A journey through the Italianprog scene

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 08 2010 at 11:51

Kojak

Forum Senior Member

Joined: April 03 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 264

Post Options

Quote Kojak

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 07 2010 at 10:50

This has been fascinating, I'm still going through that first post, checking out all those myspace pages, but I'm coming across some amazing music and artists. Thank you for your time and effort putting it all together here. It's been an education.

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 05 2010 at 09:27

NEWS FROM THE CITY OF ROMEO AND JULIET...

Young emerging prog bands from Verona...

GRAN TORINO:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/grantorinoprog

CALIA:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/caliarock

Calia’s dummer is also involved in another project called D’Anima...

D’ANIMA

MySpace 1: http://www.myspace.com/danimaband

MySpace 2: http://www.myspace.com/danimacustic

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

http://nuke.tonypagliuca.com/

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 04 2010 at 05:42

NEW FOOTPRINTS

According to Le Orme's former keyboardist Tony Pagliuca’s blog, this month should be released a new album, “Après Midi”, featuring arrangements for piano solo of pieces taken from Le Orme’s repertoire...

Tony Pagliuca’s official website:

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:24

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 01 2010 at 12:16

PFM’S NEW ALBUM PREVIEW

This month should be released PFM’s new album, a remake of Fabrizio De Andrè’s La Buona Novella featuring brand new arrangements...

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:10

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 30 2010 at 10:01

ABOUT AREA...

Area have been one of the most influential band of the Italian prog scene and here you can find... Some proofs!

VIII STRADA...

ODESSA...

ASSENZIO...

By the way, Demetrio Stratos and Giulio Capiozzo are gone forever, but the three Area’s survivors recently reunited for some concerts...

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:23

AtomicCrimsonRush View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14256

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 29 2010 at 03:52

nice work

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 27 2010 at 13:01

AIR OF REVOLUTION...

Legittimo Brigantaggio are a (combat) folk rock band from Lazio, influenced by Modena City Ramblers and... Franco Battiato!

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/legittimobrigantaggio

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:21

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 25 2010 at 09:21

STILEMA XXI, FOLK ROCK FROM ROME...

More info: http://www.myspace.com/stilemaxxi

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 22 2010 at 11:31

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF LE ORME...

Le Orme seem to go on with a new singer...

For more info and a free legal download... Click HERE

Official fan club:

Italian: http://www.leorme-officialfanclub.com/

Spanish: http://www.leorme-officialfanclub.org/

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 21 2010 at 04:43

JAZZ-ROCK LIGHTS FROM MILAN

LALUCECONTRO are a jazz rock project from Milan...

You can listen to their first EP “Odyssey” clicking HERE

More info:

MySpace http://www.myspace.com/lalucecontro

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=24857719756

Edited by andrea - March 21 2010 at 04:44

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 20 2010 at 16:56

ROSENBACH MUSEUM GUIDED TOUR

Museo Rosenbach are one of the many Italian prog band of the early seventies that had the just chance to release an album before disappear. Their debut album “Zarathustra” was released in 1973 and the line up featureed Stefano “Lupo” Galifi (vocals), Enzo Merogno (guitar, vocals), Pit Corradi (keyboards, mellotron), Alberto Moreno (bass, piano) and Giancarlo Golzi (drums, percussion, vocals). It’s a concept album freely inspired by the work of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. According to the liner notes, the quest for the super–man described by Mauro La Luce’s lyrics wasn’t meant to exalt the violent leader of a new pure breed but the serene search for a human character who, living in communion with nature, tries to purify from every hypocrisy the human values... Despite the great quality of the music, on account of the controversial art cover and to the misunderstandings about the concept, Museo Rosenbach were treated as fascists by critics and part of the public and the album was quite unsuccessful determining the split up of the band. Nonetheless, as time passed by, this work has become a cult one for prog lovers...

The opener is the long title track, a suite in five parts. The first part “L’ultimo uomo” (The last man) begins with a calm and solemn pace, then vocals that seem to come down from a distant place soar drawing a beautiful melody... “Face of light, they told me about you / Your story lies in the echo of the mountains / Too high to descend into us.... Shabby shadow, empty glare of the ego / You don't need to understand the force / That pushes me to seek in the world...”. An instrumental crescendo leads to the second part, “Il re di ieri” (Yesterday king) and to its delicate piano and organ patterns... “No, do not go on walking on never ending roads / You can already see in me what my father, God, taught to you... Love your Land, in her womb God will form itself”. The contrasts between a quiet church like atmosphere and some more aggressive rhythmic passages give to this track a very peculiar and dramatic feeling...

On the third part of the suite, “Al di là del bene e del male” (Beyond the good and the evil) tension rises while vocals try to evoke how pretentious are human laws drawing borders between good and evil... “Ancient tables, divine wills in the past already divided the good and the evil / The man alone, far from God, cannot build his own moral / Run away from your will / Under these curtains lies a false wisdom / The truth is insulted / From the moral that you created no good will come...”. The fourth part, “Superuomo” (Super-man) begins quietly and in a more reflexive way suggesting that you have to choose among many answers about the sense of life what’s the right one... “Thousand traditions built a wall around me / Alone and without forces I get lost into my own words / And perhaps I'm looking for someone who has always walked behind me... / Now he is coming to life in me / I’m living the Super-man”. Then vocals give way to a crescendo of amazing shifting musical passages leading to the final solemn instrumental part “Il tempio delle clessidre” (The temple of the hourglasses)

The other tracks are shorter but not less interesting. “Degli uomini” (About men) is as intense as an horseback ride. Vocals ask questions about war and peace, joy and pain, then a bittersweet reflection soars... “Like Autumn, the world wants to wither / It offers swords to the sky overriding the loyalty / It grows up and, as time passes by, it kills its humanity”.

“Della natura” (About nature) begins with a frenzy rhythm, then suddenly a suspicious and treacherous quiet comes down... “Quietness falls over the night / Virgin in its mantle... The silence with its void lights the fear again / Terror, pregnant of magic as it is, makes Death’s face come back in mind...”. Rhythm takes off again, then melts in a complex and more relaxed section while lyrics draw a quite different landscape where men live in harmony with nature and where silence is described as the singing of real poetry... "My eyes are tired, I feel by now that I’m going to sleep / The dawn comes from quietness / Virgin in its own mantle, it lives and already thrills...”. ”Dell'eterno ritorno” (About the eternal return) is about the eternal circle of life. Strange omens shake our certitudes while life comes to an end... The music is complex as usual, marching beats alternate with organ rides while soaring dramatic vocals depicts doubts and fading hopes... “By now my future is already there / The road I will take leads where the man stops / And where the Eternal Return reign...”.

After the end of Museo Rosenbach experience, drummer Giancarlo Golzi joined forces with Carlo Marrale and Piero Cassano, former members of JET, a formed a new band called MATIA BAZAR, more pop oriented and commercially very successful

In 2000 Museo Rosenbach reunited with a different line up and released a new album, Exit, but if you expect from this new work something like “Zarathustra” you will be disappointed… Here there’s no much of the old “Museo Rosenbach left. The only founding members in the new line-up are Alberto Moreno and Giancarlo Golzi and the music is closer to the elegant pop of the Matia Bazar than to “Zarathustra”. “Exit” should be a concept album but the project seems to me confused and the ideas sometimes seem to get lost into the mist… The first track “Exit” is a kind of short intro to the album with a good acoustic guitar arpeggio (and “obscure” lyrics)… Then, with “Il terzo occhio” the music turns to a smart pop sound… My favourite track is “Il re del circo” (lyrics about the civil war in Yugoslavia) where you can find at least some hints of progressive…

Nonetheless the new line up is not bad and it should be of some interest for prog lovers listen to...

More info about MUSEO ROSENBACH:

Official website: http://www.museo.it/

Andrea Biancheri’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/andreabiancheri

Recently original Museo Rosenbach’s vocalist Stefano “Lupo” Galifi joined a new project called IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE and performed the whole album Zarathustra on stage... The band is now working on some original pieces...

More info about IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/iltempiodelleclessidre

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:19

Nightfly

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: August 01 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3659

Post Options

Quote Nightfly

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 19 2010 at 07:20

Thanks for the push towards Procession Andrea. I've listened to the tracks from both albums and was very impressed. I've ordered Fiaba - seems mellower than the heavier debut. I'll order that one soon too.

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 19 2010 at 06:02

BACK FROM MARS!

Campo di Marte’s leader Enrico Rosa is still active and every now and again he still performs the old tracks of Campo di Marte, along with some new tracks...

You don’t know who Campo di Marte are? Well, Campo di Marte were one of the many one-shot bands of the Italian prog scene of the early seventies. It was mainly the brainchild of composer and guitarist Enrico Rosa who gathered around him a bunch of talented and “classical trained” musicians like Alfredo Barducci (horns, piano, organ, vocals), Richard Ursillo aka Paul Richard (bass, vocals), Mauro Sarti (drums, percussion, flute, vocals) and Carlo Felice Marcovecchio (drums, percussion, vocals). They were based in Tuscany and the name of the band was inspired by a suburb of Florence. Campo di Marte means Field of Mars (or Campus Martius), and Mars was also the Roman god of war so, according to Enrico Rosa, “the name was used as an excuse to write lyrics on the stupidity of wars, and a picture of Turkish mercenary soldiers stabbing themselves with any kind of weapons to demonstrate their strength and receive higher wages was chosen for the cover” (from an interview with Enrico Rosa on the site Italianprog.com).

The original concept was in some way distorted by the label in 1973 and the band had to change the titles and the order of the tracks for commercial reasons. The remastered re-release by AMS Vinyl Magic (BTF) (AMS 101 CD) in 2006 restored the original project and the result is wonderful. The sound quality is excellent and the original project is explained in the booklet through comprehensive liner notes in Italian and in English...

On the restored version, the album opens with the instrumental “V Tempo” (originally named "Prologo Parte I") where you can find a pastoral atmosphere that could remind of bands like Amazing Blondel and Gryphon. The piece is introduced by acoustic and flute and the mood is peaceful and joyful...

On the second track “VI Tempo” (originally named "Prologo Parte II"), the sound of the electric guitar and an heavy marching beat try to evoke the effects of a marching army with horns and drums “playing war anthems”. Peace is broken and war is raging on but on this piece there’s also a short lyrical interlude where dreamy vocals invite you to search for the truth and to give credit to the people: “You will touch with your hands / Days full of sweetness / You will discover in everyone else / Another one like you...”.

The “black magic” of war keep on storming on the third track, the long instrumental “VII Tempo” (originally named "Prologo Parte III"), where frenzy rhythms and gloomy atmospheres prevail...

The fourth track, “I Tempo” (originally named "Riflessione Parte I"), begins with the electric guitar in the forefront and heavy rhythms, but after a while the “storm” gives way to a tense and bitter reflection about the effects of war... “I remember that lawn / Covered with flowers / I was happily running / In the light of the sun... Now I can see that place again / Thousands of crosses / Cover the lawn / Blacken the sun... Unaware men / Get the bones / The only harvest / Of so many crazy sowings...”.

“II Tempo” (originally named "Riflessione Parte II") is a short, soft and dreamy instrumental that leads to “III Tempo” (originally named "Epilogo Parte I"), where hope seems to born again along with the vocals soaring upon a delicate piano pattern... People fed up with war is moving war to war: “Listen, a scream is rising / Look, the crowd is already moving / They’re calling you...”.

The rhythm becomes frenzy again while revolution starts... The classical inspired organ fugue of “IV tempo” (originally named "Epilogo Parte II) and the final acoustic guitar arpeggio that marks the restored peace concludes a great album...

More info about Enrico Rosa:

Official Website: http://www.enricorosa.com/

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/enrosa

Enrico Rosa has also started a new jazz-blues project called LINK XII

More info:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/link12band

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:14

AtomicCrimsonRush View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14256

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 18 2010 at 23:15

Okay all bets are off... this is the place to come to discover new Italian Prog - thanks Andrea!

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 18 2010 at 16:41

PROG IN CLASSICS!

MARCO LO MUSCIO is a classical organist and pianist from Rome with a strong passion for prog... He has re-arranged and interpreted some prog classics for organ and piano solo...

He recorded some albums featuring original tracks that should be of some interest for prog lovers.

His last album “The Book Of Bilbo And Gandalf” features some guest stars like Steve Hackett, John Hackett and Pär Lind...

More info:

Official website: http://www.marcolomuscio.com/

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/marcolomuscio

Edited by andrea - December 28 2010 at 08:35

Nightfly

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: August 01 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3659

Post Options

Quote Nightfly

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 18 2010 at 12:03

Thanks Andrea, I'm looking forward to checking out Procession.....when my Maxophone cd has finished playing.

AtomicCrimsonRush View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14256

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 18 2010 at 05:40

I could spend all day in this thread alone.

You should put this entry on Wikipedia!

Certainly comprehensive and incredible report on Italian Prog Scene.

Todd

Special Collaborator

RPI / Heavy Prog Team

Joined: December 19 2007
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 3472

Post Options

Quote Todd

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: March 17 2010 at 11:57

Andrea, I really loved your insights into Procession, one of my favorite bands. Your comments inspired me to listen to the albums again! Grazie! And Capra sounds like interesting guitar music.

"I have seen the broken sky turn blue."

My Gnosis Ratings

andrea

Prog Reviewer

Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 2048

Post Options