FROM COCOON TO BUTTERFLY

From "Cocoon To Butterfly" is a special deluxe box set including a CD with 10 vintage tracks recovered from outtakes and alternate demo material from 1973-1976, plus a DVD with live footage from a 1976 concert at RAI studios in Torino. The booklet is very rich, including old pictures of the band, a complete biography and detailed information about the content of CD and DVD (in Italian and English).

All the recordings on the CD have been carefully remastered but even a good remastering can't perform miracles when the sources are demos or home-made recordings... Nonetheless you can find here four very interesting tracks that have never appeared before... Particularly good are the opening track "Kaleidophonia", a long instrumental where the band showcase their great musicianship blending classical influences and jazz, and "Dadaida". Both these tracks were written for a second album that was never completed and although they're just demos, the recording quality is good. "L'isola" and "Il lago delle ninfee" are good tracks that didn't find room on their "official album" and it's a pity that the sound quality of the original tapes was so poor... The other six tracks are just unreleased alternative versions of material originally released on their eponymous album in 1975.

The DVD footage was professionally filmed by Italian TV in 1976 and has a bonus video track of the re-formed Maxophone in 2005, playing one live track at Radio Popolare studios in Milano, an instrumental version of "Mercanti di pazzie". The DVD also includes bonus features, such as interviews with all the members of tha band (an English translation is available). The quality of the video is really good. Maxophone were one of the most interesting "one shot bands" of the Italian progressive scene in the Seventies. As you can read on the booklet, "Maxophone's first and only album matured over the years like a bottle of expensive wine, becoming exquisite in taste and has gradually gained prestige". This work is complementary to that album and its aim is to give a full overview of the band's activity... If you like "Maxophone" this could be an excellent addition to your prog collection.