Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

GINO D'ELISO

Rock Progressivo Italiano • Italy


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Gino D'Eliso picture
Gino D'Eliso biography
Not your typical RPI artist by any means, GINO D'ELISO is nevertheless of interest to fans of the genre, mainly on the strength of his first album, "Il Mare."

Born in Trieste in 1951, GINO D'ELISO released his debut album "Il Mare" in 1976. While he is more in the singer-songwriter vein than a prog artist, its mellow symphonic style should please many RPI fans who also enjoy the work of the likes of CLAUDIO FUCCI, MARIO BARBAJA and GIANNI D'ERRICO. Also including some Mediterranean folk elements, the album was produced by LUCIO BATTISTI, who can also be found as an artist on Prog Archives.

Unfortunately he didn't stick with this style for long and by his second album, "Ti Ricordi Vienna," he incorporated funk, pop and disco elements into his music. Released in 1979, his third, "Santi & Eroi" showed a lightweight new wave influence, and it was to be another four years before "Cattivi Pensieri" saw the light of day. Once again seemingly influenced by musical trends abroad this now included some electro pop elements. After a bit of production work D'ELISO dropped out the music business and didn't release another album until 2001, when he made "Europa Hotel."

As can be read above, the vast majority of his output will not be of interest to fans of Italian prog, unless also having a liking for the other musical styles he jumped onto. It rests on the strength of "Il Mare" that the RPI team feels his inclusion here is relevant and of interest to fans of the genre.

[Paul / Nightfly]

GINO D'ELISO Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Search and add more videos to GINO D'ELISO

Buy GINO D'ELISO Music


GINO D'ELISO discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

GINO D'ELISO top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.22 | 8 ratings
Il mare
1976
3.23 | 7 ratings
Ti ricordi Vienna?
1977
3.04 | 6 ratings
Santi & Eroi
1979
5.00 | 2 ratings
Cattivi Pensieri
1983
4.50 | 2 ratings
Europa Hotel
2001

GINO D'ELISO Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GINO D'ELISO Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

GINO D'ELISO Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

GINO D'ELISO Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

GINO D'ELISO Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Ti ricordi Vienna? by D'ELISO, GINO album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.23 | 7 ratings

BUY
Ti ricordi Vienna?
Gino D'Eliso Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by Finnforest
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Wonderful Italian art-rock album

Gino D'Eliso from Trieste was a somewhat borderline addition to the site, added mainly for his debut "Il Mare" which was a very pleasant, dreamy, soft-prog album. The buzz on D'Eliso was that the first album was pretty much all she wrote, at least for prog fans. However as often the case with Italian artists from the singer-songwriter branch there was more to the story. Since I had approached his second album with pretty low expectations I was very pleasantly surprised. As with artists like Battisti, Rocchi, or Leo Nero, D'Eliso turned out to have some tricks in his "post-prog" bag that were quite delightful.

While D'Eliso jumps from "Il Mare's" soft-symphonic into eclectic pop/rock music here he does it with plenty of charm and splash. While some Italian vibe and influence remain there is a new international spirit embraced. There's a certain sexy playfulness with glam and disco touched on, a desire for a bit of urban hip, as if Gino were going for something like Roxy Music. But there's also an earnest Al Stewart feel, a folk-rock side, and at times a night on the town clubbing to a light Boz Scaggs jam. The "disco" influence is felt mainly through the beat, that disco shuffle drumming along with some funky-slappy bass playing. But the songs are never throwaway!!!....on the contrary there are some really refreshing melodies and arrangements to enjoy. Not to mention lots of colorful musical surprises to hold your attention. The tracks are adorned in lush fashion with strings background (or string simulations) and occasionally frenetic staccato violin bursts jumping at you. The backing musicians were pretty top-notch as you get some solid instrumental sections here and there though of course they don't last long and the tracks fade quickly. His vocals are decent and easy going, he occasionally is backed by female vocal harmonies.

"Kajmac Calan" brings some different ethnic folk vibe to the table, with strange melody and hand percussion played with a street festival fervor. "Non basta la poesia" at 6 minutes is the breadwinner and briefly looks back to prog ambitions, with dramatic mood, romantic vocal, and elegant harp! An ambitious piece of controlled emotion and refinement. While his first album is always going to get more attention in RPI fan circles, in my opinion this may actually be a more interesting work. The album closes with an off-the-rails bit of strangeness that sounds like carnival soundtrack gone awry. Like many good albums he managed to make "all over the map" feel cohesive and fulfilling. It's a reminder that while RPI is frequently accused of falling apart in the late 70s, it actually weathered the storm better than many other quarters. There were artists who managed to make some daring and unique albums in that period when conventional wisdom claimed none existed. Listen to albums like this, or Leo Nero, or many others from the late 70s to mid 80s, and you will find some richly rewarding slabs. There is confidence, humor, and genuine good times to be had with this one.

There's no way to really call this RPI (see his debut for that) but you should definitely check this out if you enjoy Italian "art-rock" and Ital-pop from the 70s. Apparently there is no CD issue for this so if you're not into vinyl you can hear tracks on YouTube.

 Santi & Eroi by D'ELISO, GINO album cover Studio Album, 1979
3.04 | 6 ratings

BUY
Santi & Eroi
Gino D'Eliso Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by Andrea Cortese
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Gino D'Eliso was born in Trieste (near italian-yugoslavian border) in 1951 and made his debut in music business in 1976, during the decline of classic prog period.

He's not well known and it's a pity 'cause he's a very interesting artist with strong eclectic vocation.

His third album, SANTI ed EROI is a good example of what he himself defined "mitteleurock": an interesting mix between classic rock (with new-wave touches) and eastern-european influences (good use of brass), all in a singer-songwriter style.

Just listen to (and compare) songs as (among others) the biting opener "Quelli Pił Belli", the balkanic "Casa Mia (Cuĉa Moja)", the energetic title track, the eclectic "Iole Antica Iole", the elegant "L'Ora del Tč".

He's helped by other many capable musicians such, for example: violinist Lucio "Violino" Fabbri (PFM), bass players Bob Callero (OSAGE TRIBE, DUELLO MADRE, IL VOLO ...) and Paolo Donnarumma (CLAUDIO ROCCHI, ROBERTO COLOMBO ...), sax player Claudio Pascoli (PANGEA, PFM during Passpartł period). The latter sounds sometimes like Andy McKay (ROXY MUSIC).

A very good record.

 Il mare by D'ELISO, GINO album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.22 | 8 ratings

BUY
Il mare
Gino D'Eliso Rock Progressivo Italiano

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars A musician from Trieste,Gino D'Eliso was born in 1951 and studied philosophy and applied psychology.By mid-70's Gino was working as a programmer and director at the bilingual channel RTV Capodistria (in Slovenian and Italian),but Gino was also a talented musician and songwriter,so in 1976 he recorded his first solo album ''Il mare'' with the help of Claudio Pascoli from Pangaea on saxes and flute,released on Numero Uno.

''Il mare'' contains elements from both the typical Italian singer/songwriter style and progressive rock,thus combining different music styles like Folk,Symphonic Rock and Melodic Pop.D'Eliso's voice can be heard all over the place and it is absolutely great,being warm and sensitive.The arrangements are well-performed with intense use of moog synths,acoustic guitars,piano and Pascoli's flutes and saxes,offering a delicate dreamy light symphonic feeling throughout,blended often with the Meditterenean-inspired tunes.Do not expect extended instrumental parts here,the few ones you can detect are dominated by the piano and analog synths,somewhat in a symphonic New Age/Rock mood.The album ends up to be a very soft and gentle listening with no sudden changes or complicated themes,but still with an inner beauty of its own.

D'eliso kept producing albums till mid-80's,but with a less artistic approach and deep into commercial grounds.On the same time he still remained a producer as well as a soundtrack composer for several TV productions.''Il mare'' will definitely leave satisfied all fans of Classic Italian Prog,but could be a great listening for anyone into the lighter and more melodic side of progressive rock.Recommended.

Thanks to Todd for the artist addition.

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.