Nino Cecchini (guitar, backing vocals), Sergio Misticone (lead vocals), Eugenio Pastore (drums, percussion) and Sergio Schettino (bass, backing vocals). The sound quality might not be perfect, the songwriting might not shine for its originality and the vocals undoubtedly are a far cry from bel canto but, in my opinion, the band managed to convey to the listener all their passion and pleasure to play...

 

The opener “Filo invisibile” (Invisible thread) paints with deep purple brushstrokes an irrepressible desire to escape from a hypocritical, oppressive society where voracity, greediness and cowardice rule. For the protagonist a road is enough, he looks just for an ordinary place where nothing changes, not even time, and where life flows through your soul, a place where to be free with the people you love...

“A cavallo di un mondo perduto” (Living astride a lost world) is a caustic reflection about Man destiny. Man has chosen his path without humility between clouds of smoke, asphalt, stones, tears, war and thirst. He has lost his future and his stability but keeps on repeating again and again the same mistakes without looking back. He persists in scanning the horizon with his short-sighted gaze, when the abyss is there wide open under his feet. He longs for something that he doesn’t even know and he’s loosing his freedom to live astride a lost world...

Next two tracks deal with environmental issues. “Non sono Dio” (I’m not God) every now and again could recall The Doors and is an ironic piece where the music and words draw bitter reflections about a betrayed, suffering world. If Man fails to change his behaviour he would have better start praying before getting lost in a sea of resigned indifference...

Then “Fukushima” conjures up the image of a glacial dawn lighted by the rays of a dying sun where everything changes in the darkness. The protagonist here realizes that he lives among the ruins of a world that has gone in the wrong direction in search for nuclear sources ending up in the hands of hitmen without dignity...

“Kathmandu” is a soft, dreamy piece that brings back the memories of a journey in Nepal. The traveller remembers what he experienced as he crossed villages and ageless woods where even silence becomes sound and where you can try to look into yourself through a broken mirror before picking up your luggage and start walking again...

The closer “No More White Horse (Non basta il sole)” (No More White Horse - Sun isn’t enough) is a touching piece dedicated to an albino African girl who only chance saved from horrible witchcraft rites. The music and lyrics evoke here a world that gets drowned into illusion and where there’s not enough light for changing. A cry rises, a desperate call for help in a kind of nightmare where reality and hell unite...

On the whole, a work that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100034999578960 

ORIGAMIS FROM THE SKY

 Sadako e le mille gru di carta is the fourth studio album by Logos, an Italian prog band from Verona whose roots date back to the nineties. It was released in 2020 on the independent Andromeda Relix label with a renewed line up featuring Luca Zerman (vocals, Hammond, synth), Fabio Gaspari (vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin), Claudio Antolini (piano, synth) and Alessandro Perbellini (drums) plus some special guests such as Elisa Montaldo (vocals - from Il Tempio delle Clessidre), Massimo Maoli (guitar), Simone Chiampan (drums) and Federico Zoccatelli (sax). It’s a wonderful conceptual work inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who died because of the consequences of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the American Air Forces during World War II. As you can read in the liner notes, a Japanese legend tells that anyone who folds one thousand origami cranes will see his wishes come true. Sadako unfortunately didn’t complete her task and stopped at 644... The beautiful artwork by Marica Fasoli reflects the subject matter.

 

The short instrumental opener “Origami in Sol-” (Origami in G-) sets the atmosphere with its strong symphonic flavour and solemn pace. It leads to the disquieting “Paesaggi d’insonnia” (Insomnia landscapes) that starts by a frenzied rhythm and a stormy atmosphere. The music and lyrics depict apocalyptic sceneries where you can see asbestos flowing into a creek and deer with amaranth fleeces, deformed lanterns in fire slowly moving in a strange bronze ballet between mad chants and litanies, there’s anguish and fear all around... Then the rhythm slackens and soaring sax lines drive you through sad expectations and dark omens. As the nightmare fades away you’re exhausted but lying in bed in not enough to sleep...

“Un lieto inquietarsi” (A happy way to get worried) is another long, complex track evoking troubling visions and nightmarish atmospheres. As the music goes through many changes in rhythm and mood, the hermetic lyrics evoke a pain that lies somewhere below the sounds, beyond the frontier between obsession and vice, among half crumbled skyscrapers and gloomy thoughts, collective hysteria and dull ignorance. There’s people who need just a room to pray while others need a church or an altar. Then, there are those who can imagine a merry countryside and meadows in bloom behind origami paper figures and colours in the chemical warmth of desire...

 

Logos 2020

“Il sarto” (The tailor) is an amazing, dreamy acoustic ballad, enriched by the charming vocals of the guest Elisa Montaldo, that conjures up with passionate sounds and extraordinary poetical force the image of a fantastic, merciful guardian. It’s the image of a tailor who creates magical clothes for a little girl by weaving bits of sky and sea waves, sun rays and fabrics stolen from the fairies, stars and dreams. All in the desperate effort to keep her close and not let her go. But in the end there’s nothing to do, silence falls down, tomorrow there will be someone else who will have to provide her with a new dress of musical notes...

The joyful “Zaini di elio” (Backpacks of helium), depicts in music and words the release from pain by a surreal ascension to the sky. The little girl, thanks to a backpack loaded with helium and without ballast, takes off through the smoke of burning trees and plunges into the sky over the icy top of her dreams, crossing rivers of feelings and sensations, gliding over memories and regrets, towards shining suns and soft streets. Her heart is light and she’s ready to fly higher and higher, over and over...

 

The long epic “Sadako e le mille gru di carta” (Sadako and the one thousand origami cranes) ends the story with a message of hope and a warning. The music and words depict Sadako looking down while flying across the sky, hanging on one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. She can see from above stories of war and ravaged nature that have been unfolding for thousands of years on Earth. There are many people who try to express their grief over a dying little girl, her story moved them. Now she sleeps near a bomb and becomes a symbol. In heaven Sadako can listen to the sound of death rising from below and gets angry because war never stops and so famine, greediness, lust for power. How many years will it take to get rid of hatred and selfishness? One thousand origami cranes get wet and fall down from the sky while a light little girl finds her grave hugging a bomb. But a new war is raging and it’s even worse than those before, hidden behind TV screens, smoothed by the fake news riding on social media. It seems far away, from our safe place we can see only a few glimpses of what’s happening but we’ve better wondering how many more innocent victims are still in danger or suffering because of a brand new shining bomb that’s going to blast...

On The CD there’s still room for a Radio Edit Version of the title track and you can look for the video the band shot for it.

On the whole, a wonderful work!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Logos: Sadako e le mille gru di carta (2020). Other opinions:

Nick Hudson: My only worry was that LogoS might fall prey to attempting to integrate Japanese instruments or instrumentation into their lush RPI sound, something I'm not sure could work terribly well, and far too easily be tokenism at best, and appropriation at worst. I need not have worried... A wonderful album. Anyone who loved the previous LogoS album, 2014's L'Enigma della Vita, and was worried that the band might struggle to follow it up with something as good need not worry. Anyone who doesn't yet know the band is simply in for a treat... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.logosprog.it/ 

https://www.facebook.com/logosprog/ 

 

FIFTY YEARS AFTER

Fifty years after Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s debut album, La bibbia, the band’s founder member, guitarist and main composer Enzo Vita gathered around him a group of talented musicians and completely re-arranged and re-recorded it with the new line up featuring, along with the leader, also Marco Pisaneschi (drums), Davide Pepi (guitars, backing vocals), Nicola Costanti (keyboards, lead vocals) and Nicola Castelli (bass) plus the guest Caterina Costanti (flute). The new album, entitled La bibbia 50th Anniversary, was released in 2021 on the independent Jolly Roger Records label and stems from the work of accomplished, experienced musicians familiar with up to date recording techniques while the debut album was the fruit of the passion of young inexperienced youth. If compared with the original old LP it sounds far better and gives new life to compositions that were filled with enthusiasm but penalized by the hurried recording sessions and an approximative production...

The instrumental opener “Nothingness (Il nulla)” is shorter and completely different from the original from 1971 (in fact it’s credited to new guitarist Davide Pepi). It’s an atmospheric, spacey track that leads to “La creazione” (The Creation) where you can appreciate the great keyboards work and creative drumming that reshape this piece about the creation of World, Man and Woman as told in the Genesis. The sound is richer, clearer and more refined than on the 1971 album. The new vocalist is perfectly up to the task, as in the following “L’ammonimento” (The warning), a piece dealing with the powerful reaction of God against the claims of the Devil...

Il Rovescio della Medaglia 2021

The instrumental “Sodoma X Y” takes the place of the old “Sodoma e Gomorra” re-elaborating the old piece representing the busy, ruthless contemporary civilization. The new version adds colours and spacey flavours while maintaining the same raging energy. Then it’s the turn of the brilliant rendition of “Il giudizio” (Judgement Day), a piece where the music and words depict Man waiting for the sentence of God on his final day on Earth. The last track, “The Great Flood (Il diluvio)”, is a brand new piece (credited to Nicola Costanti) that replaces the original finale. It ends the album with a dark, gloomy atmosphere evoked by the church-like organ in the forefront while the English lyrics describe a great deluge and the waters sweeping away the Evil from the world...

The CD version of the album is completed by three bonus tracks, “The Creation”, “The Warning” and “Judgement Day”, alternative versions of “La creazione”, “L’ammonimento” and “Il giudizio” sung in English.

On the whole, an excellent work.

You can listen to the album HERE

Il Rovescio della Medaglia: La bibbia 50th Anniversary (2021). Other opinions:
Henry Schneider: Bombastic, aggressive Italian prog rock with inspired guitar solos, rich Hammond organ runs, and emotive singing abound. Having never heard the original, I have no baseline for comparison. Suffice it to say, if you are a fan of 70s Italian prog rock, you will not be disappointed... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/ilrovesciodellamedaglia/ 

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

Il Rovescio della Medaglia came to life in Rome in 1970 from the ashes of a beat group called I Lombrichi. After a good live activity and some time spent in the rehearsal room honing their skills, in 1971 they released an interesting debut album, entitled La bibbia, on the RCA label with a line up featuring Enzo Vita (guitar), Stefano Urso (bass), Gino Campoli (drums) and Pino Ballarini (vocals, flute) who replaced their first singer Gianni Mereu. It was recorded live in the studio in just a few days and, as you can guess from the title, it’s a concept album inspired by some passages of the Old Testament. It’s mainly an instrumental work in a hard rock style inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin with some touches of beat. The art cover was inspired by the name of the band that means “The Reverse of the Medal”...

 

The opener, “Il nulla” (Nothingness), is an instrumental piece that grows slowly, with experimental sounds trying to evoke the primordial chaos... It leads to “La creazione” (The creation) where powerful electric guitar riffs backed by a steady rhythm section and hieratic vocals evoke the explosive energy of the creative work of God as told in the bible. Six days to make light, sun and stars, green meadows, animals and eventually Man and Woman to whom God gave Freedom, Love and Peace, the greatest gift. On the seventh day the maker lay down and rested... Here the rhythm slackens and wordless vocals lead to a fiery electric guitar solo before another soft passage and a final surge that introduces the last track of the first side of the original LP, “L’ammonimento” (The warning), describing in music and words the wrath of God and His holy foot trampling and crushing the Devil’s head.

The second side of the LP opens with the instrumental “Sodoma e Gomorra” (Sodom and Gomorrah) that starts by alternating drum rolls and electric guitar solos, then the rhythm takes speed for a wild, frenzied ride through a decadent world... Next comes the long epic “Il giudizio” (Judgement Day) that begins by a dark marching beat and a mysterious atmosphere. The music and lyrics depict the final trial of Man in front of God. Past and present of humankind are going to be judged while Man stands up crying, waiting for the verdict. Man can’t come back, he has stolen, hatred, betrayed, and murdered and now the sentence is granted... The final instrumental track, “Il diluvio” (The flood) is just noise evoking the terrible consequences of Man behaviour.

On the whole, a good album despite the raw sound quality.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Il Rovescio della Medaglia: La bibbia (1971). Other opinions:
Linus Wikström: In the end there's no reason to DISLIKE this record if you're in it for face-melting guitar bonanza with the odd bits and pieces of, let's call it 'sound expansion'. But fact remains that what I enjoyed the most was the always highly emotional and unapologetic Italian vocals... (read the complete review HERE)

A WONDERFUL JOURNEY

 Appunti di viaggio is the second album by the Sfaratthons, a band from Abruzzo whose roots date back to the seventies. It was recorded by a consolidated line up featuring Cecilio Luciano (drums), Giovanni Di Nunzio (lead vocals, guitar), Luca Di Nunzio (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Giovanni Casciato (electric guitar) and Mario Di Nunzio (bass) with the contribute of some guest musicians such as Geoff Warren (flute), Alessandro Saponaro (guitar), Giovanni Ferrari (sax) and the choir Chorale Trebula from Quadri, a little town in the province of Chieti. It was self-released in 2019 with a wonderful packaging in form of book, enriched by some paintings, extended liner notes and a short story by their friend and former bandmate Luca Luciano. It confirms all the good qualities of their 2016 debut work La bestia umana and goes even further, showcasing great song-writing skills and an improved sound quality... 

 

The wonderful opener “Appunti di viaggio” (Travel notes) is a long, complex instrumental piece that invites the listener to follow the band all along their musical journey around the world. It starts softly by the sound of the sea waves and goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere accompanying you through dreamy marine landscapes under the moonlight. It leads to the following “Vela” (Sail) with its marching beat and epic keyboards passage incipit where soaring flute arabesques conjure up the image of a surreal sail flying over the sea in a deep sky evoking bitter and sweet feelings. There’s joy, delirium and pain in the blowing wind that draws you away at dawn along with that sail...

The excellent “Cielo nero” (Black sky) describes in music and words the feelings of a timeless lover on the day before the meeting with his beloved woman. On a black night dotted with just a few stars he longs for his young bride and can’t sleep until the morning comes. It’s a restless wait full of dreams, expectations and hope...

“Notte” (Night) depicts a dark night in a big city where every shadow seems threatening and scary. Fear rules on the streets, on every step you take you can perceive the danger, every sound tears your heart apart, there is no room for peace and rest. Under the lamplights homeless, hungry people are walking in search for justice but they’re losing their faith while waiting for a new dawn and a better day...

 

The melancholic “Your War, Our War” starts by a sound of shots in the background and a voice taken from a radio broadcast speaking in French and commenting a picture with the image a dead little child on a beach. It’s the image of Aylan Kurdi... Then the rhythm rises while English vocals evoke an eternal emergency and a land ravaged by a war that nobody wants to see. There’s a sense of impending disaster and dark, grim omens for a hopeless future...

“Ne journe, n’anne” (A day, a year) is sung in Abruzzese dialect and deals with the relativity of time and space. The piece starts with a carefree flute pattern and a soft pace, then the music and words conjure up a dreamy atmosphere and a carousel of stars and moon while the choir might recall a kind of Christmas carol. Day after day time seems to stand still when you are surrounded by love and beauty, a year has passed by and you have the impression it lasted a single day...

“With All The Strength Of My Voice” opens with threatening keyboards waves and Latin rhythms. The music and the English lyrics depict the image of weapons and guns in a country filled by hatred where people desperately try to run away searching for a way out. Then there’s the ceasefire and peace comes back, the war is over and a new beginning is possible... The final part features voices in the background speaking in Spanish and a bold marching beat. According to liner notes, this piece was inspired by the peace agreement reached in Colombia between president Juan Manuel Santos and the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group involved in the long Colombian conflict started in 1964. On 23 June 2016 the accord was signed in Havana, Cuba...

“Vaije” (I keep on going) is another piece sung in Abruzzese dialect that describes in music and words the stubborn obstinacy of a man who never stops in his search for love and continues to travel around the world in the hope of filling the void in his heart. In his storming heart there’s rain and snow but he keeps on going following the route of the sun...

The lively “Trust” deals with environmental issues and ends the album with a message of hope. The pace is fast and the rhythm every now and again could recall The Pogues. The music and lyrics try to urge everyone to fix the damages that man behaviours have inflicted to our planet. There’s still time to save the Earth, but we’ve better hurry up...

On the whole, an excellent work and a really a must have for Italianprog collectors!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
http://www.sfaratthons.eu/

https://www.facebook.com/sfaratthons/ 

FROM AVANT-GARDE TO NEW HORIZONS

In 1979, after some years of soporific avant-garde, Franco Battiato woke up and turned his attention to the public. Don’t worry, “L’era del cinghiale bianco” is not just an easy pop album or a bleak effort to reach commercial success... In that period the “Halcyon days” of prog were gone and Franco Battiato, as many other artists, was looking for new musical ways. Here classical music and Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern folk influences blend with rock and pop in a very personal way, with the help of a group of excellent musicians. The lyrics don’t tell stories but the words are just like “flashes” trying to suggest the images... The final result is surprisingly good!

 

The wild white boar is a symbol taken from the Celtic mythology and in some way the weird lyrics of the opener title track (“L’era del cinghiale bianco” means “The age of the wild white boar”) seem to invoke the return to a new spiritual era of knowledge and wisdom... This is one of the best known of Battiato’s songs and it features a great interaction between the violin of Giusto Pio and the guitar of Alberto Radius (former guitarist of Formula Tre and Il Volo). The instrumental riff is very catchy and it leaves you hoping that “the age of the wild white boar will come back soon...”.

Mysticism for sale... The following “Magic Shop” is about money and religion: the ironic lyrics draw a caustic criticism against the habit of making money from faith, while the music is light and deep with a good line of bass and soaring vocals... “Can’t you see that the Golden Age was just a shadow of Wall Street?”.

“Strade dell’Est” (Roads of the East) is a kind of musical journey on the streets of the East, from Albania to Siberia, from China to Iraq, from Turkey to Russia. The percussion work of Tullio De Piscopo and the guitar solo of Alberto Radius are great and the result is an extremely interesting mix of rock and folk influences... “Roads of the East, immense horizons / Hidden cities of Persian language... They tell stories of princesses locked in castles for their great beauty...”.

 

“Luna indiana” (Indian moon) is an instrumental track with classical influences and a nocturnal mood where the interacting of piano and violin weave a “chamber music” atmosphere, the murmured vocals appearing at the end of the track seem to introduce the slow, magical mood of the following “Il re del mondo” where “the king of the world keeps our hearts in prison...”.

Next comes the ethereal, mystic “Pasqua Etiope” (Ethiopic Easter). It is sung in Latin and sounds like a kind of exotic prayer... “Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis...”.

The last track “Stranizza d’amuri” (Love strangeness) is sung in the dialect of Sicily and features a good percussion work and a “Mediterranean flavour” while the suggestive lyrics conjure up memories of first love.

The album is short (it lasts only 31 minutes) but every track is worth listening to. In fact “L’era del cinghiale bianco” is still far from the clever pop of Battiato’s successive albums and on the whole I think that it could be an excellent addition to an Italian prog collection...

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: an introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Franco Battiato: L’era del cinghiale bianco (1979). Other opinions:
Raffaella Benvenuto-Berry: While prog purists may frown upon Battiato's move, open-minded music fans will find a lot to love in this intriguing, sophisticated album. In spite of its superficial 'poppy' feel, L'era del cinghiale bianco has many layers, which will unfold upon repeated listens. Granted, it is not 'conventional' prog by any means, and as such may be found disappointing by those who expect 20-minute epics, or wild time signature shifts... (read the complete review HERE).

 

FOUR UNSUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS

M.elle le “Gladiator” is the fifth studio album by Franco Battiato and was released in 1975 on the Bla Bla label. When Battiato released this work he was influenced by American composer John Cage, a pioneer of chance music, non-standard use of musical instruments and electronic music and by Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer known for his work in electronic music and for introducing aleatory techniques into serial composition. As you can guess, this album is marked by a strong experimentalism, there are almost no traces of rock or pop and listening to it could be very difficult...

 

The album features only three instrumental tracks. The first one, “Goûtez and comparez” is a kind of fuzzy patchwork, just a long sequence of scattered sounds, bits of conversations and poems, hints of songs taken from radio broadcasts, music performed on piano or VCS3, percussion patterns or simple noises, all assembled together and blended with the collage technique... 

 

The Monreale Cathedral organ

The last two tracks, “Canto fermo” and “Orient effect”, are cuts taken from a pipe organ improvisation session recorded with poor means in the Monreale Cathedral, near Palermo. This particular church organ was built between 1957 and 1967 by the Ruffatti Brothers of Padua and it was the sole European organ with six keyboards with 61 keys each and 10 thousand pipes in wood and metal subdivided in three sounding bodies: a great instrument with a tremendous potential but, in my opinion, a weak performance...

On the whole, this is an album that might be recommended only to die-hard fans and collectors.

You can listen to it HERE

Franco Battiato: M.elle “Le Gladiator” (1975). Other opinions:
Michael Berry: Probably my favorite of his avant works of the middle to late 70's. In fact I enjoy and listen to this album more than Fetus and Pollution. Only behind Clic and Sulle Corde di Aries as my favorite 70's Battiato albums... (read the complete review HERE)

**************

Battiato is the sixth album by Franco Battiato and was released in 1977 on the Ricordi label. There’s no trace of rock on it, it’s pure avant-garde and experimentalism, a challenging work that is really hard to understand and appreciate. To be honest, I find it almost unbearable...

 

The first side of the original LP is entirely occupied by “Za”, a long piece for piano solo (here played by Antonio Ballista) that in the liner notes is described as follows: “Apparently poor. Almost completely based on one chord. Deliberately percussive (the right pedal is never used), it splits and subtracts resonances, with a release technique. It needs a listening that could be defined as meta-analytical, in favour of a timeless non-spatiality”. In my opinion, it’s just something that might drain out your all your patience as a music listener, drop after drop...

The second side of the LP is completely filled with another long experimental track, “Café-Table-Musik”, whose title derives from a phrase with which Marcel Proust had defined some of his books, i.e. coffee table books. It’s a kind of clumsy collage of sounds with soprano vocals, romantic piano patterns, fragments of dialogues, reciting voices and even treacherous hints of melody. This piece is described by the composer in the liner notes as a piece of European regression, a sort of Orphic-collage; full of substitutions, manipulations, false quotes, or rather original copies where the piano scale becomes melody, the exercise of voice, feeling... Freedom from the known for the known... In my opinion, it’s just another way to wear out your patience as a music listener, if any trace of patience was left after listening to the previous track...

On the whole, a deliberate sonic torture for your ears, but not without a kind of perverse, self-ironic charm.

Anyway, you can judge for yourselves by listening to the complete album HERE

Franco Battiato: Battiato (1977). Other opinions:
Michael Berry: It is great music for a rainy Sunday morning... just remember the headphones so your wife or girlfriend doesn't toss your stereo out the window... (read the complete review HERE)

**************

Juke Box is the seventh studio album by Franco Battiato and was released in 1978 on the Ricordi label. It was originally conceived as the soundtrack of a TV series about the life of Filippo Brunelleschi but eventually it wasn’t used to comment the scenes on the screen. Here Franco Battiato (vocals, piano) acts as a classical composer and avant-garde performer with the collaboration of Giusto Pio (violin), Juri Camisasca (vocals), Antonio Ballista (piano), Alide Maria Salvetta (soprano vocals) and Roberto Cacciapaglia (orchestra director). I fear, however, that the result of his efforts on this album might sound disappointing to most of the listeners...

 

The opener, “Campane” (bells) is a short, ethereal piece composed for soprano, violins and piano with a disquieting atmosphere. The following “Su scale” (On scales) is a piece for vocals, choir and two pianos that sounds like a whiny dirge... A disconcerting piece for two violins, “Martyre celeste”, closes the first side of album.

Side two opens with a piece for soprano and piano, “Hiver”, sung in French with lyrics taken from a poem by Fleur Jaeggy... “Sometimes in the twilight the monotony, but I was gentle / I complied with what I assumed was the order of the universe...”. Next comes “Agnus”, a piece for vocals, soprano, nine violins, two trumpets and piano. Its nice melodic lines will later find a better use in a track from the 1979 album L’era del cinghiale bianco entitled “Stranizza d’amuri”. Then, a long, irritating piece for solo violin entitled “Telegrafi” (Telegraphs) ends the album.

On the whole, just a soporific experiment...

You can listen to the album HERE

Franco Battiato: Juke Box (1978). Other opinions:

Allister Thompson: Battiato could not be accused of playing it safe, and his output in the mid-late 70s is definitely an acquired taste. Juke Box is actually fairly accessible compared with some of his other extreme minimalist recordings from that era. This is pretty much an ambient album of sparse, but not minimalist, compositions, for piano, strings and, at times, female voice... (read the complete review HERE)

**************

L’Egitto prima delle sabbie is the last album of Battiato’s experimental period and was released in 1978 on the Ricordi label. It's an instrumental work of extreme minimalism without the slightest trace of rock and featuring only two long tracks...

 

The title track is a piece for piano solo... Just one chord, a single short arpeggio repeated more and more times for almost fifteen minutes. It was a kind of research on the natural harmonic sounds generated by the first wave of notes played... It was awarded with the “Stockhausen Prize” but I fear that most of the progressive rock fans would find it boring to say the least...

The second track, “Sud Afternoon” is a piano duo composed by Battiato and performed by Antonio Ballista and Bruno Canino, two classical musicians. This composition is another piece of “contemporary classical minimalist avant-garde”, slightly more articulated than the previous one but in my opinion in the same bleak mood...

On the whole, an album that might be of some interest just for connoisseurs of contemporary classical avant-garde...

If you dare, listen to the complete album HERE

Franco Battiato: L’Egitto prima delle sabbie (1978). Other opinions:
David “Guldbamsen”: As a big fan of Franco Battiato and his ever changing sonic routes, this album completely threw me off balance. The man has always done things his own way, but the transition he made from his first four progressive rock albums to the minimalist approach found on subsequent albums made my head spin. I guess you could spot certain Stockhausen influences on an album like 'Clic', but they in no way prepared you for the white shimmering nothingness of this, his final minimalist installation, 'L'Egitto Prima Delle Sabbie'... (read the complete review HERE)