CONTAMINAZIONE

A band that mixes Rock and Classic musical usually falls into the cheesy category, however this is not the case when the Italian band "Il Rovescio Della Medaglia" (Eng Trans: The other side of the coin") joined forces with the Argentinian composer Luis Enriquez Bacavlov (New Trolls - Concerto Grosso and Osanna) to execute their third album: Contaminazione.

A very diverse group of talented musicians like: Enzo Vita, Stefano Urso, Gino Campoli, Pino Ballarini and Franco Di Sabbatino (Il Paese dei Baocchi), produced one of the top 10 Progressive Italian albums of all time, according to Prog Archives.com. It's an album that was inspired (or a homage) by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" work. It blends 17th century classical styles motifs and orchestral instruments with "hard-prog" elements, with a very present sound. The production and sound quality of the album are also superb, I'd say that beats many famous local bands of the time.

According to Italian Prog.com review, "This time the band was being renowned for their powerful performances, always played at the loudest possible volume and helped by a unique sound system. This is what the Contamination LP liner notes said about it (originally written in English, mistakes and all...): "Their instrumentation is among the moste interesting in Europe. The 6000 watt Mack vocal equipment is quadrophonic and is equivalent to 36 track amplifiers. The console table is really a portable recording studio with filters, compressors, etc. The guitar, the battery and the keyboards have 900 watt amplifiers. The keyboards consist of a vertical B Hammond organ, a harmonium, an eminent for the reproduction of strings, two VCS synthesizers, a 200 Harp [it was probably an ARP], and two mini moog synthesizers. The lighting equipment is also important. There are 50 spotlights which produce colors and special effects. On a special screen behind the group, slides and films are projected to produce abstract musical effects."

Truly, another masterpiece in my collection and one of my favorites