CAPSICUM RED

After going through the trials and tribulations of dealing with a record label looking to cash in, CAPSICUM RED turned to the Italian prog scene for inspiration and recorded its one and only album. Very confusing to say the least. To make matters worse, APPUNTI PER UN'IDEA FISSA suffered one of the most botched production jobs of any album i've really ever heard with the mix too low for some parts and way too high for other. Despite all these flaws the band delivers a beautiful rock interpretation of Beethoven's "Pathetica" as the entire A?side of the album which fit into the spirit of the symphonic prog universe that was blossoming all around Italy. Similar to bands like New Trolls, CAPSICUM RED did an excellent job of rocking the classics despite all the obstacles and awful recording results.

The B?side of the album features four additional tracks that also suffered from the same abysmal production job. These tracks are shorter but still delved into the complexities of Italian prog splendor. Tracks like "Rabbia & Poesia" display a clear knack for nailing that romantic symphonic prog sound Italian style. Lead vocalist Red Canzian's vocals sound a lot like the more successful bands such as PFM or Banco and the instrumental workouts on the album are just as sophisticated and the album ends with the excellent "Corale" which showcases all the classic Italian prog trademarks: dramatic build up with complex fills and licks thrown in as the tension builds and a feisty rock accompaniment to symphonic atmospheric backing. The track also features a killer guitar lead performance which was fairly energetic for 1972.

Later reissues also feature the two earlier singles and their B?sides however they are less compelling than this album itself as they were designed to be more pop oriented for hit potential however if you want the entire output of the band including these singles then the reissue that has been remastered as best it could be is definitely a boost up from the original vinyl edition which ironically sells for quite a hefty price despite being an inferior product. This is one of those great lost opportunity bands of the Italian prog scene but guitarist Bruno Canzian better known as Red Canzian would go on to have a successful career in the progressive pop band I Pooh. All in all if you can't stand bad production values then you should give this one a miss but if you can handle imprecations for the sake of enjoying the compositions then this is as essential as any great Italian prog release because the musicians were above average in their performances.

3.5 stars but what the hey, i love the music so i'll round up even though the production is gawd awful

By 1972 the style of the band had changed dramatically, incorporating elements from the emerging Progressive Rock wave and the album is highlighted by the 15-min. eponymous epic of side A.The track is very much structured as a Classical suite for rock instrumentation, drawing influences from early GENESIS and ELP, but lacking the passion and consistent composing of the English masters.Nice organ parts with a Classical edge, even nicer electric guitar chops, piano interludes and calm acoustic atmospheres complete a track of decent quality.The flipside contains four more tracks but the gears here are really down with structures being built almost entirely around Bolzan's organ and Steffan's piano with a very soft atmosphere, which lacks any kind of energy.The closing ''Corale'' contains some beautiful electric guitar parts and dominant organ, much in the likes of the opening suite.

Capsicum Red's career was condemned to end by this point with Canzian joining Osage Tribe for a while and I Pooh shortly after.The Vinyl Magic CD reissue features also all four tracks from the band's singles, yet their value is really poor, being in a straightforward rock style with mediocre songwriting.

Not among the better examples of early Italian Prog.A bit dated, a bit uneven and certainly inconsistent, still the sidelong suite will please fans of Italian Prog and light Classical Progressive Rock...2.5 stars.

'Tarzan' present a scholastic English in the lyrics but it is not scholastic for music. That for me is also extreme interesting for a true Progster. 'Tarzan' is a Rock song with savage moments, latin percussions and aggressive guitar in the end of the song.

'Shangrj-la' is a song in Santana style but more commercial. But, at the end, this is the only real difference between 'Shangrj-la' and Santana.

Also this single is part of 'Tarzan' compilation (as 1st and 2nd song) and as bonus tracks is part of BTF remastered version of 'Appunti...'.

In fact this single is recorded by Red Canzian with studio sessionman!

This single is present in 'Tarzan' compilation and as bonus track in BTF 'Appunti Per Un'Idea Fissa' remastered version.

'Ocean' is a enjoyable POP/ Rock song sung in poor English.

'She's A Stranger' is a good POP song. I remember that I was a young boy when I heard for the first time this song in a commercial radio station. Good music (acoustic) and good sung, as the flute solo. As POP song 'She's A Stranger' present a good thickness, melody and arrangements!

But, in my opinion, this single is good also as 'Appunti...' bonus tracks or in 'Tarzan' compilation.

This one is pretty far down the list for those working on an Italian collection. It has its moments but also suffers from some major problems. The sound quality and production on this album are just...freaking..awful. And I have the remastered recent reissue! If this one is the cleaned-up version I'd hate to hear the old LP. Normally I can get past poor sound but for some reason it really wrecks my ability to get into this one.

So to the music. The first track is Beethoven's "Patetica" and this is the highlight of the album. It is a decent though not phenomenal marriage of rock and classical music themes with average musicianship. "Lo Spegnifuoco" is a rather awkward two minute throwaway, sounding like an "idea" that bands come up with and put to tape for later investigation. "Equivoco" began side 2 on the original vinyl version and starts with some nice piano and vocals and the band will kick in with a heavy edge about half-way through. "Rabbia & Poesia" features nice classical guitar and the barely audible vocals that you can't turn up because if you do the heavy parts will blow you out of the room. So you're stuck either babysitting the volume or not hearing the quiet parts. It's too bad because this is a rather nice song. "Corale" sounds a little like a high school cover band playing a backyard kegger that they recorded on a boombox.

The bonus tracks are older pop songs that ironically have better sound quality than the album, but are really pretty insignificant to prog fans.

If this sounded better and was mixed better it might be a completely different album for me. I do hear some promise in places but I just can't get past the production. Thus I have to go 2 stars here and say this is for Italian fans only and Beethoven fans interested in hearing the first song.

A bit like some old parmaggiano that has not aged well at all, due to rot and mildew, CR's album is anything but essential and is likely to appeal to Italian completists only. Two stars are just as high as I could ever go for such a sub-amateurish album. The Artis reissue (the one I heard) is dubbed from the vinyl, which surely does not help, either.