YS (ENGLISH VERSIONS)

There is some misunderstanding about what exactly this release is. When Gianni Leone left Citta' Frontale and joined Il Balletto di Bronzo, they soon wanted to take some new material into the studio. They went to Polygram studios in Milan in 1971 and recorded part of their masterwork, Ys. The band wanted to record in English--I am sure they realized the incredible boundaries their composition would push, and thus wanted to ensure widespread release. They recorded at least two parts of Ys, which we have here on this mini album. Polygram heard these songs and realized that they had a monster on their hands. However, the studio forced the band to record in Italian, eventually producing the masterpiece Ys which was released in 1972.

So what we have here on this CD, released by Mellow in 1993 and now out of print, is the two demo portions recorded in English that preceded the final version of Ys. These songs were recorded in 1971--they are raw, the sound is definitely unprocessed--and the arrangements of the songs would evolve somewhat before the final recorded version the next year. But what we have is amazing to hear--two parts of the embryonic Ys played with all the fervor and intensity of a band needing a place to record and get their message out.

These two songs have recently been rereleased under the title "On the Road to Ys," with a live version of "La Tua Casa Comoda," a single which the band recorded after Ys.

While not to the perfection of the full album, these tracks constitute a major milestone in the history of the band and are not be missed. 4.5 stars.