All Prog From Italy Appreciation Thread

I don't have that one yet Mandi, but I need to get it!!   I do like Crac and 1978 both a lot.  Thanks for the reminder.

I put up a poll months back, Best Italian Prog one-offs, which was a lot of fun; thanks to everyone for their votes and thoughts.  In RPI there have been many artists who only released one album back in the "golden age" of the '70's, and these one-off albums are almost always considered great or in the argument.  This was such an interesting phenomenon to me I wanted to give attention to it.  Now I'll wrap up with a list of everything I've learned so far.  I could say much more here, but this post will already be long; other comments will follow.

The full flourishing of RPI can be said to be the early 70's, but so many great things came just a little late that I think it best to keep this list to the whole decade, and one very honorable mention one-off from the year 1980.  I struggled with how to throw borders around this one-off thing, and in the end elected to be more inclusive than exclusive.  If a band regrouped decades later to release a new record; if an artist had a different kind of release, say in the Beat style, then lost most members, reformed and released one prog record; if an artist released one record but also recorded material for another record which however remained incomplete; if an artist released only one album that was prog and went on to release records clearly in another genre - in these cases the prog album will be included.  The result is an exhaustive list, but if I'm missing info or have anything wrong please let me know (here or in pm) and I'll edit it in.  With its famous favorites and hidden gems, I hope this list is a service to lovers of RPI!

Special thank you to Todd who helped quite directly.  Many thanks to 1967/1976, Andrea, Andrew, Finnforest, Lazland, Micky, Luca Pacchiarini, and Raff (hope I'm not missing anyone who helped or inspired - all are great RPI-heads), also Moogtron III and Alberto Muñoz who slipped in a few titles.

Le Stelle di Mario Schifano - Dedicato a... ('67)

Fabio Celi & Gli Infermieri - Follia ('69)

Il Mucchio - Il Mucchio ('70)

Buon Vecchio Charlie - Buon Vecchio Charlie ('71 or '72)

I Giganti - Terra in Bocca ('71)

I Leoni - La Forresta ('71)

I Numi - Alpha Rapha Boulevard ('71)

Panna Fredda - Uno ('71)

Planetarium - Infinity ('71)

I Raminghi - Il Lunga Cammino Dei Raminghi ('71)

Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys ('72)

Capsicum Red - Appunti Per Un'idea Fissa ('72)

Riccardo Cocciante - Mu ('72)

No PA page.  His debut album "Mu" is apparently a symphonic prog record

Todd had this to say

Exploit - Crisi ('72)

Genco Puro & Co. - Area di Servizo ('72)

Gli Alluminogeni - Scolopendra ('72)

Gruppo 2001 - L'Alba di Domani ('72)

Hunka Munka - Dedicato A Giovanna G. ('72)

J.E.T. - Fede, Speranza, Carità ('72)

Osage Tribe - Arrow Head ('72)

Il Paese dei Balocchi - Il Paese dei Balocchi ('72)

Piero e i Cottonfields - Il Viaggio, la Donna, un' Altra Vita ('72)

Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno - Per... Un Mondo di Cristallo ('72)

Reale Accademia di Musica - Reale Accademia di Musica ('72)

La Seconda Genesi - Tutto Deve Finire ('72)

I Teoremi - I Teoremi ('72)

Alphataurus - Alphataurus ('73)

Blocco Mentale - Poa ('73)

I Califfi - Fiore Di Metallo ('73)

Campo di Marte - Campo di Marte ('73)

Capitolo 6 - Frutti per Kagua ('73)

Cervello - Melos ('73)

De De Lind - Io Non So Da Dove Vengo e Non So Dove Mai Andro', Uomo e' il Nome Che Mi Han Dato ('73)

Festa Mobile - Diario di Viaggio della Festa Mobile ('73)

Il Giro Strano - La Divina Commedia ('73)

Museo Rosenbach - Zarathustra ('73)

Odissea - Odissea ('73)

Gigi Pascal e la Pop Compagnia Meccanica - Debut ('73)

Pholas Dactylus - Concerto delle Menti ('73)

Ricordi d'Infanzia - Io Uomo ('73)

Rocky's Filj - Storie di Uomini e Non ('73)

Rustichelli e Bordini - Opera Prima ('73)

Tito Schipa, Jr. - Orfeo 9 ('73)

(This artist had other releases in the '70's, but I take it from the PA pages that these are not prog)

Semiramis - Dedicato a Frazz ('73)

Toto Torquati - Gli Occhi di un Bambino ('73)

Triade - 1998: La Storia di Sabazio ('73)

L'Uovo di Colombo - L'Uovo di Colombo ('73)

Alusa Fallax - Intorno all Mia Cattiva Educazione ('74)

Biglietto per l'Inferno - Biglietto per l'Inferno ('74)

Roberto "Juri" Camisasca - La Finestra Dentro ('74)

Crystals - Crystals ('92, recorded '74)

Edgar Allan Poe - Generazioni (Storia di sempre) ('74)

Claudio Fucci - Claudio Fucci ('74)

Franco Maria Giannini - Affresco ('74)

Murple - Io Sono Murple ('74)

Samadhi - Samadhi ('74)

Apoteosi - Apoteosi ('75)

Enzo Capuano - Storia Mai Scritta ('75)

Cherry Five - Cherry Five ('75)

Citta' Frontale - El Tor ('75)

Le Mani - Le Mani ('75, released 2006)

Maxophone - Maxophone ('75)

Celeste - Principe di un Giorno ('76)

Corte dei Miracoli - Corte dei Miracoli ('76)

Gianni D'Errico - Antico Teatro da Camera ('76)

Pangea - Invasori ('76)

Sensitiva Immagine - E Tutto Comincio Cosi ('98, originally released on tape in late '70's)

Luciano Cilio - Dialoghi del presente ('77)

(2004 cd Dell'universo assente includes album plus unreleased tracks)

Locanda delle Fate - Forse le Lucciole non si Amano Più ('77)

Emilo Locurcio - L'Eliogabalo ('77)

La Pentola di Papin - Zero-7 ('77)

Stefano Testa - Una Vita una Balena Bianca e Altre Cose ('77)

Nascita della Sfera - Per una Scultura di Ceshia ('78)

Francesco Buccheri - Journey ('79)

Genfuoco - Dentro L'Invisibile ('79)

Pierpaolo Bibbo - Diapason ('80, recorded '79)

Mo.Do. - La Scimmia Sulla Schiena Del Re ('80)

Abbondanze!!

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Not technically RPI one-offs, but mentioned for completion:

Officina Meccanica - La Follia Del Mimo Di Fuoco (2007, studio material from early '70's, live material from '76)

(Reason listed here: not a one-off by the standards of this list.  They were a very important band in the scene at the time, but unfortunately did not record an album per se.)

Horus - Stelle di Battaglia ('93, from late '70's)

(Reason listed here: not a one-off by the standards of this list.  Little is known about the group.  CD is a compilation of two singles plus tapes recorded in 1978 (see Finnforest review))

Michele Fedrigotti / Danilo Lorenzini - I Fiore del Sole ('79)

No PA page

Cramps records catalogue page

(Reason listed here: Classical music, not prog.  However it was produced by Franco Battiato, Michele Fedrigotti played on prog records, and the record is featured on Italian Prog websites.)

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Edited by American Khatru - August 06 2009 at 05:34

That list contains many of the greatest examples of the RPI scene: Cervello, Museo Rosenbach, Balletto Di Bronzo, Semiramis, Locanda Delle Fate...

Luca Pacchiarini wrote: That list contains many of the greatest examples of the RPI scene: Cervello, Museo Rosenbach, Balletto Di Bronzo, Semiramis, Locanda Delle Fate...   But... was that list a list of what you like, or is it a wish-list? Sorry but I haven't understood...

It's a list of every Italian prog one-off from the 1970's that I could find mention of.  Not every one I have, but every one in existence!!  (So again if I'm missing anything people, I'd like to know - I'm sure I may have missed some solo artist releases.)

What's meant by a '70's "one-off" is: the only album released by that artist.  They had one album in the '70's and, for some reason, sadly, that was it.

Some artists on the list did release other material.  In this instance I included the band's prog album if it met any one of the following criteria:

• had another release but decades later (like Locanda delle Fate);
• had other albums, but under a different formation and of a clearly different style (like I Califfi and Balletto di Bronzo);
  
• recorded material for a second album but it remained incomplete or unreleased til later (like Alphataurus and Biglietto per l'Inferno);
• or, released only one album that was prog and went on to release records clearly in another genre (like Riccardo Cocciante).
  

Btw, it's only fair that I tell you that if you think I sound wildly knowledgeable on this subject, it is almost all due to ProgArchives, research done mostly here and supplemented by the general internet.

so perhaps you could add Capitolo Sei's Frutti Per Kagua.

Here are a few that I think could be included:

Sounds good!  In that case, Horus and Le Mani should be included, as they intended the recordings to be released as an entity.  But not Officina Meccanica, as good as it is!  Kudos to you for tackling such a big project.  But it would be great to get other obscure titles out there.

Todd wrote: Sounds good!  In that case, Horus and Le Mani should be included, as they intended the recordings to be released as an entity.  But not Officina Meccanica, as good as it is!  Kudos to you for tackling such a big project.  But it would be great to get other obscure titles out there.   Some others you might consider: Samadhi Nascita della Sfera Hero Anonima Sound LTD Eneide Antares Errata Corrige Preghiera di Sasso Il Sistema   And there are many which aren't on PA (we'll be looking at some of these soon), such as: La Statale 17 Emphasis Laser I Santoni and on and on!!!

Oofa, I have a lot of work to do!  But I'm game!!

By the way everyone, I'm now wondering whether I should remove Michele Fedrigotti / Danilo Lorenzini's "I Fiore del Sole".  Just realized there's no PA page for a very good reason - it appears to be all organ and piano, and cool as it probably is it may not be "prog".  I see it's produced by Battiato, which may be the whole reason I found it mentioned in an old thread.  Isn't this record actually classical?

Todd wrote: Can't answer the question about Fedrigotti/Lorenzini--I've never heard them.  But including non-PA artists may be helpful, as there are several prog-related artists out there who aren't quite prog enough for the site but still merit attention by loyal RPI enthusiasts (such as Cocciante).   I'll add one more, then back off: I Raminghi (on PA under psych)

Okay, I'm satisfied Fedrigotti/Lorenzini is classical and need to be removed from the big list.  I'll have to organize some kind of "mentions" list for such things.  Here are some samples (from a site called italianprogrock, but this album's classical).

http://italianprogrock.com/album.php?id=167

I don't want to loosen the definition of a list of RPI one-offs to the point where either or both terms have no meaning.  In the case of Cocciante's debut record, everyone agrees it's a prog album; it's irrelevant to the purposes of the list that he didn't continue making prog (in fact it's kind of interesting).  It's tough being the one to decide this goes, that stays, but without some rigor you have no category (not that you were suggesting we be wishy-washy about this).

As for I Raminghi, I just looked at their page (no bio yet, anyone?).  Their album Il Lunga Cammino dei Raminghi came out in 1971.  According to the page it's Psych/Space Rock; according to the only written review (Finnforest) it's Proto-Prog.  To my mind if it were 1977, say, and an album came out that was Psychedelic and/or Space Rock you might legitimately have reason to argue it might not be prog (though I won't here, not knowing the album, or exactly how to define prog for that matter!).  But it's 1971, very early in the game, so it's quite fair to err on the side of calling this prog (or proto as Finnforest does).

Todd, thanks for all the new suggestions.  And please don't "back off" - ever! - keep them coming!  And anyone else too.  Perhaps a little later today I'll make time to do the searches and put these offerings in.

This one is so weird, but I just love it....

Nascita della Sfera