GRUPPO 2001

The album shows a two-faces band in a transitional period, starting from melodic and sensitive Pop Rock stylings and reaching the emerging Italian Prog sound with adventurous musicianship and solid interplays.The mass of the tracks keeps the romantic Songwriter approach of the late-60's and early-70's with the group coloring its sound with folky touches in the vein of ANGELO BRANDUARDI and excellent emotional vocal lines.So even these pieces are pretty great with notable acoustic passages, light keyboards and nostalgic flutes in evidence, always highlighted by the sensational voice of Salis.Additionally comparisons with the softer side of PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI's first steps are not outside reality either.The rest of the album is definitely more progressive with good electroacoustic arrangements, sometimes with very nice interplays between guitars, keyboards and flutes and soundwise somewhere between ALPHATAURUS and BLOCCO MENTALE.The vocals still play a major role but the instrumental textures are also great with orchestral movements, flute-based lines and smooth piano paces creating a majestic symphonic atmosphere.The opening ''Maggio'' and ''Era bello insieme a te'' are the best examples of this style with everchanging electric and acoustic guitars and some splendid keyboard work by Salis.

Salis parted ways with the group after the album, moving to a personal career, which contained several personal albums in a Singer/Songwriter style, first as Piersalis and as Piero Marras since the mid-70's.The rest of the team recorded a few more singles until the end of the 70's on the King, Mercury and La Strega labels.Drummer Tore Corazza appeared also in Effetto Notte's ''Il poliedro di Leonardo'', a project of Pierrot Lunaire's Gaio Chiocchio.

Soft Italian Symphonic/Folk Rock with melodic sensibilities.Very good album, characterized by some fine keyboard lines and tremendous vocal work.Warmly recommended.

Boy, one listen to the first minute of `Maggio' and your expectations will shoot to the skies! Opening with a darkly classical spiraling harpsichord, manic drumming, wild flute and fuzzy hammond purrs, soon electric guitar aims straight for the heavens, with spitfire bass careening around the background, punching through at every opportunity. Piero Salis' voice pleads to a jangling acoustic guitar accompaniment, and sublime group harmony vocals over fancy Mellotron washes carry us through to a slightly repetitive vocal outro with a rather uninspired fade-out. Bit of a shame it kind of fizzles out towards the end, but the journey there is well worth it!

Sounding almost like the Moody Blues, `Una Bambina...' is a mostly upbeat acoustic ditty with a very pleasing melody, soft flute and a heartfelt vocal, particularly striking on the chorus. `Era Bella' is a dreamy frail ballad with rising/falling synth patterns and murky Mellotron before the bass and drums kick in to propel the piece into a more grand spacey prog rocker. Good use of group harmonies again, none of the album can be faulted on that side of things. `Paessagio' is an underdeveloped breezy yet pressing lullaby that doesn't really go anywhere and sounds very incomplete.

`Volo D'Angelo' starts what was the second side off very promisingly with a dramatic and ambient introduction before being abruptly cut short to reveal a stirring acoustic ballad that jumps back and forth from placid to tense. Without warning an unexpected manic prog snap with ranting vocals, quirky furious winding guitar and aggressive bass breaks in. Despite a thin layer of Mellotron over the top for good taste, the falsetto vocals in this section are a little annoying, and the piece is rudely stopped by an obtrusive edit. Very unfocused and frustrating, because you can hear some really good ideas trying to break through.

`Padre Vincenzo' unsurprisingly opens with deep church organ before falling back into more of the same acoustic balladry, there's no denying it's very lovely with a beautiful vocal and grand Mellotron throughout the second half. Uninterestingly for a progressive album, much of this track almost falls into singer-songwriter clich's, which is not my thing at all. `Denise' is a sweet romantic piece perfect for a summers day, though I'm confused by the sudden switch to English lyrics! The title track has an almost two minute spoken word introduction before firing off a fast-paced run of warm keyboards, hurdling bass and a strangely Santana-inspired guitar solo. Too little too late, I'm afraid, for yet another confused and unbalanced number. `Sadanza' is a dizzying keyboard, drum and bass instrumental that essentially repeats the same pattern every few seconds for just over a minute. Kind of cool, but utterly useless and tedious in reality.

The bonus track on my AMS Mini-LP reissue is `Messagio', and it's a well produced upbeat pop track with a strong melodic hook and confident vocals. Not a trace of prog to be found in it though.

After Piero Salis left, the band sporadically released a few more singles right up until 1979. The only one I've heard is from 1978, containing two rather clich'd disco/funk influenced pieces - the instrumental track `Stratosfera', made more bearable by chunky bass playing and shimmering synths/electric piano, and `Chi Sei', a spacey sounding pop/rocker with strange bubbling synth effects and a stomping beat. Truth be told, they're pleasant but totally forgettable. Best just to stick to this album, unless anyone else can recommend any of the other singles? Clearly the more inspired days of the band were well behind them, and other than two or three great moments, even that would hardly be considered a solid recommendation.

The Italian RPI scene is filled with numerous `one and done' bands who released a sole album before finishing up, and although not on the same high quality level as single albums by RPI bands like Maxophone, Museo Rosenbach or Murple among many others, this album could still possibly be a worthy addition to an RPI collection on the strength of a couple of tracks. But in all honesty the real disadvantage is that there are so many better albums and artists worth investigating before considering this one.

So `L'Aba di Domani' was really one tiny step through the prog doorway, one constant big leap back into placid and accessible acoustic balladry with unfocused ideas of inventiveness. Hardly an essential RPI album, but maybe you'll find yourself more forgiving of the album's `split personality' and warm to many of the ideas going on here. Personally, I think I admire it more than truly enjoy it.

Three stars.

Gruppo 2001 is yet another RPI band from the classic period which unfortunately begins with a familiar line: The band was a "one-shot" and little is known about their story. They formed around 1971 in Sardinia and released several commercially aimed singles throughout the 1970s. In 1972 they released their lone album "L'alba di Domani" on the King label and the vinyl edition is a true rarity. In 1974 their keyboardist/vocalist Piero Salis left the group and has had a long solo career under the name Piero Marris, while the rest of the band continued without him for another few years. The peaceful gulls who grace both panels of the outer and inner sleeves are a good visual representation for the kind of experience you can expect with this lesser-known Italian album. It's not bad, but in my opinion it's pretty far from the best RPI. The generally softer and laid-back sound might compare with bands like Blocco Mentale, Reale Accademia di Musica, or sometimes Era di Acquario, though I prefer all three of those bands to Gruppo 2001.

The album is a mix of rather laid back acoustic numbers and more ambitious, prog rock stuff, never getting long winded. The longest track is the energetic opener "Maggio" at just over 6 minutes. Dual guitars, Hammond, flute, and what sounds like Harpsichord come flying out of the gate and the RPI fan's initial reaction will be "hell yeah!" Good drumming and grooving bass keep the introduction pumped. Some quiet breaks ensue with acoustic and fairly mediocre Italian vocals, but the dynamics are quite good initially. Were the whole album similar to the first track this would be one tasty disc, especially given the relatively early 1972 release. It closes with electric soloing over mellotron and backing vocals. When track 2 begins you get the second piece of the Gruppo 2001 puzzle. More than half of the album is more in the vein of "Una Bambina" with gentle acoustic guitar and vocals, with flute or mellotron and gentle backing, quite similar to Era di Acquario. These tracks are relaxing and enjoyable but the two contrasting styles make the album feel more like a collection of singles than a cohesive, well-planned epic. "Era Bello Insiema" is another highlight with a very long and relaxing groove of bass and keys similar to mellotron, in a pleasing, descending melody. Then the album slips into some Battisti-pop sounding stuff for a bit, though not as well done. There is one interesting manic-vocal arrangement in "Volo D'Angelo" but it can't quite redeem the song. "Padre Vincenzo" opens with gorgeous pipe organ before a finger-picked Simon/Garfunkel styled track emerges, sounding a bit like "The Boxer." There are some English vocals intruding on the sappy love ballad "Denise," a song that will not please many prog fans! The last three tracks are really a pretty dismal fizzle, much of the second half of the disc just lacks virility. Actually the first three songs here are quite good, the remaining 7 tracks leave something to be desired. The bottom line....a mixed bag.

I have the Korean mini-lp sleeve cd reissue which was limited to a run of 500 discs, so if you want to hear this rarity, act soon. But beware the quality of the sleeve itself is quite poor, nothing like the great Italian or Japanese stuff. Yes the cardboard is thick, but all three of the albums I got in this style are very prone to warping. Perhaps this was just my luck and they sat in a damp warehouse, I can't say. Fair album, mostly for the converted.

"Maggio" does sound different from the other tracks. It's all over the place as the tempo shifts often. Very proggy. Flute, guitar, keyboards and drums dominate. There are vocals when it settles. "Una Bambina...Una Donna" opens with acoustic guitar, bass and flute as reserved vocals join in. This is a beautiful tune. "Era Bello Insieme A Te" features keyboards and fragile vocals before it kicks in after 2 minutes to a fuller sound. On "Presaggio" we get vocal melodies before he eventually starts to sing. He does sound like Cat Stevens here.

"Volo D'an Gelo" opens with acoustic guitar and piano as vocals come in. It picks up quickly as drums join in. Contrasts continue. "Padre Vintenzo" builds until the vocals arrive then it settles again. It kicks back in after 2 minutes. "Denise" opens with organ before reserved vocals and acoustic guitar take over quickly. Powerful organ late to end it. "L'alba Di Domani" is mostly reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. "Sa Danza" opens with spoken words. Vocals, drums and organ before 2 minutes. Electric guitar a minute later. That's a nice change. "Messagio" is a short drums and keyboard piece.

Fans of Folk and RPI will i'm sure love this album. For me 3 stars is the right rating.

Okay, I know that most of you are probably writing this album off already, but please let me mention that the melodies during the more acoustic moments are wonderful and beautiful. The band occasionally returns to a busier form of Italian prog, but the gentle acoustic moments make-up about 70% of the LP. The quality of the melodies, and themes, remains high; this is the sort of music that tends to stick in your head days after playing the CD. As always, keep in mind that Italian LPs from the 70s were usually 30 to 35-minutes in length, and, apparently this CD is only available on a Japanese label, so it sells for around $24. If you don't mind opening your wallet, GRUPPO 2001 are worth checking out.