1975: Italy loves prog

It's the ranking made by the listeners of a free radio rock oriented. Year 1975.

Edited by jamesbaldwin - June 09 2023 at 15:05

Logan wrote: Interesting list. Sorry mentioning RYM again, and not looking for debate, just that someone might be interested, but I do think it interesting to compare that listeners classic 1975 free radio rock list with the modern day users at RateYourMusic. I have shared with you already the general all-time all genres RYM chart only including Italian users for the ratings/ reviews, and I thought it an awesome list (lots of classic jazz, Prog and classic rock and folk albums actually, and modern classics) but here is a filtered list to show the albums listed as rock genre and as influenced by rock for 1975 and older as collected from the Italian users' ratings:   https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1950-1975/ge:rock/uloc:italy/ Interesting to compare the lists for me. One I notice at number 2 at RYM's is The Velvet Underground and Nico album that is not on the free radio rock list. That is album that has over the past 20 plus years gained much more of a following (not just at RYM) -- more cult to begin with. I really like it and love the Nico albums. It's not until 67 that I noticed an Italian Prog album from the Italian Prog users. In the Court... is number one as it is for their General music chart based only on the site users in Italy. Lots of love for the classics there.

Edited by jamesbaldwin - June 09 2023 at 04:22

jamesbaldwin wrote: It's the ranking made by the listeners of a free radio rock oriented. As you can see, many English prog albums, some Americans, few Italians.

jamesbaldwin wrote: Logan wrote: Interesting list. Sorry mentioning RYM again, and not looking for debate, just that someone might be interested, but I do think it interesting to compare that listeners classic 1975 free radio rock list with the modern day users at RateYourMusic. I have shared with you already the general all-time all genres RYM chart only including Italian users for the ratings/ reviews, and I thought it an awesome list (lots of classic jazz, Prog and classic rock and folk albums actually, and modern classics) but here is a filtered list to show the albums listed as rock genre and as influenced by rock for 1975 and older as collected from the Italian users' ratings:   https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1950-1975/ge:rock/uloc:italy/ Interesting to compare the lists for me. One I notice at number 2 at RYM's is The Velvet Underground and Nico album that is not on the free radio rock list. That is album that has over the past 20 plus years gained much more of a following (not just at RYM) -- more cult to begin with. I really like it and love the Nico albums. It's not until 67 that I noticed an Italian Prog album from the Italian Prog users. In the Court... is number one as it is for their General music chart based only on the site users in Italy. Lots of love for the classics there. Oh , thanks Greg! I dont mind the comparisons with RYM. First BIG DIFFERENCE: in  https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1950-1975/ge:rock/uloc:italy/ Italian music is absent!!! Italian singer-songwriters: In RYM Top 100 there is, one and only - Fabrizio de André - Storia di un impegato, at no. 67 No one else. Instead, as you can see, in the ranking of the radio listeners there are: 1) De Gregori - Rimmel at no. 10 2) Bennato - Buoni e cattivi no. 17 3) Guccini - Radici, no. 26 4) De Gregori - second album, no. 29 5) Venditti - Le cose della vita, no. 34 6) De André - Tutti morimmo... no 42 Then there are two albums by Battiato and two albums by Sorrenti, but these 4 albums are more albums of prog music than albums of the Italian singer-songwriters tradition (same thing for Rocchi) Italian prog: the one and only is - Area: arbeit at no. 71. (no Banco, no Pfm, no Perigeo, no Rocchi or Battiato or Sorrenti) So, we can easily establish that the "average Italian user of RYM" is clearly oriented towards international music, especially English and American rock (and German prog), and does not really appreciate Italian singer-songwriters, who require not only musical but also textual listening. And they are not fond in Rock progressivo italiano. Second point: In 1975 are Velvet Underground well known in Italy? I dont think so. Velvet Underground was an American underground phenomen of the later Sixties. In Europe they were discovered in the following decades first by critics, then by the public. Italian radio stations in the 1970-75s hardly played them - same with German prog.

SInce you mentioned there being few Italians on the radio list, I wanted to point tht there are fewer on this RYM list from Italian users. Just two in the top 100:
67. Fabrizio De André - Storia di un impiegato
71. Area - Arbeit macht frei

But damned if I'm going to complain when its Area that is represented. That one album would be a better showing for the Italians than every I Pooh album there is, and that's a big pile of Pooh (see the website RateMyPooh for more I Pooh recognition).

As for Velvet Underground and Nico, that's what I was trying to imply. It was much more underground before but then became very hip and much more popular due to the internet and a site like Rate Your Music. The Italians at rateyourmusic aren't living in a bubble and would be checking out music to which general RYM audiences RYM users are listening and rating (I have seen some user location based charts and I do appreciate the Italian ones more than, say, Canadian user based charts -- that could be its own topic).

One thing I like about the internet, streaming services... is the possibility for more people's tastes to be less regional/ parochial. And those who use the internet and have access to it commonly are more worldly than those who don't/ can't. Those poor Sentinelese without access to youtube, the vids there would blow their rustic minds.

I would not expect it on a list from 1975, but nowadays it is commonly recognised as a classic.

Speaking of music, the neigbour's son is getting married and there have been many bagpipers in full get-up playing outside the house for the past hour. He goes all out for his children's weddings (very nouveau riche).

Nursery Cryme and Pawn Hearts were TOP #1 in Italy back then