SPETTRI

This is a curious case, because Spettri was a five-piece band who started playing in 1964 and recorded their first album until 1972, the fact is that it was never released until 2011 via Black Widow Records, so it was a lost gem which was fortunately rescued. This self-titled album consists of five compositions that make a total time of 40 minutes in which you will listen to classic RPI music with heavy rock tendencies.

It opens with "Introduzione" which as you can imagine, is a short track that works as an introduction. This first minute has only a voice speaking, letting us know what this story is about. They talk about a criticism to the modern society, and a man who is looking for answers in the metaphysical world. This track leads to "Parte Prima: Stare Solo" in which for the first time the instruments appear: drums, bass, guitar and keyboards that remind me of Deep Purple, Jethro Tull or even Black Sabbath. After a minute and a half vocals enter, singing for the first time in the album. After four minutes there is a cool guitar solo, then it stops and the structure returns to the way it begun.

The next three songs are long epics, the first one is actually the shortest, reaching almost the ten minute mark. It is called "Parte Seconda: Medium", and starts with a church organ and seconds later drums and guitars join and the music begins to flow. Here the reminiscence to Iron Butterfly is evident, though in that time Spettri was trying to create their own style. This track has some changes, but overall it follows the same structure and sound. Kind of psychedelic, heavy progressive rock with a clear 60s-70s feeling.

"Parte Terza: essere" is the longest one with twelve minutes length. It starts with soft acoustic guitar. A minute later it begins to progress little by little, creating new figures with different elements, offering their inherent hard rock sound and blending it with their essential progressive rock soul. At minute four vocals appear in a soft way, with that particular Italian accent; it is accompanied by an organ and some bass notes. It is flowing and reaches a climax before the seventh minute, when the intensity increases and the voice is more emotional. Then it is a short pause and the music begins to sound once again, giving us a very cool instrumental passage.

The album finishes with "Parte Quarta: Incubo". The first two minutes show a cool instrumental passage, then vocals join and a new structure is being created, with a tense and dark atmosphere. The keyboard work is great all the time, the drums are constant and heavy while the strings make some cool notes and riffs in some moments. There are some changes in mood and tempo, but overall the song flows naturally, without being forced at all. Actually, I would say this is their finest track, or at least my favorite one.

It was a good decision to rescue this album and release it now on CD, though the music is nothing extraordinary, it is worth listening, because it is one example more of the wave of high-quality bands Italy had in the 60s and 70s. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

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