IO NON SO DA DOVE VENGO E NON SO DOVE MAI ANDRÒ, UOMO È IL NOME CHE MI HAN DATO

Many prog bands and their albums go down in history for various reasons but Milan, Italy's DE DE LIND is a curiosity in its own right for having perhaps created an album with the longest title of all the 70s! The long winded IO NON SO DA DOVE VENGO E NON SO DOVE MAI ANDRÓ. UOMO È IL NOME CHE MI HAN DATO which translates into English as "I Don't Know Where I'm From And I Don't Know Where I'll Ever Go. Man Is The Name They Gave Me," may perhaps win that award! And add to that the band's name came from a famous Playboy model who won the Miss Playboy title in 1967! Now if that's not enough to get your attention then i don't know what is! However despite what seems like a gimmick to catapult the band's entryway into the crowded world of Italian prog in the early 70s, IO NON SO just happens to be a really great album worth checking out.

This band actually started back as far as 1969 as a beat group that released three singles in that style before joining the modern world and going full-fledged prog with extra helpings of both folk and hard rock in the mix. The band consisted of five members: Vito Paradiso (vocals, acoustic guitar), Matteo Vitolli (electric & acoustic guitars, percussion, prepared piano, flute), Gilberto Trama (flute, tenor saxophone, flugelhorn, piano, prepared piano, organ), Eddy Lorigiola (bass) and Ricky Rebajoli (drums, percussion, timpani). The band released this one and only album before parting ways shortly after its release. There is a dispute as to whether the album was released in 1972 which is purportedly the date given on the original vinyl copies itself or 1973 which is when almost every source on the internet seems to agree upon. Since i don't own an original copy, it'll have to remain a mystery.

IO NON SO (for short) is an intricate mix of delivering those tender delicate Italian melodies with lush acoustic guitar passages along with folky flute flavors that alternate with heavier rock moments that add a more bombastic contrast to the mix. The album while completely in Italian like almost all contemporary artists from that nation during the 70s, nevertheless recounts a concept built around themes of the war and memories surrounding its consequences although the the strength of IO NON SO is in how the music creates a beautiful tapestry of diverse sounds that doesn't really equate to any other in the Italian scene. Despite that claim there are similarities of course. The softer passages revolving around lulling acoustic guitars is clearly right out of the Le Orme playbook whereas the jagged time signature frenzies during the hard rock moments are indicative of what was going on with the more popular bands like PFM or Banco, however DE DE LIND managed to keep the similarities tamped down and crafted a rather unique sound for itself within the greater Italian prog spectrum.

With seven distinct tracks IO NON SO projects the perfect mix of lush softened and harsh bravado with Vito Paradiso exercising his vocal range in perfect adaptability from the pastoral folk sequences to the reckless abandon of the hard rock. While DE DE LIND didn't stand out musically speaking as boldly as bands like Area or Il Balletto Di Bronzo, the band nevertheless crafted a unique stylistic approach that is more subtle and requires a few more spins to fully digest. The album is rather dreamy for the most part as if it was crafted in the clouds with classical guitar led medieval sounding moments with flute and flugelhorn as well as jazzy moments mixed with hard rock heft where drummer Ricky Rebajoli really shines with some intricate percussive work. The tracks are generally really moody with some like "Paura Del Niente" providing some of the most diverse workouts that go from sedate to agitated throughout its running time.

By the time DE DE LIND hit the Italian prog scene, the genre was already quite crowded with little room for newbies and since this band didn't exactly create an immediate impression that hit you with catchy hooks it didn't exactly find its way to the big leagues and called it a day in 1973 when the Italian prog scene was slowly winding down. It never ceases to amaze me how many great albums came out of the 70s Italian prog scene and IO NON SO DA DOVE VENGO E NON SO DOVE MAI ANDRÓ. UOMO È IL NOME CHE MI HAN DATO is just one more out of many. It must've literally been impossible for anyone to keep up with it all at the time but history has been fairly kind to this album and despite it not exactly catapulting itself up to the top of all time greatest album lists still warrants more attention since it's completely in the vein of the contemporary prog scene but yet adds slightly "off" approaches that keeps it in its own world. There is really no mistaking this as a long lost album of the more known bands. Yet another Italian band that i wish would've stuck it out to evolve to the next level. Wasn't meant to be but this one specimen is well worth the time invested.