CLAUDIO FUCCI

Claudio Fucci is an Italian musician born in 1952 who began writing songs in the 1960s before becoming involved in the 1970s Italian scene. After collaborating with Come Le Foglie and Banco he released this self-titled album in 1974 on the Trident label. Among the musicians on the album is the keyboardist Dario Piana with whom Fucci would work on the Le Mani project which you can also read about on this site. Produced by Fucci's friend Eugenio Finardi, "Claudio Fucci" is really a sweet little gem of an album. While frankly not as progressive or groundbreaking as other bands on the scene, the album could more accurately be described as somewhat folk-rock with an Italian Symphonic Prog influence, especially on the latter half of the album.

The first three tracks are almost pure unapologetic "singer-songwriter" exquisitely handled with lovely acoustic playing, slide guitar, keyboards, and hand percussions. It is on the 4th track "Viaggia la Speranza" when the ISP/RPI fans will begin to get interested. The 7 minute long piece is tasty right off the bat with an upfront bass guitar and a mysterious vibe, distant piano notes falling in the background, and again some fine acoustic work. Soon the mellotron flows into the song along with backing harmonies and we approach pastoral Ital-prog bliss. Halfway through the electric guitar kicks in with some lead play over the mellotron and classical guitar with an increasingly louder drums and bass. Fucci's singing voice is certainly not the most powerful in Italian Prog but it is certainly pleasant and works well in the songs. Side 2 splits the difference again with variety. "Loro Sanno Dove" is a gorgeous, sparse number as fragile as something from Joni Mitchell's early era, while "Notte" features CSN style harmonies over what I believe is a trio of dueling acoustics, quite impressive. It's hard to convey for me just how pretty some of these sections are, very lovely. On the flip side is the more upbeat "Tutto cio che hai" with great piano work, passionate vocals, soaring melody and some feisty electric solos. The album closes with the haunting "Giusto sig K" beneath more mellotron and an unusual 180 in the song's final minute where they abandon the track for a little spontaneous improvisation. A fitting closing to this unique little album. I really like this debut and recommend it easily to fans of the lighter, more melodic Italian prog such as Reale Accademia di Musica or Errata Corrige. It is not however an essential title for the adventurous types who are looking for bombast and edge. 7/10

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