A journey through the Italianprog scene

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   NAPOLI CENTRALE

James Senese, Napoli Centrale’s leader is still active and is keeping alive the band with a new line up...

If you don’t know who are Napoli Centrale... Well, Napoli Centrale were formed in Naples in 1974 on the initiative of James Senese (sax, vocals) and Franco Del Prete (drums) after their experience in another band called the Showmen 2. They joined forces with American keyboardist Mark Harris and British bassist Tony Walmsley and in 1975 released an eponymous debut album blending in an original way Mediterranean roots and jazz rock. The first album of the band is should be a must for every Italianprog lover...

James Senese’s father was an American soldier who had been working in the base of Naples and his mother was a Neapolitan girl, perhaps that’s why the fusion between Afro-American music and Neapolitan folklore sounds so natural and authentic in the band’s output. Franco Del Prete committed lyrics in Neapolitan dialect add a touch of colour contributing to express what’s an almost a tribal rage. They perfectly fit the music composed by James Senese where you can find influences ranging from Weather Report and Miles Davis to Osanna. 

The opener “Campagna” (Countryside) begins softly with a short intro featuring shy flutes notes... Then the rhythm section starts pulsing while vocals describe in a caustic way how “beautiful” is the countryside. Lyrics depicts the miserable life of the farm labourers, exploited by their greedy employers... “Countryside / How beautiful is the country... But it is more beautiful for the landlord!”. The rhythm is full of energy and James Senese’s draws fiery sax passages under a midday sun. This track was released also as a single and was quite successful in Italy. An absolutely unexpected result for such kind of song! 

“’A gente ’e Bucciano” (The people from Bucciano) is a long track featuring jazz and funky influences and obstinate drum patterns. Bucciano is a village in the province of Caserta and the song is about the workers that had to emigrate from the countryside of South Italy to the industrial cities of the North. “Hunger is stronger than the love for the countryside... And now the people of Bucciano live in the North and work in the factories / Where they throw away blood and health...Why? Why? Why?”. Well, the answer is rather venomous and caustic... “Because the Pope is not the King!”. 

The instrumental “Pensione Floridiana” (Guest-house Floridiana) is the shortest track on the album. It’s more relaxed, almost dreamy. It leads to evocative “Viecchie, mugliere, muorte e criaturi” (Old women, wives, dead and little children), another excellent long track dealing with the issue of emigration. Music and lyrics depicts a village where all the men are gone to work elsewhere, far away. What’s left is a desolated place where you can’t find no one but old women, wives, dead, little children, crippled men or skinny and hungry dogs. The atmosphere is dark and the rhythm almost hypnotic but the result is intense and dramatic. 

The instrumental “Vico Primo Parise n. 8” is lighter. It features a powerful jazz rock veined of funky where keyboards and sax perfectly interact with the rhythm section. Vocals here are used as an instrument adding touches of colour all along the way. According to some sources, the title is the address of the house where Napoli Centrale’s leader James Senese was born, in the district of Miano in Naples.

The last track “’O lupo s’ha mangiato ’a pecurella” (The wolf has eaten the little sheep) features a strong folkloric flavour. It seems to have been conceived as the soundtrack of a film. It begins softly, you have to shut your eyes and try to guess what’s going on... Narrow streets, shadows moving along the walls... Then you can hear someone who is laughing, some other sarcastically comments that the wolf has eaten the little sheep... Many voices of men and women, the sounds of a market... “Don’t worry / Take it easy and sleep in peace...”. 

This album has been extremely influential on the music scene of Naples and should be considered as essential in an Italianprog collection. It is usually considered the cornerstone of a whole new music subgenre very popular during the eighties and called “Neapolitan Power”, featuring artists like Pino Daniele, Tullio De Piscopo, Enzo Avitabile and others. A kind of world music mixing blues and Mediterranean roots...    

More info:
http://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Napoli-Centrale/108252732530076?v=desc

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andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 31 2010 at 14:34
	NAPOLI CENTRALE James Senese, Napoli Centrale’s leader is still active and is keeping alive the band with a new line up... If you don’t know who are Napoli Centrale... Well, Napoli Centrale were formed in Naples in 1974 on the initiative of James Senese (sax, vocals) and Franco Del Prete (drums) after their experience in another band called the Showmen 2. They joined forces with American keyboardist Mark Harris and British bassist Tony Walmsley and in 1975 released an eponymous debut album blending in an original way Mediterranean roots and jazz rock. The first album of the band is should be a must for every Italianprog lover... James Senese’s father was an American soldier who had been working in the base of Naples and his mother was a Neapolitan girl, perhaps that’s why the fusion between Afro-American music and Neapolitan folklore sounds so natural and authentic in the band’s output. Franco Del Prete committed lyrics in Neapolitan dialect add a touch of colour contributing to express what’s an almost a tribal rage. They perfectly fit the music composed by James Senese where you can find influences ranging from Weather Report and Miles Davis to Osanna. The opener “Campagna” (Countryside) begins softly with a short intro featuring shy flutes notes... Then the rhythm section starts pulsing while vocals describe in a caustic way how “beautiful” is the countryside. Lyrics depicts the miserable life of the farm labourers, exploited by their greedy employers... “Countryside / How beautiful is the country... But it is more beautiful for the landlord!”. The rhythm is full of energy and James Senese’s draws fiery sax passages under a midday sun. This track was released also as a single and was quite successful in Italy. An absolutely unexpected result for such kind of song! “’A gente ’e Bucciano” (The people from Bucciano) is a long track featuring jazz and funky influences and obstinate drum patterns. Bucciano is a village in the province of Caserta and the song is about the workers that had to emigrate from the countryside of South Italy to the industrial cities of the North. “Hunger is stronger than the love for the countryside... And now the people of Bucciano live in the North and work in the factories / Where they throw away blood and health...Why? Why? Why?”. Well, the answer is rather venomous and caustic... “Because the Pope is not the King!”. The instrumental “Pensione Floridiana” (Guest-house Floridiana) is the shortest track on the album. It’s more relaxed, almost dreamy. It leads to evocative “Viecchie, mugliere, muorte e criaturi” (Old women, wives, dead and little children), another excellent long track dealing with the issue of emigration. Music and lyrics depicts a village where all the men are gone to work elsewhere, far away. What’s left is a desolated place where you can’t find no one but old women, wives, dead, little children, crippled men or skinny and hungry dogs. The atmosphere is dark and the rhythm almost hypnotic but the result is intense and dramatic. The instrumental “Vico Primo Parise n. 8” is lighter. It features a powerful jazz rock veined of funky where keyboards and sax perfectly interact with the rhythm section. Vocals here are used as an instrument adding touches of colour all along the way. According to some sources, the title is the address of the house where Napoli Centrale’s leader James Senese was born, in the district of Miano in Naples. The last track “’O lupo s’ha mangiato ’a pecurella” (The wolf has eaten the little sheep) features a strong folkloric flavour. It seems to have been conceived as the soundtrack of a film. It begins softly, you have to shut your eyes and try to guess what’s going on... Narrow streets, shadows moving along the walls... Then you can hear someone who is laughing, some other sarcastically comments that the wolf has eaten the little sheep... Many voices of men and women, the sounds of a market... “Don’t worry / Take it easy and sleep in peace...”. This album has been extremely influential on the music scene of Naples and should be considered as essential in an Italianprog collection. It is usually considered the cornerstone of a whole new music subgenre very popular during the eighties and called “Neapolitan Power”, featuring artists like Pino Daniele, Tullio De Piscopo, Enzo Avitabile and others. A kind of world music mixing blues and Mediterranean roots... More info: http://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Napoli-Centrale/108252732530076?v=desc

Finnforest Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913	Post Options Post Reply Quote Finnforest Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July 31 2010 at 14:50
	I really enjoyed that old Showmen 2 album, one of those very deep deep goodies.

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 01 2010 at 09:37
	MORE PROG FROM LOMBARDIA... NICHELODEON are an experimental band from Milano. They have just released their second album for the independent label Lizard Records (MySpace). The title of the album is “Il gioco del silenzio” and you can listen to it in streaming... Just click HERE More info about the band: http://www.myspace.com/nichelodeonband Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:38

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 05 2010 at 08:31
	MORE PROG FROM ROMAGNA... UNA VOLTA ERAVAMO IN SETTE come from Forlì and have just released an album that should be of interest for Italianprog lovers, “La ballata del vecchio marinaio” It’s available in free legal download... Just click HERE More info about the band: http://www.myspace.com/unavoltaeravamoinsette http://www.facebook.com/pages/Una-Volta-Eravamo-In-Sette/179491870989

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 08 2010 at 15:01
	ANOTHER BAND FROM ROMAGNA BUTTERED BACON BISCUITS come from the Province of Forlì-Cesena and if you like bands like WICKED MINDS (MySpace) you should find some interest in their music... You can listen in streaming to their debut album “From the Solitary Woods” from HERE More info: http://www.myspace.com/butteredbaconbiscuits http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buttered-Bacon-Biscuits/105532088406?v=info#!/pages/Buttered-Bacon-Biscuits/105532088406?v=wall Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:38

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 10 2010 at 11:56
	ECHOES FROM THE LAKE... DAMA DEL LAGO are an emerging band from Capua, a town in the Province of Caserta (see second post on this blog) and their name means Lady of the Lake. After a period of hard studio work the band managed to record a debut album called “Echi d’acqua” (Echoes of water) under Creative Commons licence. Although the band defines it as an EP its full length (about 32 minutes) is the same of many albums released in the seventies... You can listen to the album from the band’s MySpace and legally download it for free from HERE (just scroll down the page to find the link). Have a try! I’m sure you’ll don’t waste your time...

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 13 2010 at 14:44
	HEAVY PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIMENTS FROM PIEMONTE... UFOMAMMUT come from Tortona, in the Province of Alessandria, and have been active since 1999. They have just released a new concept album featuring only a long suite in five parts, “Eve”. You can listen to the complete album in streaming clicking HERE More info about the band: http://www.ufomammut.com/ http://www.myspace.com/ufomammut http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ufomammut/31142261935

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 15 2010 at 02:34
	JUST ANOTHER BAND FROM ROME... NUOVE OFFICINE RUMORI come from the Eternal City and blend indie-rock with prog influences... More info: http://www.myspace.com/nuoveofficinerumori http://www.facebook.com/pages/NUOVE-OFFICINE-RUMORI/52456865387 Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:39

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 17 2010 at 07:48
	SOUNDS FROM A DESERT LIBRARY LA BIBLIOTECA DESERTA come from Puglia (see post #2 on this blog). After two demos and many troubles (included the theft of all their instruments after a concert near Napoli in 2009) they have finally released a first full length album for the independent label Faro Records, “Travelling Without Gravity”, 46 minutes of instrumental post-rock featuring ethereal psychedelic sounds and spacey atmospheres... More info about the band: http://www.labibliotecadeserta.com/ http://www.myspace.com/labibliotecadeserta http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50063154434#!/group.php?gid=50063154434&v=wall You can purchase the album from UFO Solar UFO SHOP - CD (physical copy) or from digital stores like amazon or iTunes Edited by andrea - August 17 2010 at 07:50

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 18 2010 at 08:32
	LOST TALES REDISCOVERED... LOST TALES are a band from Venezia (see post #1 on this blog) that have been active since 1989. The line up features Andrea Simonetto (keyboards, vocals), Paolo Cordella (drums), Stefano Berti (guitar) and Giorgio Fontanella (bass). They had the chance to release only one album so far, “A volo radente” (1999) for the independent label Mellow Records. However the band is still active... The band is not listed on PA (not yet) but their music has been clearly influenced by historic Italianprog bands like Le Orme and BMS. You can watch a 35’ min. Lost Tales’ live performance, clicking on this link: UNOTV Indie Music Web TV - Lost Tales - Live 2010

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 21 2010 at 12:33
	A CRAZY SYSTEM OF SOUNDS FROM TOSCANA IL MANISCALCO MALDESTRO come from Volterra, a town in the province of Pisa. On their website, under the band name you can read “Più insani che italiani” that could be translated as “more insane than Italians”. Their music is often ironic and crazy, in general probably closer to System Of A Down than to Italianprogrock. Anyway Italianprog lovers could find some interest in it. You can legally download for free their album “Panna, polvere e vertigine” and their first eponymous one from the official website, just click HERE Of course, you can also buy the physical copy if you like the music... More info: http://www.ilmaniscalcomaldestro.com/ http://www.myspace.com/ilmaniscalcomaldestro http://www.facebook.com/ilmaniscalcomaldestro Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:49

Finnforest Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913	Post Options Post Reply Quote Finnforest Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 21 2010 at 12:40
	^ For the record, the RPI team has them under evaluation as we speak. Really LOVE this band

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 21 2010 at 14:21
	ABASH & FRANZ DI CIOCCIO Today I had the pleasure to read this review... Madri senza terra Abash Heavy Prog Review by Marty McFly Collaborator Errors and Omissions Team Quite a positive support of this album by previous reviewer Andrea attracted my attention. And what I heard pleased me. Even it took me many listens before I was able to write anything. But this is typical for RPI music (simply music from Italy connected to this, because this is not exactly RPI as we know it, however nor it is exactly Heavy Prog), I'm impressed, I'm glad by the discovery of so good music, but I'm unable to find words. It's like something in this type of music was preventing me from writing and forcing me just to listen to beauty sound of it. Maybe it's the part of this magic. Well, this music is big mix of many different ingredients. Mediterranean sounds (which for amateur in this matter like me means easily Arabian-Middle Eastern) with keyboards driven classic Prog from region of Italy. Emotional, melodic and ever- changing (so much that it's still interesting, even it's 4th listen in a row). 4(+), it's hard to be interesting, when there is so many music wanting to attract your attention. But within their competitors, Abash manages to stay almost at the top. Thanks, it's good to know that somone discovered this band after reading what I wrote... By the way, you don’t know who Abash are? Well, Abash are an Italian band from Puglia (see post #2 on this blog) that was formed in 1998. Looking for their own musical identity, they tried to blend African obsessive and tribal rhythms and Oriental melodies with Italian traditional folklore (especially Salento’s ethnic and popular music like Taranta and Pizzica) and rock. The result is a very peculiar and atypical “Mediterranean progressive rock”. “Madri senza terra” (Mothers without land) is their third album and was released in 2006 for the label “Il Manifesto”. It’s really a mature and interesting album, with a good artwork and a paper sleeve package... It’s a kind of concept album where the character of “the mother” becomes a metaphor for love, peace, land, roots, tradition... On the cover are printed the following words: “The roots, the land, the mothers / It’s there the spirit, the truer and deeper way of living / Pure instinct, perennial love, blood and sweat / Music from the heart without borders”... Recently the album has been re-released by the independent label Immaginifica and the band had the chance to play live with PFM’s drummer Franz Di Cioccio... “Madri senza terra” is a very good album, without really weak moments. Abash are not stuck in the past and their personal way to blend progressive rock and ethnical influences is absolutely interesting... This work is a must have if you want to experience something musically fresh, full of poetry and an amazing female voice... The opener “Intro (Madri senza terra)” is a short track that features only an evocative melody, sung without words by Annarita Luceri in a way that reminds me of Noa, and an “exotic” recitative part. It leads to the “heavier” “Niuru te core” (Dark heart) where you can appreciate the contrast between aggressive guitar parts and more relaxed moments, between the raw vocals of Maurilio Gigante and the beautiful melodic voice of Annarita singing the “poetry of a red sunset / red like blood ”... The lyrics, in dialect, are about parents’ love for their children in a dark and difficult world. “Salentu e Africa” was the title track of Abash’s first self-produced album and this is a new powerful version... Here every now and again the voice of Annarita reminds me of Teresa De Sio while the song has a strong “ethnic flavour” with Mediterranean rhythms and “Plato and Marrakech” inside the heart. Words and music invite you to “jump and beat on the drum”... “Madri” (Mothers) is one of my favourite tracks on this album... The beautiful voice of Annarita sings “I’m your strength, your spirit / your memory, your coherence / I’m your mother, your root / your shelter, your comforter... With my voice I sing a war anthem to the world / That does not listen to me and dies / swept away by the waves...”. In the beginning the melody reminds me a little bit of Mecano’s “Hijo de la luna” but then the music develops in an original way and the band showcase a great musicianship with keyboards and guitars in the forefront. “La corsa di Assan” (The run of Assan) is about an African boy running away from his land animated by a “thirst of hope and justice”. Tribal rhythms and evocative keyboards passages here are intertwined with a sweet lullaby giving the image of a desperate dream... “Here I am / Flying over the sea / Like a black angel / With spread out wings / Over your cities and your dirty miseries / I will blow my wrath / I’m the black power / Africa won’t lend its hand anymore / And my dream will be a land / saved by the cry of God...” “Canto alle nuvole” (Song to the clouds) is a song of universal love and hope, hope that “poetry and love will change the world”... On an evocative musical carpet the voice of Annarita sings “I will be the music for your song to the clouds / Fire that melts the snow-fields / With words that nobody will never listen to anymore...” “Oltre” (Beyond) is delicate and sweet, featuring good harmony vocals inviting you to listen to the dreams and the silences of the night... “Otranto 14 agosto 1480” is another great track with strong traditional influences... The lyrics, in dialect, are about an attack of the Saracen pirates against the city of Otranto in 1484 and the music tries to describe it. “Maràn Athà” (Come, lord Jesus) features a delicate guitar arpeggio and flute... Lyrics are an Aramaic prayer. Excellent the instrumental finale... “Non gridate più” (Do not scream anymore) was inspired by “Il dolore”, a poem by Giuseppe Ungaretti... It’s a mix of modern sounds, heavy rhythms and dreamy vocal passages... “Stop killing the deaths! Do not scream anymore / If you want to listen to them / If you hope to live!...”. “Scale fino al cielo” (Stairs to the sky) is another great song of peace and hope with a strong Oriental flavour featuring a good “heavy” guitar work... More info about the band: http://www.abash.it/ http://www.myspace.com/abashband Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:45

Nightfly Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 01 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3659	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nightfly Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 22 2010 at 16:50
	Quite like Abash myself Noticed on their website that the album Mandri Senza Terra as well as a 2006 release seems to have been re-released this year with a different cover. Wonder if there's any remixing/re-recording for them to have done this.

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August 27 2010 at 11:13
	NEW FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON... Le Orme’s new member Fabio Trentini leads also a pop-progressive side project called MOONBOUND. His last album “Peak Of Eternal Light” features prestigious collaborations with musicians like Pat Mastelotto (MySpace), Markus Reuter (MySpace), Dave Gregory, Michi Dei Rossi, Jeff Collier and Pete Vuckovic. You can listen to it clicking HERE More info: http://www.fabiotrentini.com/ http://www.myspace.com/moonboundmusic

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 04 2010 at 08:40
	GOBLIN BACK ON STAGE... GOBLIN are a famous and influential prog band from Roma. Goblin’s name is still tightly bound to their soundtracks for Dario Argento’s films. Four historic members (Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, Maurizio Guarini and Agostino Marangolo) reunited in 2005 trying to keep the band alive (BackToTheGoblin - Home Page) and released an album, while founder member, keyboardist and composer Claudio Simonetti (MySpace) started another project called DAEMONIA (MySpace) performing old Goblin’s pieces with new arrangements. Another former member of the band, Maurizio Guarini, is now based in Canada where he has formed another project to perform Goblin’s repertoire, ORCO MUTO (MySpace). Recently Claudio Simonetti, Massimo Morante and Maurizio Guarini have reformed Goblin and soon will play live in Poland and Germany. The new line up is completed by Bruno Previtali and Titta Tani from Daemonia (more info: http://www.myspace.com/goblin2010) Goblin were originally formed in Rome in 1974. The line up on their debut album, released in 1975, featured Massimo Morante (guitar, vocals), Claudio Simonetti (keyboards), Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Walter Martino (drums, percussion) who replaced original drummer Carlo Bordini. All the members of the band had previously militated in other acts like Oliver, Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray and Seconda Generazione that never had the chance to record an album. The turning point of Goblin’s career was the meeting with film director Dario Argento who recruited them for the soundtrack of “Profondo rosso” (Deep Red), one of his most successful films. Murders, blood, mystery but also music and humour are some of the ingredients of this extraordinary thriller that tells the story of an English musician, Marcus Daly (interpreted by David Hemmings) who, after he witnessed the murder of a famous psychic, gets involved in the crime investigations teaming up with a female reporter. Actually, the soundtrack was initially commissioned to Italian jazz musician Giorgio Gaslini but he didn’t fulfil his task (in that period he was involved in other projects) and the band managed to complete it with excellent results. The music perfectly fits the scenes on the screen adding tension and rhythm to dialogues and images. Both film and score were extremely successful and the name of the band became indelibly associated with this thriller and its strong colours. Both film and album begin with the notes of the dark and hypnotic title track, by far the best known Goblin’s piece. The album is completely instrumental but images can be even stronger than words... If you haven’t seen the film try to imagine a cradle tumbling down, a rag doll tortured with pins, some strange direful puppets, then marbles, knives and daggers, a single eye watching you... A face reflected in a pool of blood, deep red! “Sometimes what you really see and what you imagine mix up in your memory like a cocktail and you can’t distinguish the different flavours anymore...”. Next track “Death Dies” is more aggressive and in the film is associated with scenes of murders. Flashing blades and leather gloves in action, stains of blood and gloomy puppets come to mind while music flows nervous and tense... “Mad Puppet” could remind of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” and it’s a perfect background for the exploration of a villa haunted by ghosts and gloomy souvenirs or for the visit in a desert school in the middle of the night while a psychopathic murderer is lurking... “Wild Session” begins with sound effects and the wind blowing. There is a presence... “I feel like a blade entering in my flesh...”. An evil thought is still hanging in the room when rhythm takes off on the notes of a haunting piano pattern... “Deep Shadows” is disquieting and dark. It features peculiar percussive patterns and many changes of rhythm. Stop and listen to, let your imagination drive you through a corridor full of mirrors and strange paintings... Then imagine to climb on the wall of a mysterious house looking for a missing window... It’s dark, you risk to fall down, be cautious while moving like a clumsy acrobat, there’s a threatening presence observing what you’re doing... Last two tracks were composed by Giorgio Gaslini and feature orchestral arrangements. “School At Night” is a nursery rhyme that in the film is linked to the perverted mind of a serial killer. “Gianna” is light and romantic and in the film is associated to the character of female journalist Gianna Brizzi. A good way to conclude a 30 minutes ride on the edge of folly. After the success of album and film the band could release their previous recordings but they had to choose a different name, CHERRY FIVE... Other albums and soundtracks followed, like "Roller" and "Suspiria", but "Profondo rosso is still Goblin's trademark... Goblin’s debut album was not only successful but also very influential on the whole Italian music scene... Here you can find an excellent new band like FILORITMIA (MySpace) performing Goblin’s music... Edited by andrea - December 27 2010 at 16:51

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 05 2010 at 02:00
	PSYCHEDELIC KISSES FROM ROMAGNA KISSES FROM MARS come from Ravenna and have strong psychedelic influences. In 2007 they released a first EP, (once upon a time) Down in a White Peacocks House. They have just released a new album, Sunset of the Giant... More info: http://www.myspace.com/kissesfrommarsband http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kisses-From-Mars/59327151262?v=wall

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 06 2010 at 09:54
	PSYCHEDLIC ROCK FROM CAMPANIA PSYCHOPATHIC ROMANTICS come from Caserta. After the 2007 concept album “Altered Education”, in 2010 they released a new work, “Pretty Prizes”, that could be of some interest for psychedelic prog lovers... More info: http://psychopathicromantics.com/ http://www.myspace.com/psychopathicromantics http://www.facebook.com/pages/Psychopathic-Romantics/17940677975

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 07 2010 at 09:47
	AN ITALIANPROG APOTHEOSIS... COMING SOON! MORE INFO: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=155060971170925

andrea Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064	Post Options Post Reply Quote andrea Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: September 08 2010 at 08:09
	INTERESTING SOLO PROJECT FROM LAZIO EMANUELE CORREANI is an artist from Marino, a town in the province of Roma from were come out also bands like BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO and SENZA NOME (MySpace). He started a solo project called Embrione and in 2008 released a debut album for the independent label Terre Sommerse featuring 52 minutes of “prog cantautorale” that should be of interest for Italian prog lovers... More info and samples: http://www.myspace.com/embrione81 Download Embrione on iTunes or purchase the physical copy from HERE