FORMULA 3

This first album is, in reality, a pure Hard Rock album with a lot of Progressive scattered here and there and begins with a beautiful version of "Dies Irae" with arrangements by Isola Amelio. This version presents us with a very psychedelic and Blues guitar, supported by the organ which, in the first part, build a truly fantastic duel. The second part is more POP and is easier to listen to and also very fast (today we will classify it as Heavy Metal). The Latin text is fantastic and creates an atmosphere much sought after by Proto Metal groups of the time. Lucio Battisti's production is perfect and manages to make "Dies Irae" a perfect POP piece. The final organ solo is also excellent. "Non è Francesca" is the famous song by Mogol-Lucio Battisti brought to success (and made immortal) by Lucio Battisti but I prefer this version because I find it more dramatic and energetic due to an arrangement close to psychedelia and a certain Blues Rock although it remains extremely POP and melodic. Here too the organ solo which ends in fade out is excellent. "Perché... Perché ti amo" is written by the brothers Eugenio and Edoardo Bennato on lyrics by Mogol and is a beautiful love song played on a blues guitar and an excellent organ. It alternates reflective parts with furiously melodic parts that create a fantastic romantic suspense. Here the guitar solo is notable as is the very dynamic and powerful drum line (I would say that Tony Cicco learned Carmine Appice's style very well... Looking a lot like Vinnie Appice who, however, would only arrive a few years later) . "Questo Folle Sentimento" (intro) and "Questo Folle Sentimento" it's the same song whose side A is played about 1 and a half minutes into the song (hence "Intro"). Technically it is a POP song in the Italian songwriting tradition and it is very engaging but nothing more if we are talking about Progressive Rock. But it's a really good song. "Walk Away Renée" is a cover of the famous (and now evergreen) piece by The left Banke here revised in a more Hard Rock and symphonic version (more of an attempt this) with the usual Hard Rock/Heavy metal drums for power and dynamism and the usual duel between organ and electric guitar in the creation of sound. Excellent vocal interpretation with excellent pronunciation of English. Truly a memorable cover (and it's not a given that it is... How many covers are simply disgusting!). "Se non è amore cos'è" is a song written by Isola Amelio with lyrics by Moglo and Sandro Colombini. After a start that I would define as Hard Rock/ Proto Metal/ Psychedelic Rock it transforms into a Power Ballad à la Uriah heep (and if the latter had copied Formula 3? I don't think so... But I like it if it were true). The album closed with "Sole giallo, Sole nero" (by Mogol-Battisti) which is a bit too POP and has a real catchphrase.

"Formula 3" is an excellent debut and, it must be admitted, not yet totally Progressive Rock because it is closer to the Hard Rock/ Proto Prog/ Proto Metal of bands like Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly. And yet, it also manages to be very personal. "Formula 3" is recognized as the first Italian album that can be defined as Progressive Rock and today it should be considered more precisely for its historical importance rather than for the music it contains (also fantastic and not aged at all).

The opener, "Sognando e risognando" (Dreaming and dreaming again), is a suite divided into four parts signed Battisti-Mogol. A different, shorter version of this piece was released in 1971 on Lucio Battisti's album Umanamente uomo: il sogno but here the band deliver a new good arrangement adding some instrumental parts. It begins by an instrumental introduction subtitled "Fermo al semaforo" (Standing at the traffic lights) that sets a foggy atmosphere and a melancholic mood. Then, on the second part subtitled "Sognando" (Dreaming), the rhythm rises and soaring vocals without words begin to drive you far from the traffic jams and the daily grind of a big city. The third part, subtitled "La stalla con i buoi" (The stable with the oxen) depicts in music and words a beautiful, pastoral country landscape where you can live in harmony with nature and your sweetheart, surrounded by singing birds, rivers full of fishes and woods. You'd better hurry up and try to reach that place as soon as possible leaving behind the hectic city life. You can do it when the traffic lights turn to green... The short last part, subtitled "Risognando" (Dreaming again) ends the piece with a soft, peaceful mood.

The long, autumnal "L'ultima foglia" (The last leaf) is an instrumental suite composed by the band and divided into three parts. The first one, subtitled "L'albero" (The tree) begins by drum rolls and dark organ waves then the rhythm rises and the electric guitar draws some disquieting melodies conveying a nightmarish atmosphere... The second part, subtitled "Non mi ritrovo" (I'm not at ease) starts by a drum solo, then the pace accelerates bringing some echoes of Latin rock à la Santana while the last part, subtitled "Finale", ends the suite with a slight Gothic flavour...

"Storia di un uomo e di una donna" (Story of a man and of a woman) is a relatively short piece signed Battisti-Mogol that deals with a tormented relationship between a man and a woman that is slowly coming to an end. It opens with a soft acoustic guitar pattern and a melancholic feeling with the voice of Alberto Radius depicting the waning enthusiasm, the desire to look for another love, the fear to suffer again the pain of a broken romance... But there's still something left, a bit of love is still hanging in the air and some doubts rise, so the final curtain of this love story can wait another day!

The last track, "Aeternum", is another suite divided into four parts and composed by the band with the help of Lucio Battisti. The first part, subtitled "Tema", sets the atmosphere with a powerful incipit that after a minute gives way to a calmer passage where music and vocals describe a magic moment where time stands still and there's no need to think of a distant world nor to worry about the past. You can breathe slowly looking at the nature that surrounds you as the wind sweeps away your troubles, you can feel eternal at least for while... The second part, subtitled "Caccia" (Hunt), is evocative and dreamy and leads to the complex "Interludio", that begins by a piano solo pattern and is full of classical influences and sonic fireworks. Then the last part, subtitled "Finale", ends the album with a softer, dreamy mood...

On the whole, a very good album!

It does show the influence of the Italian prog rock culture. Albero Radius was a fill in for Franco Mussida of the PFM while he was busy with his military service. Some of the PFM musicians will later participate in the group Il Volo,

The album is influenced by the psychedelic culture of the late 1960's as the listener who understands Italian might reduce from the lyrics.

Sognando e Risognando is a description of a trip away from the city in the company of a much coveted female, a week-end dedicated to exploration of human attraction and desire and the perils of it. Lust and excitement often is followed by disappointment and ennui, and the structure of the music does interpret well this common pendulum of human emotions.

L'Ultima Foglia is the description of angst and resolution, anxiety and final acceptance. It has a classical structure borrowed from symphonies and concerts of the late 1800's.

Recording quality is superior and stands the test of time: on a system with low distortion, full range and high power it shows the true color of high quality tecording and mastering.

The style of the band is, as I read it, a great Hard Rock on the first album which then evolves towards a Progressive Rock that never manages to become immortal (but almost all the songs are great). This compilation proves it very well. Tony Cicco, Alberto Radius and Gabriele Lorenzi are among the best musicians we could boast in Italy at the time and, of course, they can interpret the songs really well. Their skill in how they play and interpret is evident, managing to involve us totally, in very different songs like "Dies Irae" (Proto Metal, for me), "Eppur mi son scordato di te" (POP / melodic Hard Rock), "Io ritorno solo" (Epic Progressive Hard Rock) or "Cara Giovanna" (POP with Progressive structures). And all this succeeding immensely to please the public who, in truth, was not so competent to distinguish these musical differences.

Concluding "Superissimi, Gli Eroi Del Juke Box" is a compilation that is part of a compilation series. Therefore its value is not very high. But the quality is, however, excellent. When I saw it I did not hesitate to buy it and, I must say, I did not regret it. But if you have all of this band (or all of these songs) you can very well avoid it.

I feel that I got duped by the dealer spruiking up this CD and seeing that it's the second highest rated album of the band on PA, I parted with my money - and time...! (Obviously the dealer just wanted to shift dud material that few Prog fans expressed interest in buying.)

But this scraping the bottom of the "Prog barrel" far too hard. Now, don't get me wrong, these musicians don't sound anything like desperate amateurs. Rather the opposite. To my ears they appear more like skilled session musicians - kinda hired hands - who could play virtually anything placed in front of them. This work just happened to be Pop.

Lyrical pieces alternate with bombastic orchestral arrangements and pretty good vocals deliver mildly enjoyable - Pop. That the lyrics are in Italian doesn't help much to possible added value as I don't speak that language.

Please, don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be rude to these capable musicians. On a general music site this piece would probably qualify for a rating between 3 and 3.5. In Prog terms I can't offer more than 2. Since I am a Prog fan, this would have been the first and also the last Formula 3 album I ever obtained.

The fourth album of the band is actually a Progressive/Pop record, creating mixed feelings and with a rather soft still decent result.The opening ''Rapsodia di Radius'' is propably the best cut of the album, atmospheric and light Symphonic/Space Rock with the distinctive guitar style of Radius in evidence and some great choirs.''La ciliegia non e di plastica'' is a dull Pop track, based around Radius acoustic crescendos and Lorenzi's piano with a bad result.''Liberta per quest'uomo'' shows a return to the melodic Symphonic/Art Rock of the opening track, excellent performance by Lorenzi on organ and piano, nice choirs and good work by Radius both on electric and acoustic guitars.The eponymous track is a fine piece of lyrical Art Rock with solid musicianship, while ''Cara Giovanna'' is a ballad with sensitive vocals, relaxed synthesizers and piano and a nice acoustic solo by Radius.The closing ''Bambina sbagliata'' is another poppy track that haves a strong musical content with keyboards and acoustic guitars in evidence but the hillarious choirs and its syrupy atmosphere make it quite an amateur composition.

Formula Tre disbanded in late 73' with Radius joining Il Volo as well as having a decent solo career and Cicco forming a self-titled short-lived project in 1974.They returned some 15 years later with the original line-up and the band is still active in the new millenium, producing albums with reworkings of old songs, before Lorenzi quit in 2002 to be replaced by several keyboardists ever after.

In fact ''La grande casa'' was the last contribution by Formula Tre in Italian Prog, a sufficient yet very short album with an artistic nature and some nice atmospheres throughout.Recommended, especially if you love some Italian romanticism in your music.

There is a really nice, dark guitar sound, one of the most distinctive I've heard for the period, and the usual expressive (if sparse) Italian vocals. The keyboard and guitar interplay is often exciting, but the album doesn't really kick off until we start the Lucio Battisti cover that the title of the album is drawn from, which is renamed here to the first line: 'La Stalla Con I Buoi' (a heavy interpretation of the song). It's fantastic and when it gets going and I always find myself sad when it ends, I'm left craving a little more.

Perhaps the chief issue with the album, is that many songs feel like interludes - only they are often followed by what could be considered as another interlude. This disrupts the flow and can be distracting as a listener. As the album was produced by Battisti, it should offer a partial explanation for the clear influence seen in one of the stand out songs 'Storia Di Un UomoE Di Una Donna' where the 'interluding' comes to a momentary halt. This track is instantly memorable because it is a little more traditional in structure, and does have a clear Battisti influence (the song is bit of a rock ballad) and I wonder if he doesn't contribute backing vocals to the track, especially the falsetto-ish parts.

'Tema' thumps along before easing off into a softer passage and the album winds down with another interlude before the longer 'Interludio' which, combined with 'Finale' serve as a dramatic closer.

Not a bad album by any stretch, but I feel that with just two great compositions, combined with some interesting interplay between keys and guitar elsewhere, that this one is a 2.5 rather than a 3.

This is the debut album from this band who has gone on to release some albums. This is also a pretty spicy album somewhere between Psychedelic/Space Rock, Heavy Prog and RPI. Mostly Psychedelic/Space Rock, it has to be said. The organs is rampant spaced out and the vocals too lives somewhere in space. There is even a drum solo here and other more Heavy Prog stuff. The vocals, despite being spaced out, reminds me about RPI.

The quality is not that good though. There is no tracks here that makes enough impressions on me to give me a reason to name one of them as the best track here. The songs only rampage throughout to the end and that's it. In short, this album is passing me by like a train. But the sound is interesting though so this band is not a lost cause. But this album is not for me.

2.25 stars

"Fermo Al Semaforo" builds with sounds including synths. The guitar before 1 1/2 minutes reminds me of Conny Veit. "Sognando" sounds really good with the keyboards and guitar making that happen. Vocal melodies join in. "La Stalla Con I Buoi" features reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. It kicks in around a minute before settling again before 2 1/2 minutes. Kicks back in a minute later with some nice guitar. "Risognando" is a short piece with little happening. "L'albero" opens with sporadic drumming. It kicks in with some distorted organ before 1 1/2 minutes, guitar follows. Synths come in then the tempo picks up. Organ 4 minutes in before it turns pastoral a minute later to end it.

"Non Mi Ritrovo" opens with drums as organ then guitar join in. It settles into a good groove. "Finale" opens with piano before it settles. "Storia Di Un Uomo E Di Una Donna Aeternun" opens with acoustic guitar and piano as reserved vocals come in. Drums and bass follow. Not a fan of this one. "Tema" has an aggressive intro before it settles a minute in with vocals. Not a fan of this one either. "Caccia" opens with synths as drums eventually join in. It's building and blends into "Interludio". Piano takes over. Guitar before 3 1/2 minutes. Synths are back. "Finale" features lots of atmosphere as synths build.

Lots to like here, but not enough to make it 4 stars i'm afraid.