The Italian Prog Appreciation den

The year is 1972, Prog Rock is still in diapers specially in ITALY, where most of the people was so impressed with GENESIS, that became their first main influence, but at the same time an unknown power trio called EXPLOIT was releasing their first and only album called "Crrisi", a release that I discovered recently when getting information for an article and immediately loved.

Being a keyboard, bass and drum trio, it's most likely to believe that ELP must have had some influence in them, and when you listen this album for the first time the supposition becomes more than obvious (At least in side "A"), but as in most Italian Symphonic bands, they mix this influence with their own unique melodic sound that softens the rigid and strong sound of ELP.

The keyboardist Carlo Crivelli (who also sings), is a real virtuoso with the organ and unlike Keith Emerson, he adds some hints of late Psychedelia to make the combo richer. It's also quite interesting that he sings some tracks in Italian and others in English with a strong accent, but the important issue is that the guy has an excellent range that is somewhere between Jim Morrison and Aldo Tagliapietra singing of course much better in his native language.

The bass an drums in charge of Enzo Cutuli and Aldo Pignatelli are simply powerful (well this is the least yo can expect from a Power Trio) and have a transcendental role in the sound of the band, specially because Pignatelli's timing is impeccable.

Unusually for a debutante band, the album starts with a 20 minutes epic called "Crisi Suite" and is divided in three parts (Speranza, Crisi and Pazzia) taking all side A and it's simply breathtaking. I always believed that ELP and the bands that follow their style are obsessed with the late Romantic and early Modern, classical eras, but CRISI is much closer to late Baroque and early Classical era, making their sound much more melodic than I expected. A great opener for a great album.

Now comes the real surprise, side "B" seems like performed by a different band, because it consists of six shorter tracks with a radically different sound, here they leave ELP and play some sort of late Psychedelia as in "Anche Se Ho Sbagliato" with a killer Hammond performance, blues oriented like in "Un Bambino" or simply experimental as L'Anima Nuda", that reminds me more of KING CRIMSON with a frenetic guitar than of any other band.

Despite the hints of Italian POP in "Giochiamo Insieme" and "La Tua Pelle Scotta", the band always takes good care to keep an interesting and adventurous sound, even when they perform a couple simpler songs.

I simply can't believe that such an excellent band wasn't able to release a second album, but more surprised that "Crisi" remains so unknown for most Prog fans, including some of the best informed.

Four stars for an excellent album that doesn't deserve to fall into oblivion as it has for several decades.

It´s incredible how broad this scene is, and how it just keeps unfolding itself before you. When you think you´ve got it pinned down, it spits out another gem that makes you think twice about the true nature of the music. It´s symphonic, no wait a minute it´s eclectic - or maybe it´s more heavy based? The fact of the matter is, that it´s a very shifting and varying scene that boasts nearly every category featured here at PA. This album is no exception, as it sports a very uncharacteristic approach to the scene, but still retains its bond to RPI through melody, heart and soul.

Bambibanda E Melodie is a wonderful new experience to me, and one I hadn´t quite prepared myself for. Recently I´ve been listening a lot to Krautrock and some of the more out there electronic artists, and here the other day whilst teasing my cat with a piece of bacon, I found this record hiding underneath a commode collecting dust. It had been quite a while since my last listening, and I immediately popped it on the stereo. A far cry from the freak out records that´s been playing at my apartment the last couple of months - no doubt, but a much needed change. I had almost forgotten the sheer pleasure of being lured into ecstasy by butter instead of sandpaper and gravel.

In describing the music within, I find it almost impossible not to make references to the smooth and Hispanic rhythm based fusion of Santana. But the comparisons stop there, as Bambibanda E Melodie sounds much more melody driven and laid back. It´s music you put on, when you´re out on a moonlight drive, or going for a swim in a calm and quiet lake, where the waters nestle around you like a longtime fluid friend. From the beautiful guitar work that very melodiously leads these pieces in between bluesy wails and smooth jiving riffing, - to the tight percussion section that never tries to break the image of the aforementioned midnight swim, - this album makes you smile with conviction and relaxes you like an early morning blowjob in the shower.

Although this album only sports one guitarist, it sure sounds as a twin-duo cooking up solos that intertwine themselves as well as juxtaposing each other - and always at the right moments. Like Santana, the melodies seem to come from out of nowhere, but they are there, and rely mostly on a single guitar string at a time. Again there´s an overwhelming smooth texture attached to it, that conveys the image of a musician who´s taking his time - waltzing with the morning light. A thing he obviously enjoys together with the bass player here, who is the booming proof that the bass can be a sensuous instrument.

I guess the only thing about La Bambibanda E Melodie´s sole record that seems out of place, is the sparsely used vocals. Normally I turn to RPI for a dose of what might be the most beautiful language outside Portugal - sung with vigor and warmth that´ll break through the hardest of nutcases, but not on this release. They are a bit flat, and sound like they belong to an indecisive hangover. On the other hand, the vocals here take up about 1% of the experience, and you nearly forget about them as the music plays it´s buttery tribute.

If you´re into the fusion part of Santana´s output and just can´t keep still whenever the congas starts their hypnotic and persuasive ode to the first simian invention - the beat - you ´ll want to check out this wonderful album. Warm and smooth like a woman´s breast bathed in orange sunlight.