BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO

One of my favorite bands in Italian 1970's prog rock is the Biglietto Per L'Inferno debut. It is a very Italian nuanced RPI release that any fans of the genre should look to immediately. Not many of their albums escaped Italy at the time, and America saw highly scattered single copies back in the day-essentially none, leaving them unknown until far later.

Opener Ansia is a frantic high speed ride with prominent moog. Dual keyboards include Baffo Banfi in his first band gig overseeing complex and frenetic bits of songs that they weave together in a dizzying fashion. Second song Confessionne could be Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. Hard rocking bits alternate with quieter sections-this shows some of their late 60's origins. Which brings me to the recording production on this. If someone told me this was recorded in 1971 not 1974 I would believe them, as it is closer in spirit to the hard prog bands of 1971 and early 1972, when Italian prog bands would often show streaks of their 1960's beat roots. Flute comes in as the song slides towards 1971 again--full charging Jethro Tull guitar kicks things into gear. Soon it calms a bit for Una Strana Regina to end side one. Moog from Banfi cuts through the busy midtempo arrangement until a torrent of Italian tongue twisting lyrics pour forth-singer Claudio Canali is another force in Italian vocals. We then shift to a uniquely high pitched Italian dance piece reminiscent of prog Zappa meets West African Les Tetes Brulees stylings for a minute or two. Fantastic variation.

Side two begins with another gem, the early PFMish Il Nevare. Keyboards create most of the textures, but guitarist Marco Mainetti drops in some soloing that Blackmore fans would love. Finale L'Amico Suicida is the centerpiece at over 14 minutes. Keyboards, bass, drums swirl with VDGG precision, then a carnival like workout while the atonal sounds swirl over the top. Pause...now gentle flute sounds (sounds like moog, Banfi is very good at sound design) over a frantic Canali yelping in 60's fashion. Huge prog finish: flutes, moogs, acoustic guitar, piano, Tull stop and start riffs, PFM accompaniment. All on top of each other. Atonal synths and hiccuping percussion lead to some jittery jamming that is atypical of most symphonic bands. Wildly creative stuff, Biglietto per L'inferno could go up against nearly anyone in prog. Essential to any RPI collection.

This band is overflowing with ideas. Their second album, while worthy of a listen, doesn't have the quirky individuality of their debut. They had a rare stable of top flight and imaginative talent: a powerful vocalist, confident flute, over the top electric guitar, versatile drummer, and two gifted keyboardists that think experimentation is the reason to show up. Where their contemporaries would think of some melodic complex interludes, Biglietto will invariably choose jarring mood shifts, atonal synth patterns, wooshes of noise instead. Though do not mistake, each of their choices is carefully thought through and placed sometimes so subtly that it has come and gone before you can say 'what the hell was that?'

Canali was known for spontaneously leaping into the air during some of the more frenzied sections in their arrangements, aptly depicted on the album cover.

Their vinyl release is often close to advanced demo level sound quality with instruments sometimes blurring into each other often. If this was better recorded, it would be an album on many lists of the top 3 albums of RPI. Even so, this should be in every Italian prog fan's top ten first albums to acquire. One of the highest recommendations.

5 stars. One of the best in the scene.

One of the most overrated RPI albums in history... Actually its not an bad album, has some good passages and themes, but often is full of so many Italian prog clichés like for example the alteration of hardrock and soft pastoral themes or nearly randomly mixed unpassable fragments, is often very derivative and unoriginal too. On the other hand there is some very good energetic and passionate singing, atmospheric synth work (signs of later Banfi solo projects) and good guitar work, especially on the longest mournful track. But all this was better done by many other similar heavier Italian bands like for example Alphataurus, Osanna, Semiramis...

But my real biggest problem here is the terrible production - it sounds like bad punk garage recording with no dynamics, no detail. Everything sounds distorted and murky here, its very bad even for often sub-par early 70s Italian production niveau.

Barely 3 stars for me. With better and cleaner production it would be 3,5.

Biglietto Per L'Inferno is a popular and pivotal Italian progrock formation but they only made one eponymous studio- album in 1974. In 1992 an Italian label released the CD Il Tempo Della Semina featuring early material and in 2005 the CD Live In 1974. Like so many other Classic Italian Prog bands (from Banco and PFM to Il Balletto Di Bronzo and Latte E Miele) Biglietto Per L'Inferno returned to the progrock scene in the last two decades, resulting in this CD. It contains renditions of songs from their 70's work. And in 2015 Biglietto Per L'Inferno released a new CD entitled Vivi. Lotta. Pensa (2015), I consider Tra L'Assurdo E La Ragione as a strong bridge to that.

On this album Biglietto Per L'Inferno have chosen to use of wide range of folky instruments. But the band didn't forget her rock roots, pretty frequently the folkysound is blended with rock. Like in the opener Il Tempo Della Semina (featuring a lush instrumentation, from bagpipe and electric guitar to piano and flute) and Il Nevare (beautiful accordeon). And the titletrack (with Nina Hagen-like vocals), both delivering propulsive guitar riffs. In the compelling Una Strana Regina we can enjoy a Floydian guitar solo with howling runs between folk with flute, ciolin and accordion, in the vein of Mike Oldfield. And the short Ansia contains heavy guitar play in a fluent rhythm while Confessione sounds like a mix of folk and rock with raw guitar. This CD concludes in a cheerful, pure folky climate with room for mandolin, accordeon, flute and bagpipe. The strong vocals are in Italian, in my opinion this always adds a special flavour to the music.

My rating: 3,5 star.

This classic RPI album contains some great song and melody developments even if they often seem familiar from bands from the British prog scene.

1. "Ansia" (4:16) a kind of standard, nothing special rock'n'roll song. Even the melodies here are nothing memorable. (7.5/10)

2. "Confessione" (6:32) opens like a DOORS song but then in the second section becomes more like a hard rockin' ZZ TOP "La Grange." The vocal section in the second and third minutes is kind of URIAH HEEP and THE BEATLES. The fifth minute with its flutes and electric guitar lead bring the song into the heavy side of JETHRO TULL. Great effects used on the guitar in the final two minutes. Awesome! (9/10)

3. "Una strana regina" (6:12) opens with an unusual sound: slow, distant low end organ chords--over which is added a speedier mid-range arpeggiated chord progression and distant drums and electric bass. The vocal that enters in the second minute sounds a lot like the voice and stylings of Uriah Heep's David Byron. At the three minute mark the song suddenly jumps into fast-pace J TULL territory. For 35 seconds! Then, just as suddenly, it reverts back into ultra soft and plaintive URIAH HEEP territory before lifting itself up into a nice moderate pace for a brief stretch before bang! another shocking shift--into a kind of FELA/Afro-pop guitar solo leading to . . . the next song! (8.5/10)

4. "Il nevare" (4:37) bleeds over from the previous song as the band continues its string of totally unexpected and unpredictable dynamic shifts: moderate to loud and fast to soft and delicate and back and forth within seconds of one another, over and over. How odd! A little disconcerting upon the first few listens but once used to it, one can appreciate the nice sounds and performance challenges pulled off here. (8.5/10)

5. "L'amico suicida" (13:20) opens with another bluesy, PROCUL HARUM-like chord and sound progression, performed slowly with great dramatic effect--especially coming from the keyboards and drums. Nice first two minutes. Then a frenetic and confusing section begins around 2:05 but then is just as suddenly cut off as we move into a vocal section supported by funereal piano chords and sustained squeals from a synthesizer. Definitely conveying sadness, anger, overwhelm, frustration in this powerfully emotional rendering. Quite a mature and devastatingly powerful composition in the expression of this topic. Even the oddly pretty Latin-infused acoustic guitar strummed section that begins at 6:31 seems fitting. Easily the best song on the album--worthy of hundreds of listens as there are so many sections and nuances to take in. Kudos to these musicians for the amazing performances realized here. (10/10)

A near-masterpiece of classic progressive rock music.

In the sea of progressive rock that flooded the world in the early 70s, no country seems to surprise me more than the musical Renaissance that was sweeping Italy. While other European countries like England, France and Germany were finding some of their progressive acts successful abroad, it was Italy that had one of the most fertile home grown movements and included amongst the bigger names like PFM, Banco and Area was a tidal wave of one-shot wonders that poured out from the Italian prog scene with one outstanding example after another of unique and progressive takes on the burgeoning movement. BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO (Ticket To Hell) is just one of many such bands that joins the ranks of Museo Rosenbach, Maxophone, Semiramis, Alphataurus, Alusa Fallax, E.A. Poe, Flea and Locada Delle Fate amongst others who released only one classic release in the 70s before disbanding. This band emerged in 1972 in Lecco, the Lombardy region in Italy from two dance-hall cover bands (Gee and Mako Sharks) and once together wasted no time in garnering a significant following resulting from their reputation of putting on outstanding live performances. This caught the attention of Maurizio Salvatori, owner of Trident Records and finally in 1974 the band released their debut eponymous album.

While barely making a blip on the radar of the musical world in general at the time the debut album was released, BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO has passed the tests of time and since then has become one of the classics of 70s Rock Progressive Italiano. While the band utilizes all available Italian influences such as PFM, Banco and other symphonic prog influences, the band equally embraced the more straight forward hard rocking techniques of bands that embraced the most luscious melodic developments and ran away with them. While comparisons to Deep Purple can come to mind for the hard driving guitar riffs mixed with keyboards, i would say that BIGLIETTO's sound is probably more reminiscent of Osanna for their own melodic hard rock that expanded the progressive tendencies more through the thematic developments and trade-offs rather than a barrage of complex time sigs, nonrepetition of themes or just taking things on a bizarre trip to Planet X. The results of this mix of hard rock and progressive themes makes this a much easier sound to digest upon first listen unlike behemoths of complexity that may take several listens to take in. Despite their influences on board, BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO successful created a new formula of delivery of instantly addictive hooks while taking you on a wild ride of originality.

Part of the band's original sound comes from two keyboardists both named Giuseppe (Banfi and Cossa) and they really display an impressive command of the music. Generally speaking one keyboardist delves out some classical inspired runs while the other handles atmospheric duties. They always complement each other quite well and there is no sense of competition at all. As with much of Italian prog of the 70s, BIGLIETTO does indeed alternate between soft tender passages and harder edged rock guitar. Marco Mainetti handles guitar duties and he is clearly a major player of the day. He delivers some of the heaviest riffs in prog much less this type of symphonic variety. He is equally capable of delivering some scorching solos that add a definitive edge over the contemporaries. The rhythm section of Fausto Branchini (bass) and Mauro Gnecchi (drums) is equally compelling and able to shift gears at the drop of a hat but one of the most notable members of this musical cast is vocalist and flautist Claudio Canali who just tears it up vocally and dishes out some of the most virtuosic flute runs i've ever heard in rock music making Ian Anderson seem tame in comparison! There are times where it feels like a Jethro Tull meets Van Der Graaf Generator scene. Canali is also the mastermind behind the lyrical content and although my Italian isn't proficient enough to understand every single word, the title of the band should give it away regarding the content. Ticket To Hell is the theme indeed where Canali explores the ills of Italian society including murder, suicide and social decay. While the lyrics tend to be dark and brooding, the music is lively and quite exhilarating.

As with many others i have been flip-flopping over whether to award this beautiful music 4, 4.5 or 5 stars. It is true that is derivative in many key ways of other bands who came before and despite seamlessly incorporating these styles, BIGLIETTO is with no doubt riding the crest of the great progressive tidal wave that would soon crash against the shores of a changing musical reality. However, despite it all there is more than enough originality woven into every track on this epic album and it flows perfectly from beginning to end like one large ever expanding track. There are no weaknesses for my tastes and every musician dynamically blends his talents into a satisfying whole. While the complexity is not up to the heights as other bands of the day, the energizing effect is quite effective. The music is simply brilliant on many levels and is gratifying time and time again. Due to all of the positives that this beautiful creation resonates i will have to go with 5 for despite it all, it was riding the crest of that wave at the moment when this kind of sophisticated music was at its peak.

After a long hiatus, in 2007 il Biglietto per l'Inferno came back to life on the initiative of two founder members, Giuseppe "Pilly" Cossa and Mauro Gnecchi. With a renewed line up, the band started performing live the old repertoire from the seventies and in 2009 released a new studio album entitled Tra l'assurdo e la ragione (Between absurd and reason) featuring new arrangements of the historic pieces along with two new tracks. In 2015 il Biglietto per l'Inferno carried out this process of re-appropriation and reworking of their past by releasing a new studio album, Vivi. Lotta. Pensa. that in some way completes the work started with the previous one. It was released with a beautiful packaging on the AMS/BTF label and a three folds jacket with an art work by graphic artist Marco Menaballi that tries to depict its musical and lyrical content...

The current line up features Giuseppe "Pilly" Cossa (piano, keyboards, accordion, melodeon), Mauro Gnecchi (drums, percussion), Mariolina Sala (vocals), Ranieri "Ragno" Fumagalli (hornpipe, recorder, ocarina), Enrico Fagnoni (upright bass, electric and acoustic bass, acoustic guitar), Renata Tomasella (piffero, recorders, ocarina), Carlo Redi (violin, mandolin, acoustic guitar) and Pier Panzeri (electric and acoustic guitar). Along the years, old and new members have matured and incredible cohesion creating an amazing wall of sound where ethnic and folk elements are perfectly mixed with progressive rock while the new female vocalist should not be considered just a replacement for the original front man since Mariolina Sala is not just a singer but also an actress and a sensitive interpreter able to convey emotions with her enthralling theatrical approach...

This new album starts by the joyful notes of the title track, "Vivi. Lotta. Pensa." (Live. Struggle. Think.). It's the new arrangement of a piece contained on the second album of the band, Il tempo della semina, a committed track about freedom, equality and solidarity that sounds still actual and crisp, between globalization issues and new revolutionary winds blowing all around the world.

Next comes a brand new track, "Narciso e Boccadoro" (Narcissus and Goldmund). It's a delicate, dreamy ballad inspired by the 1930 novel of the same name by Swiss writer Hermann Hesse, also published as Death and the Lover. The novel tells the story of Goldmund, a young man who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as "the meaning of life", or rather, meaning for his life (quote from wikipedia). Here the ethereal interpretation by Mariolina Sala evokes the last words of the protagonist before passing away and the souvenir of his old friend Narcissus...

The following "La canzone del padre" (The father's song) is a long, complex track that was originally released on Biglietto per l'Inferno's second album. It's about the generation gap and tells the story of a difficult relationship between a father and his son. Eventually the rebellious son grows up and becomes a popular pop singer but there's no way to heal that broken relationship. The band really breathed a new life into this piece with a sparking arrangement and a passionate interpretation...

"Mente Solamente" (Mind, lonely mind, nothing but mind) is another piece from the second album that here is completely reinvented blending psychedelic elements and joyful folksy passages. It's an almost instrumental track that invites to let your thoughts run free for a while on the steps of a strange dance...

The long epic "L'amico suicida" (A suicidal friend) closes the album. It was originally released on the eponymous 1974 debut work and was written in memory of an old comrade-in-arms of Claudio Canali who took his life during the military service. This is another great interpretation able to stir emotions with renewed energies...

On the whole, this is a really good album that is absolutely worth listening to.

The debut by Biglietto Per L'Inferno is one of the most consistent albums of progressive rock that I've ever heard. Although it does not have the high peaks of my top favorite prog albums (Roller, Cherry Five, Zarusthra, Animals, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Red, Court of the Crimson King, Larks Tongues in Aspic, Drama, Close to the Edge, Thick as a Brick, Minstrel in the Gallery, There's the Rub), most true progressive rock albums--partially because of their daring nature--have some material that doesn't work. Yes occasionally gets a bit too "fa-la-la" happy, King Crimson sometimes loses me with their exploratory improvisations and I never want to eat Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast or go to San Tropez...and Yes, Crimson and Floyd are three of my all time favorite bands. On Biglietto Per L'Inferno's remarkable debut, I count about four (4) minutes of losing the thread/below par ideas, all of which are contained in one song, track 3, Una Strana Regina. Other than that stuff---and some singing that seems a bit shy of the pitch---this album casts a spell for its duration. That is rare.

The song Confessione is quite stunning symphonic/heavy prog, and probably the highlight, with lots of parts--loud and gentle--that all flow together, and it's reprise is very welcome at the end of the album, but the tune that really struck me the most was the lengthy L'Amico Suicida. An argument could be made that this is one of the most "progressive" songs ever, though of course that depends upon how you define progressive. The song progresses from one ending to the next, refusing to give up, in an almost comical manner at times, it shifts and turns and reinvents itself. There are about fifteen sections that could be the ending for this song, BUT owing the aforementioned consistency of BPL's musical material, it somehow works...even though many of these part have wild instrumentation shifts or huge tonal changes or both. Not a suite of mini-songs strung together (like 2112 or Supper's Ready), but a long, amazing and confounding run on sentence of a song, L'Amico Suicida is a marvel that refuses punctuation. Bravo.

Fans of Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, Banco (esp. their debut), and PFM (who never made an album that I like as much as this one) are encouraged to seek out Biglietto Per L'Inferno, and listeners who enjoy heavier, more rockin' things things like Thick as Brick and Salisbury will also get into this. This is top notch RPI, perhaps only bested by Roller, Cherry Five and Zarathustra.

What would have been Biglietto per L'Inferno's second album is anchored by two exceptionally strong pieces at the beginning and end, and what I would consider filler in the middle. Finally seeing release in 1992, Il Tempo Della Semina was recorded in 1974 and a causality of the Trident label's collapse; luckily a cassette copy survived and is the basis for this reissue. In some ways this album sounds better than the debut which is amazing considering the source material, although it can sound flat and lifeless at times. Biglietto still had some good ideas here resulting in twenty minutes of captivating material, and fifteen minutes of drudgery. I would rate Il Tempo Della Semina good, but non-essential for the casual prog fan. RPI collectors will want to seek it out for historical significance alone, as it has steadily been in print and is easy to come by.

The original 1992 Mellow CD is the only version I've heard, and will refer to that release; later issues apparently have a differing track sequence which may or may not alter the listening experience. The album begins with the explosive title track, which was also captured on the Live 1974 album with a slightly different arrangement. "Il Tempo Della Semina" picks up right where the first album left off, featuring plenty of articulate drumming, mounds of keyboard, heavy guitar, and of course the enigmatic voice of Claudio Canali. The singer sounds uncomfortably determined and cinematic, reminding me very much of Christian Decamps from Ange. Canali's mysterious vocals hide for much of the song, as the band takes front and center through various twists and turns. The sextuplet organ figure at the five minute mark is impossibly great and propels the group into overdrive, pausing only briefly to set up dynamic contrast. This trademark light-and-dark is what makes the debut so enjoyable, and that feeling continues throughout "Il Tempo Della Semina."

"Mente Sola - Mente" is a throwaway vaudeville piece that totally halts the album's momentum. "Vivi Lotta Pensa" recaptures quite a bit of that energy and the short song doesn't outstay its welcome. "L'arte Sublime di un Giusto Regnare" threatens to do just that, but luckily fades out before becoming overly laborious. "Solo Ma Vivo" is the best of these three shorter tracks, and gives the best indication of the direction in which Biglietto was heading - a more succinct, almost commercial one. At last the long "La Canzone Del Padre" completes the set, and strikes a balance between the band's earlier, heavier material and more lighthearted work. The song sounds like a cross between Banco and Jumbo to me, though it never really approaches either in terms of creativity or emotional value. The last minute of the song however is utterly brilliant and the payoff makes Il Tempo Della Semina more than worth the purchase price. Italian Prog fans will have a difficult decision to make in buying the album, because it's not a matter of "if," but a matter of "when."

Being part of the Trident label, Biglietto per l'Inferno had an unsuccesful end as most of the label's acts.A second album by the group was recorded in 1974 at the Regson studio in Milano and even a single was officially printed by Trident, but the label's fall during the year led to the demise of these Italians after some concerts in Italy and Switzerland.Of course neither the single nor the album were officially released and ''Il tempo della semina'' only saw the light some 18 years later thanks to the involvement of Mellow Records.

Compared to the debut, ''Il tempo della semina'' has less Heavy Prog moments and is closer to the Classic Italian Prog style with loads of symphonic textures and Classical interludes.There are still some incredible Hammond organ washes and hard guitars appearing in the music content of the band, but the more evident use of moog synths by Banfi recalls GENESIS at one point.The arrangements remain at a high level with some beautiful instrumental passages, featuring melodic synths, Classical-drenched piano parts and dreamy organ, while the guitars deliver nice psych-inclined soundscapes and the discreet use of flute offers some great richness to the compositions.The voice of Claudio Canali is still in great shape.Expressive, powerful and even warm when needed.Interplays are not absent.Not offered in a massive way, but when delivered the group prooved that it was one of the best acts of the Italian scene.Adventurous, dense and inticate instrumental pallettes of great quality.However it seems at moments that the heavier style of the debut suit better to the sextet, as ''Il tempo della semina'' lacks the tremendous power of Biglietto per l'Inferno's debut.

Towards the end of the 70's Baffo Banfi had a good solo career in the Electronic Music field with three albums, while drummer Mauro Gnecchi appeared later on Franco Mussida's album ''Racconti della tenda rossa''.In 2007 two of the band's original members, Gniecchi along with Giuseppe Cossa, reformed the group as Biglietto per l'Inferno.Folk and with the help of Banfi and some new musicians released the album ''Tra l'assurdo e la ragione'', containing reworkings of old songs.

One of the best Italian Prog bands ever, no question.''Il tempo della semina'' is another strong release by Biglietto per l'Inferno, being a great example of challenging Classic Italian Prog.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

The legacy of Biglietto per L'Inferno is illuminated with this live release. Any sound quality issues present are forgiven considering the document's historical value; what sounds like a cassette soundboard was lovingly restored and packaged by BTF in 2005, a service for which I am grateful. The bootleg quality does distract at times, but varies from very good to pretty bad as what appears to be a PA feed was mixed on the fly; what you see is what you get. Considering the source, Live 1974 is quite listenable and a fine companion piece to the indispensable debut - a good, but non-essential album for the prog community at large.

What must have been a new composition at the time, "Il Tempo della Semina" opens the set and explodes out of the speakers. Mauro Gnecchi's drums are mixed a bit loud and distort at times, and singer Claudio Canali's flugelhorn is exceedingly loud as well. The imbalance improves as the album proceeds, so don't let the initial track throw you off too much. A speedy version of "Ansia" continues the concert, showing off the band's live chops. We are also treated to our first sighting of Canali's recognizable voice, although it's somewhat buried in the mix. The opposite is true of "Confessione," as Canali blares over the rest of the group. A few bum notes from guitarist Marco Mainetti do not ruin this powerful rendition.

"Una Strana Regina" is a dual-keyboard showcase, and also features some proficient flute work by Canali. "Il Nevare" segues to the group's signature composition: "L'Amico Suicida" is an energetic closer and nearly improves upon the album version. This 14-minute opera is the primary feature of Live 1974 and its worth is palpable. The generous liner notes jokingly refer to Biglietto per L'Inferno as a "so-called minor band" but archival releases such as this shed light on a forgotten era we now have the fortune to revisit. Live 1974 is a second- or third-tier release to be sure, but its value cannot be underestimated or appreciated enough.