CAMERE ZIMMER ROOMS

Italian progressive rock is one of my favorite genres. I have a lot of Italian progressive bands in my record collection. PICCHIO DAL POZZO though was a new experience for me. They don't sound like the typical Italian bands at all, although the lyrics are all in Italian. Their music is a mix between progressive Jazz-rock bands such as HATFIELD THE NORTH, HENRY COW, IAN CAN'S NUCLEUS and SOFT MACHINE, the English Canterbury bands from the 1970's such as CARAVAN, and also some Italian jazz-rock bands such as DEDALUS and DUELLO MADRE, and finally GENTLE GIANT. PICCHIO DAL POZZO released two albums when they were active: "Picchio Dal Pozzo" (1975) and "Abbiamo Tutti i Suoi Problemi" in 1980. "Camere Zimmer Rooms" contains all unreleased compositions recorded live in the studio in between these two releases to make a test of their tour equipment. The sound quality and the performance though are as good as on any regular studio recordings from that period in time. "Camere Zimmer Rooms" are a forgotten jewel that has now been revealed to the world. This is a fantastic album that has remained in the shadows for too long. Highly recommended!

Chronologically, this is their second "album" recorded live in the studio, a year after their debut album's release, and never released until the turn of the century. From the Cuneiform booklet, it is unclear whether these sessions were meant to be released at the time, but it is clear that this release is not only overdue, but it is shameful it took so long. After their superb debut album, PDP suffered a Karaghiosoff's departure (although he appears as a guest here) and he was replaced by two sax/wind players (Lugo and Romani) and the group had enlisted a full time drummer Di Marco. So as a sextet, PDP had more musical possibilities, but in terms of continuity, this "session" sounds slightly more inclined to their Abbiamo second album (rec in 80) than their terrific and fascinating debut, but looking at it closely, it is well in the middle of the two extremes the historical landmark releases.

Although this is a recent release, I got introduced to the band through this album as it was the only one I could find for years, but I can tell you that it certainly piqued my curiosity even more to find the other two, which is now the case after Drake's remastering of the second album last year. Cuneiform went to the trouble of printing the lyrics and found archives photographs (one of which served for the artwork montage), which again shows how fine a label they are, when it comes to the care they take when they unearth such buried gems.

Only four tracks on this album (OK, I'll give you 4.5 tracks ;-), but they extended "monster tracks", two of them past the 13 min-mark. Overall, one of the striking differences is the amount of singing compared with the reasonably quiet debut album, this one being quite chatty. Musically still, we are veering away from the super Canterburyan sounds of the debut and into a more standard jazz-rock/fusion, even if the Kent roots are still present and you can hear the future RIO of their second official album coming two years later.

The first three tracks (OK! 3.5 ;-) come from one session in the 77/78 winter and make a solid entity, which was obviously the basis for a new album. Stuck somewhere in between Hatfield, Perigeo (rather than Nucleus) and a conservative (as in non-show-off) Weather Report, they (the three tracks) are very much accessible even if the 13-min La Citta (the city) is definitely oogling towards RIO. The last tidbit is a return of the theme of the second track, most likely taken from an alternate take of the said track, and plastered at the end to give an album feeling. The fourth track Pinguini come from a much later session and was probably a leftover of their second album's sessions, since they are chronologically very close. But this track would've probably sounded rather odd on Abbiamo and it seems that it would've fit on this compilation much better as this is much less obtuse as that second offering.

This compilation album is just as worthy as the two historical releases and IMHO, it is much better than their second Abbiamo album, which is a little too inaccessible, partly due to the Italian lyrics, which of course complicates a bit un necesserarily the life of the international proghead.

Album released in 2001 "Camere Zimmer Rooms". It is a demonstration sound source made from 1977 to 1978. Only the fourth tune is recorded in 1980. The member is almost the same as the second work. A straight performance is comparatively done in this work. It is an Electric jazz with power. A melodious performance with a lot of repetitions is the main. It is different in the Canterbury sound and it is unique. Excellent article that makes effect sound of good and "La Citta" that exchanges scat lucid and is delightful. It is unquestionable for tone quality. All tunes are unpublished tunes.

Listed as a studio release, this is more accurately a compilation of unreleased tracks performed live in the studio, from an until-now undocumented era of PdP that falls between the two official albums both in date and in sound - think of the romantically sad, wall-of-horns environment of "Abbiamo Tutti..." and grace every track with vocals that straddle the line between the trademark deliveries of the canterbury and RPI scenes. This makes for an attractive and accessible album, one that's the equal of the previous two.

Just a few notes about the four full-length tracks - "Il Presidente" feels a little like Egg or National Health and seems to conceal great humour (sadly this reviewer is baffled by the italian language); "Il Mare d'Irlanda" comes closest to the symphonic sounds of italy; "La Cittá" begins with a short sound collage - don't worry, it's not harsh and besides, we've all sat through "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" and this is far less tiresome - which is followed by a short and surprising EL&P impression (don't raise your eyebrow like that, just listen to the song and you'll understand) which seems to indicate that we'll be in for some sort of pastiche, but like the great judges of taste they've proved themselves to be, PdP rescue the track from the jaws of farce with an extended jazz sequence featuring scat vocals mimicing the guitar's crazy melody line - again I'd like to reference National Health, as I feel that it's impossible to only like one of these bands. Finally, "Pinguini" is a track recorded at the end of the seventies, circa "Abbiamo Tutti..." and would fit well on to it - this would lead you to think that it's an offcutting from that album, and of lesser quality, but this reviewer assures you that this is not the case. It's a little more challenging and loose than the previous three songs and elements of the challenging Henry Cow/Art Bears school of songwriting can be detected at times, while at others the song is impossibly genial and melodic. The CD is concluded by a brief reprise of the theme from the second tune, which only serves to bring about a sense of completion - a full-stop at the end of this great band's wonderful but short sentence. Of course, it wasn't necessary as PdP re-united, resulting in a third official album...

Recommended to National Health and Egg fans and indeed, all admirers of this so-called Canterbury scene which spans most of western europe. The CD doesn't reach a galloping speed, and technical heroics are never attempted - along with the other works of Picchio dal Pozzo, this album is all about tasteful and refreshing composition, and this is achieved astoundingly well. Five stars.

Picchio Dal Pozzo´s debut album was a wonderful album in the Canterbury style. One of the better in that style if you ask me. Camere Zimmer Rooms are songs recorded live in the studio between the release of the debut in 1976 and their sophmore release Abbiamo Tutti i Suoi Problemi in 1980. The songs were released in 2001 as Camere Zimmer Rooms. I expected some strange experiments and some below standard songs as that is usually what comes out of rehearsels, but I was dead wrong. Camere Zimmer Rooms are just as good as the debut from Piccio Del Pozzo and some places even better.

The music is strongly rooted in the jazzy Canterbury tradition, but with italian lyrics. If you consider this to be a problem, try this out and you´ll be proven wrong. I know I was. The music is pleasant yet complicated enough for prog heads to enjoy. Il Presidente starts the album of with a vocal part that put me of at first listen but has grown on me. The rest of the song is just an instrumental excursion of excellent ones. Il Mare D´Irlanda is the song on the album with the strongest emphazis on vocals. It´s a really pleasnt song with a great melody line and some nice background synths. La Cittá and Pinguini are pretty complex mostly instrumental pieces with lots of solos and improvisation.

All musicians on this album are outstanding and they are the main reason why these songs sound so cool and tight. With two sax players in the band they are pretty dominant of course. Don´t expect wailing sax solos though this is much more subtle and pleasant. The typical warm Canterbury sound. If it is right that this is recorded live in the studio I´m really impressed as the perfomances are flawless.

The production is fantastic and warm. You can hear every instrument clearly in the soundscape. Again I am stunned. How can you create this kind of sound from rehearsel tapes ?

This is an excellent release from an excellent band. Picchio Dal Pozzo rule the Canterbury style. Highly recommendable album that I will rate 4 big stars. I might upgrade it to 5 in time though.

Hurray! Just goes to show the advantage of growing old and not dying prematurely. I've loved "Canterbury" music for 33 years or more, but I'd never heard of Picchio dal Pozzo until I logged on to Prog Archives. I bought two of their discs last year, I got to know one of them (THIS one!) last month and I think I'm going to be loving it more and more... While the influences from The Soft Machine (circa VOLUME TWO and THIRD), Zappa (UNCLE MEAT and THE GRAND WAZOO), the Hatfields and National Health will be obvious, this album is far more than just "Neo-Canterbury": it was recorded between 1977 and 1980, for heaven's sake; it is full of delightful (rivmic!) melodies; its vocal lines are highly Wyattesque but they're sung by very different (and powerful) voices... All in all, this is the most convincing album of Italian prog I've ever heard, and I can't wait to find out more about P dal P.

This album was recorded live in studio after their debut but never released until 2001. It does come across as a true album though (instead of a compilation recording) because the songs were all recorded during the same time period. They simply chose the best tracks to put on here, not unlike the making of a normal studio album. Man I thought the debut and it's follow- up were good. This is amazing ! All three have a different flavour but this one tastes the best. Of the five band members three play flute and two play sax along with other instruments, then one of the three guests also plays flute and sax. We also get the usual drums, bass, keyboards and guitar. Oh there's clarinet as well.

"The President" opens with horns as solemn vocals join in. It slowly starts to brighten. Drums after a minute. It turns jazzy when the vocals stop. Great sound. Vocal melodies after 3 minutes. Again this sounds so good especially before 5 minutes when the horns lead the way. Big finish. "The Sea Of Ireland" is dreamy as vocals join in. The vocals are outstanding here,so smooth. They stop as horns take over with bass and drums supporting. Vocals are back before 3 1/2 minutes. "The Town" opens with samples of traffic noises then this person opening a door and looking for a radio station among other things. Piano comes in around 2 minutes as almost spoken vocals arrive then a beat. Here we go 3 minutes in as the horns take over for the vocals. They continue to take turns though. It's jazzy before 6 1/2 minutes. Some dissonance after 8 1/2 minutes.

"The Penguins" kicks in quickly with horns, drums and bass leading. Vocals after 2 minutes as it settles with piano. Dissonant horns after 3 1/2 minutes. It changes before 5 1/2 minutes and it sounds amazing. Check out the dissonant horns playing over top. The dissonace leaves around 7 minutes. Piano and vocals after 10 minutes then the dissonance returns late. "Irish Ghost" is a short haunting piece with spacey sounds.

Well I guess it's obvious that I love this album. Maybe less challenging than the other two but it's darn near perfect for my tastes.

'Camere Zimmer Rooms' boasts a really cheap trick for the front cover. It's a one click Photoshop job that's achieved in a matter of seconds. Bahh! Thankfully the album itself is pretty good and sometimes excellent, which is surprising considering this is just a lot of bits and bobs that were left over and re-worked. The band had just about bought new equipment for touring, and they set up everything in the studio just to check things out. The subsequent recording is what you get here. Only 'I Pinguini' was recorded three years later in 1980 at the time of their second album. A 'Canterbury' LP that fans of 'Egg' & 'Hatfield' will probably like. Track 2 - 'Il Mare D' Irlanda' (The Sea of Ireland), is particularly good with some really nice vocals and very clear guitar.

Less avant-garde, more jazz.

This is their third album and the most laid back jazz album. Gone are the insanities from the first two albums and in comes a more jazz feeling. This is still Picchio Dal Pozzo through and through, though. They have a special style, to say at least.

The opener Il Presidente is a dynamic jazz track with the typical Picchio Dal Pozzo signatures like some mad vocals. The albums then goes into a more laid back and reflective mood. The three tracks Il Mare d'Irlanda, La Cittá (which include a small avant-garde interlude) and Pinguini is jazz through and through. This is music I can chill out to. Much more than their two first albums.

The quality is great throughout, despite of this slight change of style and approach. The vocals are great and the musicianship excellent. This is another great Picchio Dal Pozzo album.

4 stars

A collection of previously unreleased tracks recorded between their first and second albums, the recording quality on this CD is surprisingly good - presumably these pieces were recorded in a studio but for one reason or another were not released at the time. Continuing the band's evolution as a highly capable Canterbury unit, Camere Zimmer Rooms sees dal Pozzo dabble in the sort of experimental territory occupied by the likes of National Health and Henry Cow, as well as occasionally striking out into jazzier realms.

High-quality Canterbury releases were thin on the ground at the time this was recorded, so it's a shame it never saw the light of day at the time, but at least now we can enjoy this material from the best Italian performers of this particular style. At the same time, it's equally a shame that this material is only available in the somewhat murky demo form that it is provided in here - as engaging as some of the tracks are at points, at the same time this is very much the band in practice and rehearsal mode, and comparing it with their other releases I am inclined to believe that they could have made much better use of this material had they the opportunity to polish it further. After all, it really wasn't so long after these cuts were put down that their sophomore release "Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi" with its associated sonic shift came out, and I am inclined to think that these compositions were left on the shelf for good reason. Worth it for fans of the group and Canterbury addicts, but others would be well advised to consult either of their first two albums before delving into this.

I get it: three languages to express the idea of boxed-off containers for human consciousness. What is more challenging for me to digest is the fact that the music on this 2001 release all come from the late 1970s. After listening to it, this makes more sense (despite the remarkable quality of sound). The band was evolving from it's easy-going, melody-infused "Canterbury style" debut to a more AREA-like jazz. Is this because Demetrio Stratos was demanding this type of evolution for bands in the 70s--because he was arguing, publicly, that music should be created for political and social change?

1. "Il Presidente" (9:37) surprisingly dense, jazzy, and discordant at times, there are still some strains of the old Canterbury style they began with--especially the humor--but the melodies are sometimes too fleeting or obscured by the rest of the music. I do like the Demetrio Stratos inference in the ninth minute. (17.5/20)

2. "Il Mare d'Irlanda" (6:20) murky (like the sea?) from heavily treated guitars and gentle 80s-sounding (flanged) rhythm section with echoed choral vocal leave an odd impression: as if the band was thinking about going the direction of smooth jazz or even techno-pop. The dreamy-ness of the song is more akin to their 1976 debut album but it's a very dated sound--and very simple, subdued instrumental performances. (8/10)

3. "La Cittá" (13:12) automobile horns, doorbells, dishes clanging around, vacuum cleaner, radio dialing, voice sampling, smooth Fender Rhodes play. That's the summary of the opening two minutes of this one. When Aldo begins singing it is with a force and that is quite reminiscent of that of Demetrio Stratos--like he's trying to express a political opinion or sociological criticism. The song's melodies, vocal and lyrical approach, and aggressive approach to jazz rock sound as if lifted right out of AREA's 1970s albums. The problem I have with hearing AREA-like music in the 21st Century is that Area did it already--and they did it incredibly well. Could Picchio Dal Pozzo have gone the direction of Area? Perhaps, but did we really need another band trying to take up their torch--could there possibly be anyone up to the task? I don't think so. Demetrio was unique, a one-of-a-kind phenomenon; any imitation is only that: imitation--and this does feel so imitative. Still, nice tight performances from all involved (especially drummer Aldo Di Marco) but a little too repetitive and, when no vocals are going on, too jazz-like. I miss the Canterbury. Here there is more Area jazz fusion and, despite my well-known adoration for Area, there was only one Area. The dreamy final 90 seconds is weird; maybe it would fit if I knew what the lyrics are trying to say. (21.75/25)

4. "Pinguini" (13:42) a more complex jazz like Dave Stewart was trying to do after his stints with Uriel/Khan and Hatfield and the North--like the more serious jazz tidings of National Health and Bruford, though far less concise and circumscribed. There is still humor but in a way that virtuosi might try it: with their instruments. The crazy sixth and seventh minutes are backed by some awesome keys and bass (and very Dave Stewart-feeling keyboard playing). Then, in the eighth and ninth minutes, we get into more quirky motifs (and instrumental sound choices) that preview the 2011 arrival of Palermo's Homunculus Res. At 10:00 there is a sudden and total shift to solo grand piano with Aldo's treated vocal singing an emotional, plaintive lyric. Then sound experimentation is the name of the game for the lead instruments over the next two minutes. Weird but I get it! Experimentation with new and alternative voices for musical expression. (26.5/30)

5. "Il Fantasma d'Irlanda" (0:40)

Total Time: 43:42

The Picchio Dal Pozzo releases after their debut all seem to degrade their initial Canterbury sound that came from their 1976 debut, and this one expresses this trend (1977-1980, right?). There are moments of melody, moments of humor, moments of genius, but overall there is too much experimentation here--the band trying on other band's "clothes"--for my tastes. Like most prog lovers, I am, however, appreciative of this long lost and very telling glimpse into the development and evolution of one of Italy's most talented bands.

B/four stars; an interesting and worthy addition to any prog lover's music collection.