IL LUNGO CAMMINO DEI RAMINGHI

Raminghi were a proto-prog band from Bergamo Italy near Milano. The group was led by bassist and vocalist Franco Mussita. While hard to find much background, Mussita apparently began his pop career in the early 60s as the CD booklet has great photos of his early band I Nomadi. According to the bio he is "a blend between visionary and stubborn genius combined with a little bit of madness." It is said he arrived on the music scene when the stars of the Italian progressive movement were little more than children. After many years of playing live and paying dues, Nomadi became Raminghi and found a record deal with the Bentler label. Mussita was smitten with the likes of Deep Purple, Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer and Uriah Heep and wanted to record music in this vein. They did a couple singles for Bentler before recording Il Lungo Cammino dei Raminghi which translates to "The Long Way of the Rovers." They chose an album cover by a famed local painter from Bergamo. They ended up rather unhappy with Bentler, because the label delayed for too long, insisted they soften their energetic sound a bit, and of course did little to provide promotion.

The bands sound varies from quite unique in places to typical in other places. Certainly some sections sound incredibly dated and very 60s, imagine listening to the Italian version of Quicksilver Messenger Service. Some of their music sounds like the theme song to a 60s spy tv show while others sound like bands from the early Haight scene in San Francisco. Swirly organs in the background, thin acid-drenched electric leads, lots of psych moodiness, and some bluesy hard rock influence too. Mussita wails a bit like the singer in the Spanish band Ibio with a big dramatic bellow at times. The drummer is quite good with an understated style. The guitar playing is raw in rhythm mode with a real scrunch to it. I think one of the things that make Raminghi worth hearing for prog historians is that you can really hear a confluence of different factors at work in the songs. You can hear traditional Italian influences and 60s beat music altered by later 60s psychedelia, and you can then hear this forming the basis for the early part of the Italian progressive scene. Raminghi are not any more "prog" than The Doors are but it is interesting to hear the changes happening right in front of you from the Italian perspective instead of through the California lens of Doors, Airplane, Grateful Dead.

The second bonus disc features a live show from several years later in 1975. This is cool because on the studio material of disc one you hear Raminghi prior to the Italian prog peak (1973) while on the live disc you are hearing them afterwards. The live material is certainly more adventurous both in playing and content though still fairly traditional compared to wild stuff like Osanna or Balletto di Bronzo. Think maybe something like the live Trolls sound of a few years earlier but even rougher around the edges. There is some mellotron here while the first disc was mainly organ. It's a spirited set with the guys really rocking out and letting their hair down. Some of the material seems headed in a more elaborate symphonic direction while other songs are still essentially hard rock. It's a nice bonus to have but the studio album interests me much more because of the historical factors. By '75 they were so buried by competition that they sadly weren't all that necessary.

The Vinyl Magic mini-lp sleeve reissue is a true collector's gem, featuring a high quality reproduction of the cover art and gatefold design. Honestly, while the Japanese minis are killer, Vinyl Magic is no slouch either and someday these Italian minis are going to have as good of a reputation. In some ways I prefer the Italian release because, as here, they throw in a very nice booklet with nice band history (in English and Italian) along with lyrics, many photos, and a reproduction of the original vinyl center labels. Vinyl Magic gives you the quality content of a Musea release but in the format of a high quality mini. Very nice. The sound quality of the CDs has surely been cleaned up, but don't expect miracles. The sound is actually in the "fair" range at best, certainly listenable to many of us, though it will not please everyone. Proceed with caution if you are finicky about your sound quality. I am certainly happy to get to own a unique historical album like this but I can't recommend it widely. It is for fans of the Italian genre and for fans of 60s/early 70s hippie rock in the style of the bands I mentioned. I would only say that if you are interested, get this nice 2-disc edition before it presumably changes to a jewel-case version down the road or goes out of print altogether. For me personally this is a 3 star album but I have to give 2 for the wider site, not to degrade them, but because I'd have to say this album is "for fans" of a certain time and style only.

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