SEVENTIES ITALIAN PROGROCK:

                                (GLI) ALLUMINOGENI — Scolopendra

- Here's an often overlooked gem from the Italian Seventies prog! The seven compositions on this debut album are a very dynamic and alternating blend of Sixties, blues, rock and classic featuring excellent work on the Hammond organ and also great Italian vocals and raw electric guitar. The one moment you are carried away by bombastic a church organ sound, the other there is a bluesy electric guitar or pleasant and warm Sixties atmosphere, very exciting!

                                       ALPHATAURUS — Alphataurus

- Alphataurus evokes very pleasant memories becaue this is such a captivating album. Most of the tracks are long featuring great work on guitar and keyboards (mainly Hammond and Moog), the vocals (with a theatrical undertone) are strong and the rhythm-section sounds powerful and dynamic. Enjoy this wonderful blend of rock, blues, symphonic and psychedelia with hints from ELP and Uriah Heep.

                                           APOTEOSI - Apoteosi

- This is a fine one-shot Italian progrock band from the Seventies. The five tracks sound melodic and alternating, the female vocals are wonderful. In the mellow pieces you hear a lot of strings, piano and flute, this often gives the music strong classical overtones. The more up-tempo interludes contain a strong harmony between the keyboards and guitar, the solowork is also very worth listening, the guitar has some psychedelic hints. This album has many beautiful moments, thanks to the subtle and inventive approach from these good musicians.

                                         (IL) BALLETTO DI BRONZO-Ys

- In my opinion this is one of the most original Italian progrock albums from the Seventies but I'm sure that the music will not be everybody's cup of tea because of the complexity and variety of styles: a bombastic intro featuring a choir, psychedelic organ, ominous vocals, raw guitarplay, celestial Mellotron, propulsive drums, lots of surprising musical ideas, many accellarations and shifting moods and the style varies from jazzrock or avant-garde to symphonic or classical. If you are up to a stunning musical progrock adventure, this one is yours!

                    BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO - Seguendo Le Tracce

- This live-CD from 1975 by the Italian progrock legend BANCO showcases the band at their artistic pinnacle. Their sound is based upon the magnificent, omnipresent duo- keyboardplay (organ, synthesizers, acoustic – and electric piano, strings) by the Nocenzi brothers and the powerful voice from Francesco Di Giacomo, loaded with pathos. The tracking-list is great featuring “R.I.P.” (beautiful interlude delivering moving piano, vocals and acoustic guitar), “L’Alberto Del Pane” (splendid varied keyboards), “La danza dei gandi Rettilli” (a swinging blend of symphonic, blues and jazz), “Passagio”, “Non mi rompete” (pleasant acoustic guitarplay), “Dopo … niente e piu lo stesso (wonderful sumptuous keyboards and great vocals), “Traccia II” (fine acoustic pianoplay along trumpet and synthesizer) and an extended version (at about 26 minutes) of “Metamorfosi” (including a long and virtuosic piano solo and lots of exciting keyboards and shifting moods). If you do not own records from BANCO, this one is a perfect start. I have a lot of records from BANCO in my collection but this will be my favorite!

                                 BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO - Live 1974

- Biglietto Per L'Inferno is an interesting progrock band from the early Seventies featuring members who play a wide range of instruments: flute, flugelhorn, Gemorgan, Minimoog, Hammond organ, piano and acoustic – and electric guitars along drums and bass. As you would expect the music from Biglietto Per L’Inferno (Italian for Ticket To Hell) is varied and contains many shifting moods. The first song consists of a brass section, organ runs and fiery electric guitar. The other five tracks has echoes from Jethro Tull including cheerful rhythms, mellow organ and lots of flute play. The Italian vocals sound inspired. The recording quality is like a good bootleg and the compositions has more the structure of a jam. If you like Jehtro Tull and the early Italian progrock, this CD is recommended.

                                        CELESTE – Principe Di Un Giorno

- This album from 1976 is a very wonderful one but don’t expect the usual exciting keyboard excertions, complex breaks or unexpected shifting moods. No, the music on the seven elaborate compositions sound quite mellow and laidback with some Medieval and jazzy influences and fine work on acoustic guitars, flute, saxophone and often a Mellotron sound that evokes the great days of early King Crimson!

                                         CHERRY FIVE-Cherry Five

-  Cherry Five included three musicians who later founded Goblin.The music on Cherry Five’s eponymous album from ’75 is very YES-oriented but the keyboards sound more virtuosic than bands like DRUID, ENGLAND or MIRTHRANDIR. The album is a real treat for all progrock lovers: strong and fluent compositions, very melodic and flowing with many good ideas. The emphasis is on the keyboards (Hammond organ and vintage synthesizers), especially the ‘Tronmaniacs’ will be delighted! This is one of the gems of Italian progrock from the Seventies, a bit overlooked due to the attention for PFM, Le Orme, Banco and Goblin.

                         (I) DIK DIK-Suite Per Una Donna Assolutamente Relativa

- This is the only progressive album I Dik Dik (the name is derived from an African gazelle) made but it is an acclaimed one by the progrock aficionados and progheads. The 11 compositions sound melodic and alternating, from folky to bombastic prog. Although every musician plays very well the focus is on the magnificent keyboard play: sparkling piano, swinging clavinet, sensational synthesizer flights, strong organ floods and majestic Mellotron eruptions. If you like the wonderful sound of the Sixties (warm vocals, acoustic guitars, organ) blended with the progressive sound from the early Seventies (The Moody Blues, The Strawbs), this is a cd to check out!!

                                   FORMULA 3 - Sognando e Risognando

- This third album is my favorite one, mainly because it has the most symphonic rock climates of all four records. The Hammond organ is omnipresent, it often evokes Keith Emerson but also Deep Purple, due to the fiery electric guitarplay. The music is compelling and contains some propulsive accellarations featuring organ and electric guitar. At some moments Formula Tre goes back to the atmosphere of their two albums with a more psychedelic attitude (sweeping drums and ominous keyboards).

                          GOBLIN - Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark

- I've never been a fan from Goblin but I appreciate this album very much because of its pure symphonic rock sound. It contains for the first time vocals and the sound is great. The eight compositions feature strong and beautiful interplay between a fiery and flowing electric guitar and sumptuous keyboards (lots of organ and some flashy synthesizers) with echoes from a certain Keith Emerson. Some songs are different and even contain rock and roll elements. Many progheads consider this album as the best Goblin ever produced.

                                          JACULA - Anno Demoni

- This is one of the weirdest Italian progrock albums from the Seventies. The prime mover is Antonio Bartoccetti (guitar, bass, vocals), his almost hallucinating compositions are based upon seances and the cooperation of a medium! Female singer Fiamma Dello Spirito (also flute and violin) sounds like a nice witch, keyboardplayer acts like the alter ego of Christopher Lee with his chilling church organ sound and medium Franz Parthenzy seems to come straight from hell. If you like horror and progrock and you want to sublimate some satanic urges, this CD could be a deadly serious experience!

                                     LATTE E MIELE - Aquile E Scoiattoli

- Latte E Miele is an acclaimed Italian band from the Seventies. On their first two albums we can enjoy cascades of shifting moods, breaks, accellarations and the climates changes from classical overtones to ELP-like keyboard work or even heavy metal. This third album is the most accessible one, I trace echoes from the early Genesis (especially the keyboards). The long and impressive composition "Pavane" (almost 25 minutes) reminds me of The Enid, Sky and Craft. If you prefer more complex and adventurous prog, I prefer the first two albums to start with but if you like more melodic prog, this is one to discover.

                   LOCANDA DELLE FATE - Forse Le Lucciole Non Si Amano Più

- In the other reveiws I read a lot of references but in my opinion Genesis is the most significant, especially Banks-like organplay and Hackett-like guitarwork, even the flute reminds me of Peter Gabriel. The music is drenched in the symphonic rock tradition from the Seventies, delivering very melodic and beautiful songs but the atmosphere is often very mellow. No doubt, this is very good Italian progrock but to me it sounds a bit too subdued.

                                  MUSEO ROSENBACH - Zarathustra

- This album had such euphoric reviews that I decided to order it in the early Nineties. Well, very soon I was mesmerized by the splendid title track, a 20 minute killer composition with echoes from GENESIS and KING CRIMSON. The foundation of this wonderful and moving song is a beautiful theme (like “Firth Of Fifth” from GENESIS) that returns in different climates (from dreamy to heavy and bombastic) and with different colouring of the instruments. The interplay between the electric guitar, keyboards (Hammond organ, synthesizer and piano), rhythm- section (propulsive and perfectly timed drumming) and strong and expressive Italian vocals is very captivating. It all creates a constant tension, topped by majestic eruptions of the Mellotron. These moments gives the title track the same compelling impact as it does on the early albums from KING CRIMSON, goose bumps all over my body! The other three (shorter) tracks sound flowing and powerful with a lot of Hammond organ and guitar play with echoes from Steve HACKETT. For me this CD is the absolute highlight of the lush and varied Italian prog rock scene in the Seventies. A MUST!

                                   NEW TROLLS - Searching For A Land

- This Italian progrock band has made a lot of albums, my favorite is this 2-LP (released on a 1-CD), what an exciting music! The tracks are very alternating: Bowie-like vocals in "Searching", warm twanging acoustic guitar in "Giga", splendid Mellotron waves in "In St. Peter's day", beautiful classical inspired pianoplay in "Once that I preayed" and raw and heavy rock with hints from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple in "To Edith" (powerful Hammond and fiery electric guitar) and and "Lying here" (Ian Gillan-like vocals). Only few albums sounds so varied and captivating, this one deserve more attention!

                                           NUOVA IDEA - Clowns

- This is Nuova Idea their final effort, to me it sounds as their best one. The line-up has been changed, the music delivers a raw organ -and guitarsound that only has a few mellow moments. The vocals are powerful but sometimes a bit too screamy. The tiltetrack is the most cativating and alternating composition. Due to some experimental ideas (featuring brass instruments) Nuova Idea is not always a band with an accesible approach. Nonetheless, this is one of the better releases from the Italian progrock label Mellow records.

                                             ORME, LE - Collage

- After two psychedelic/Sixties inspired albums this third record was a true progrock gem. The 7 compositions features great Hammond organ play (Keith Emerson, early Jane and Ramses), very distinctive and warm vocals (with a melancholical undertone), some acoustic guitar and a dynamic rhythm-section. A very good element in the music from Le Orme is the tension between the mellow and bombastic climates. And Le Orme delivers a lot of musical surprises like a kind of Blackmore/Gillan-Page/Plant duel from the bass and Hammond organ in "Cemiento armato", wonderful Hammond organ work (from psychedelic to church organ) in "Evasione totale" and exciting interplay between organ and drums in "Era inverno". This album is not as refined like "Felona e sorona", "Uomo di pezza" or "Contapuntti" but it is very worth listening.

                                             ORME, LE - Felona e Sorona

- During the Seventies Le ORME turned from a very ELP inspired band into a more refined prog rock formation with a distinctive sound. The concept-album “Felona E Sorona” is their acclaimed ‘magnum opus’ featuring nine alternating and elaborated compositions with lush and varied keyboards (piano, organ, synthesizers and string-ensemble), wonderful changing climates and a strong and dynamic rhythm-section. The final part is one of the most compelling ‘grand finales’ I’ve ever heard: slow and fat Moog runs, repetitive organ chords, a powerful drumbeat, again slow and fat Moog sounds, then a propulsive rhythm- section, culminating in a very moving sumptuous climated featuring dazzling Moog flights and great string-sounds, what a mind blowing experience. This is the amazing Italians Seventies prog rock at its best!

                                                    LE ORME-Live Orme

- If I take a look at the Italian section of my progrock collection, it’s a battle between PFM and Le Orme to be honoured as my favorite band. I tend to choose (early) Le Orme because of their splendid compositorial qualities, their huge musical skills, their great dynamics and their perfect blend of technical and emotional elements. In the mid-Nineties I traced this 2-live-CD (at the level of a good bootleg) in the catalogue of Musea, the known French progrock label/mail-order service. Eventually it turned out to be both one of my most expensive orders (almost US $ 45,-) as one of my most precious Italian progrock documents because “Live Orme” contains great renditions of all the ‘classics’ like “Contrappunti”, “Maggio”, “Gioco di bimba”, “Era inverno”, “Truck of fire”, “Cementi armato”, “Collage” and the surprising (but unfortunaltely short) covers from Led Zeppelin (“Whole lotta love”) and Jethro Tull (“Aqualung”). I’m delighted about the wonderful changing atmospheres, from warm and melancholic (featuring the great, very distinctive Italians vocals and pleasant acoustic guitar) to compelling and bombastic in the vein of The Nice and ELP, what a stunning keyboardplay delivering lots of exciting Hammond organ and a dynamic rhytm-section.

                                           PANNA FREDDA - Uno

- This is an Italian one-shot band that made only one album entitled "Uno". You don't need an Italian dictionary to understand that this means 'one' but to my surprise Panna Fredda showcases two faces on their album! The first and final part features swelling and moving organ play and raw guitar work, to me it sounds a bit like early Eloy. It all sounds very sumptuous, mainly due to the heavy Hammond organ chords. But halfway this album Panna Fredda changes their sound to very mellow featuring acoustic guitar, sensitive vocals and medieval-like keyboards, wonderful. An unique album!

 PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM) - Storia Di Un Minuto

- The debut album “Storia di un minuto” has strong echoes from early King Crimson, especially the ‘feminine’ side. In general the seven compositions (all around the 5 minutes) contain beautiful and mellow climates featuring lots of acoustic guitar, soaring keyboards and warm vocals, interfered by bombastic Mellotron drenched eruptions and fat synthesizers. At other moments you can hear shifting moods with fiery electric guitar and swinging rhythms. The highlight is the track “Dove-Quando Part Two” delivering a great variety and a wide range of instruments, from flute, piano and violin to organ and electric guitar. It's only 34 minutes but i prefer quality above quantity, this is a classic album so I continue the five star party!!

       PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM) - Per Un Amico

- On the second album “Per un amico” PFM has even matured their sound: wonderful symphonic rock featuring acoustic instruments like the piano, violin, acoustic guitar and flute along electrified instruments like the Mellotron and the Minimoog synthesizer. The climates are more frequently changing including up-tempo rhyhtms with electric guitar or a surprising church-organ intermezzo. The songs are very melodic and harmonic and the vocals are powerful and expressive. Another classic and again five stars!!

    PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM) - Photos Of Ghosts

- On their third album we read that Pete Sinfield from King Crimson produced this record and also delivered the lyrics, not really a coincidence if you listen to the main influence for PFM! All songs sound strong and lush and are tasteful elaborated, it sounds as a pleasant mix of folk, classical and symphonic. The violinplay is excellent! A great song is the long “Il barchetto”, it contains lots of majestic Mellotron and sparkling classical piano work. I agree with the reviewers who wished that this album was sung in their native and more expressive language, so one star less than a masterpiece!!

      PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM) - L'isola di niente

- On the fourth album “L’isola di niente” (the English version is entitled “The world became the world”) I trace again an obvious influence from early King Crimson, and again the ‘feminine’ side in the vein of tracks like “Epitaph” and “In the court of the crimson king” featuring bombastic Mellotron and Moogs along folky parts with acoustic instruments. Another influence is from Yes: powerful and propulsive bass guitar and guitars and keyboards with echoes from Howe and Wakeman. And some climates even contain jazzrock-like music, so there’s a lot of varied styles on this album. Although at some moments my attention slips away, this album has many strong songs, especially the compelling mellotron-drenched titletrack, goose bumps!!

PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI - P.F.M. Live in U.S.A. (aka Cook)

- This CD is a registration of a concert from 1974 while touring in the USA, to me it’s a perfect compilation of their best work and showcases the band at its pinnacle. PFM starts with “Four Holes In The Ground”: a propulsive rhythm and a catchy melody, delivering fat Minimoog synthesizer runs, some fiery electric guitar and impressive Hammond organ and majestic Mellotron waves in the mellow interludes. The English vocals sound warm and the interplay between the skillfull musicians is great. Next is “Dove ... Quando” with a classical/jazzy intro on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, turning into a duet from sparkling piano and beautiful Italian vocals. “Just Look Away” has a splendid acoustic guitar intro (featuring elements like tremolo – and sensational rhythm guitar), followed by twanging acoustic guitar, soft Minimoog flights and warm English vocals. The build-up is great with Hammond and flute and a closing section with again tremolo guitar. The ‘crowd-pleaser’ “Celebration” is a cheerful and catchy composition, delivering spectacular Minimoog runs and swirling interplay. The ‘grand finale’ includes the moving final part of “The World Became The World”, enjoy the Mellotron floods! Then “Mr. Nine Till Five”, a track with PFM at their best with the distinctive interplay between flute, Moog and violin. The final song “Alta Loma Five Till Nine” includes a long and bluesy guitar solo with a strong build-up, supported by violin- Mellotron, featuring howling and biting licks, superb! The second part has a moving violin soli, culminating in a version of Rossini’s piece “William Tell Overture” with virtuosic play on the Moog synthesizer and violin, what a way to say goodbey. This is my favorite PFM CD!

      QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA - Quella Vecchia Locanda

- The debut-album belongs to the top of the acclaimed Italian progrock from the Seventies, it contains eight beautiful and original compositions. They are a bit short but it's such a splendid blend of folk, classical and symphonic. The music is build around the magnificent (inter)play from the sparkling piano, compelling violin and cheerful flute but some guitarplay (acoustic and electric) adds a pleasant dimension to the very warm atmosphere on this album. Simply wonderful!!

   ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA (RDM), IL - Contaminazione

- The third album from RDM is their best, it features lots of Keith Emerson inspired Hammond organ play. Along with the propulsive an dynamic rhythm-section, it evokes also TRACE and EKSEPTION (featuring Dutch pride Rick van der Linden). The instrumentation is very varied including violin, harpsichord, heavy guitar, a violin-section, piano, classical guitar and church organ. At some moments the music sounds a bit freaky or experimental but in general this is wonderful melodic Seventies based progrock. The Italian vocals are beautiful and have a warm sound. By the way, this album is a kind of tribute to Mr. JS BACH, especially the composition “Toccata in D-Fuga”.

                                RUSTICHELLI & BORDINI - Opera Prima

- Rustichelli & Bordini was a duo who made this wonderful album that turned out to be their swan song. The cover picture is very original: a nude and bald heavy weight man who tenderly holds a baby in his arms. To me this is a metaphor for the music, ranging from warm and tender with soaring violin-Mellotron and classical inspired piano to powerful and swinging with lots of Hammond. The interplay between the keyboards (Hammond, Mellotron, classical orchestrations, piano and synthesizers) is wonderful and the rhythm-section sounds great along emotional vocals in some parts.

                                                       SALIS-DOPO

- The name of this Italian progrock band is derived from the two Salis brothers, Francesco and Antonio. The music on their fourth album from 1979 sounds like dynamic symphonic jazzrock and reminds me of the splendid Spanish band Mezquita, it’s also based upon captivating interplay between fiery and powerful guitar and vintage keyboards, including a Steinway Grand piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, organ, Minimoog, ARP string-ensemble. The level of the musicians is very high, we can enjoy strong soli on guitar and keyboards an dmany captivating moments: exciting shifting moods and virtuosic piano play in the titletrack, excellent guitarwork in the vein of Jan Akkerman (Focus) in “Peccato Che .. !”, a Spanish climate featuring strong vocals, howling electric guitar and orchestral keyboards in “El diablo” and swirling Fender Rhodes piano and fiery electric guitar in “Inquinamento”.

                                        SEMIRAMIS - Dedicato a Frazz

- Semiramis made only one album, what a pity because this Italian band sounded so strong and promising. The album contains pleasant and melodic compositions featuring a lot of strings and fiery electric guitarplay. The parts with twanging acoustic guitars and mellow keyboards has obvious echoes from early Genesis. Highlights are some spectacular breaks delivering organ and propulsive guitar riffs, a flashy synthesizer solo and swelling keyboards, followed by a church-organ-guitar. This emphasizes how original Semiramis sounded, this album is one of the most acclaimed Italian progrock gems from the Seventies, discover why!

               SENSITIVA IMMAGINE - E Tutto Comincio Cosi

- Almost every inch of this CD (transferred from 1976 tapes) has the spirit of the early GENESIS, only the Italian vocals let you realise that this album is not a kind of ‘lost “Selling England By The Pound” tapes’! Even a live picture on the inside of this digipack (I own the Japanese Melos label version) looks like the early GENESIS. The six compositions (the Musea re-release has three bonus tracks) sound pleasant and melodic featuring warm vocals, great sensitive electric guitar work and lush keyboards. They don’t have the elaborate compositional skills of the other famous GENESIS-inspired band NEUSCHWANSTEIN but I’m sure SENSITIVA IMMAGINE will not be a disappointment if you want to enjoy the 70-77 GENESIS-era.

                                      TRIADE - La Storia di Sabazio

- This is an obscure Italian trio that made only one album. Their music is keyboard driven progrock with strongs hints from the classical music and ELP (organ and synthesizers). The combination of the bombastic keyboards and the acoustic guitar sounds very pelasant. The pieces featuring strings and rhythm-guitar are really breathtaking. The running time is just over half an hour but here you can say: quality above quantity!

   I hope you like it, now you know why there should be a separate Italian prog section