25 Classic Italian "Prog" Albums

I've been doing bit of an around the world tour of some of my favourite albums and regions for music, and here are 25 classics from Italy. While I would have loved to include favourites of mine like Ennio Morricone and Egisto Macchi, I decided to stick with that is included in PA for the list.

I know that some of my albums choices would not particular popular, but these are meaningful to me.

Please vote for up to five albums in the poll, or more if you really want to, and I encourage people to mention any of their favourite Italian albums. Of course there many other great acts and albums that I could have listed and also like. With so much great music, my particular tastes, and as much as I know or what I know, what may be an obvious omission to you may not be to me.

Alusa Fallax - Intorno alla mia cattiva educazione (1974)
Area - Caution Radiation Area (1974)
Arti & Mestieri - Tilt (1972)
Automat - Automat (1978)
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (1972)
Franco Battiato - Sulle corde di Aries (1973)
Dedalus - Dedalus (1973)
Elektriktus - Electronic Mind Waves (1976)
Fabio Frizzi L'aldilà / aka The Beyond (1981)
Goblin - Profondo Rosso (1977)
Franco Leprino - Integrati ... Disintegrati (1977)
Museo Rosenbach - Zarathustra (1973)
Opus Avantra & Donella Del Monaco - Opus Avntra (1974)
Le Orme - Felona e Sorona (1973)
Orchestra Njervudarov - Con le orecchie di Eros (1979)
Osanna - Palepoli (1972)
Perigeo - Genealogia (1974)
Pierrot Lunaire - Gudrun (1976)
Picchio dal Pozzo - Picchio dal Pozzo (1976)
Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) - Storia di un minuto (1972)
Reale Accademia di Musica - Reale Accademia di Musica (1972)
Semiramis - Dedicato a Frazz (1973)
Sensations' Fix - Portable Madness (1974)
Stormy Six - L'Apprendista (1977)
Ys - Il Balletto di Bronzo (1972)

Cristi wrote: Arti & Mestieri Osanna Semiramis

Fantastic choices, of course.

By the way, I prefer choosing trios as well and changed it from up to three albums to up to five just before I posted. There's something cool about trinities, holy or otherwise.

Edited by Logan - November 07 2024 at 13:09

Cristi wrote: Logan wrote: Cristi wrote: Arti & Mestieri Osanna Semiramis Fantastic choices, of course. By the way, I prefer choosing trios as well and changed it from up to three albums to up to five just before I posted. There's something cool about trinities, holy or otherwise. I was thinking to create a poll with Italian prog. I just need a bit of time.

Awesome, I'd love to see it whenever it goes up. Hoping we might get some metal, I have an itch for it right now, but whatever you want, of course.

My five favourite Italian albums are all by the same band. 

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - November 07 2024 at 13:22

Banco, Museo Rosenbach, Le Orme, Osanna, and Ys. I was interrupted by an hour of photosynthesis.

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Per Un Amico is imo the greatest Italian prog album of all time followed by Di Terra by Banco. Neither is on the list so I'll have to think about it. Maybe the first Banco or the first PFM. So many great ones! Le Orme are good too but I don't think they hold up as well as Banco and PFM.

I know that for many people Per un amico is their favourite PFM. It was my first PFM and I was blown away by it. It is a fantastic album, but I, not that unusually, prefer Storia di un minuto to it, as well as, more unusually, L'isola di niente (I have really loved "Via Lumiere" of L'isola). Anyway, all three of those PFM albums are excellent. For one who is particulalry into Symphonic Prog I would expect Per un amico to be the favourite. I like the folky-ness of the debut and the jazzy-ness of L'isola...

As for BdMS, I love the first three albums: the self-titled, Darwin! and Io sono nato libero. I thought about going with Darwin!. I actually don't have the Banco ...di terra album.

Le Orme was the first Italian band I got into.   Collage, Uomo di pezza, Felona e Sorona and Contrappunti is, I think, a terrific run of albums.

Edited by Logan - November 07 2024 at 14:40

Not that it really feels right in a list of personal favourites where I would happily vote for all of them, but for five I will choose:

Alusa Fallax - Intorno alla mia cattiva educazione
Area - Caution Radiation Area
Franco Battiato - Sulle corde di Aries
Franco Leprino - Integrati ... Disintegrati
Pierrot Lunaire - Gudrun
Picchio dal Pozzo - Picchio dal Pozzo

Oh wait, that's six, I forgot to count the fingers on my right hand instead of the fingers on my left hand. ;)

Psychedelic Paul wrote: My five favourite Italian albums are all by the same band.... [The Trip].

Good thing I didn't try counting the toes on my feet, then I might have really Tripped up. I enjoy The Trip as well, by the way.

From the list:

Goblin – Profondo Rosso*
Fabio Frizzi – L'Aldilà
Il Balletto di Bronzo – Ys
PFM – Storia di un Minuto
Arti E Mestieri – Tilt


From Goblin, I enjoy Roller, Il Fantastico Viaggio and Zombi (Dawn of the Dead) more. But I love nearly everything by Goblin, so...

Logan wrote: While I had expected votes for Frizzi and Goblin from you, I had thought that you might also go with Automat. :)

I went back and forth with a few in the #4-5 slots. It's chock-full of killer sounds, but "Pulsar" is such a rip of Vangelis' "Pulsar," disco-style. It kind of bugs me, but it's listenable just because of those sounds! I'd definitely stick it in 6th place for the last two tracks (I like Side B better than Side A).

I picked five

Il Balletto Di Bronzo
Museo Rosenbach
Dedalus
Franco Battiato
Le Orme