PERDIO: RACCOLTA COMPLETA 1973-76

Another entry on the far-too-long list of 'RPI What Might Have Beens.' Hailing from Bergamo, the trio initially formed in 1972. Colleoni and Capogrosso had played together in I RAMINGHI and TERZA CLASSE, a band which also provided the nucleus for another band from Bergamo, MADRUGADA.

Despite some decent live activity, most notably in support of BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO, PFM, AREA, NEW TROLLS ATOMIC SYSTEM, ALAN SORRENTI, and FRANCO BATTIATO, PERDIO was only able to garner work as session musicians and never able to release an album during their lifetime. By the end of 1974 they decided to split up. They reunited briefly in 1976, but this reunion was short-lived, and the band disappeared.

During the prog rebirth in the 1990s, several Italian labels released posthumous albums of 1970s bands that never issued albums during their lifetime. Such it was that in 1998 Giallo Records released a compilation of some of the surviving recordings of PERDIO, four tracks from 1973 and two from 1976, entitled 'Perdio: Raccolta Completa 1973-76.' The sound quality is that of demo or good live recordings, and the instrumentation consists of organ, bass and drums, with guitar added to the 1976 tracks.

The music shows promise and good improvisational skills. Of note are two versions of the lovely ballad 'E' Triste il Vento,' a song also performed by MADRUGADA, probably a carryover by both bands from their TERZA CLASSE days. To my ear, the 1973 tracks are better and are more typical RPI sounding, with a nice mixture of strong melodies and improvisation. The 1976 tracks, including one version of 'E' Triste il Vento,' incorporate a much spacier, extended feel, perhaps even showing some Krautrock influences. Check out the video for "Londonderry" on the PA artist page, which gives a good feel for the 1973 tracks. (The other video, a recent live version of "E' Triste il Vento," is much more world-music-sounding than either the 1973 or 1976 versions on this album, but is another really nice interpretation of a beautiful song.)

Certainly not essential in the vast RPI catalogue, PERDIO nevertheless is a solid entry in the annals of RPI. If you are inclined to investigate this delightful band, I would recommend starting with this compilation and go from there. Although the CD is out of print, the album is available for legal download at eMusic and Amazon at least, probably others as well. 3+ stars (Gnosis 10/15).

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