CRISI

So you've got your Le Orme's, your P.F.M's, your Q.V.L's, your Museo Rosenbach's and so on...in other words, all the classics of the vintage Italian prog-rock period, so what's next? How about exploring the numerous obscurities and relatively unknown albums from the era that may not hold the same reputation, but still have plenty to recommend about them? One such case in point is Exploit's sole album `Crisi' from 1972, a perfectly charming and energetic set that offers multiple musical personalities! The first side is a twenty-plus minute three-part suite that shares much in common with Le Orme and The Nice with its symphonic bluster, and the flip offers some sweet and cool pop/rock tunes that are hard not to love, and the LP overall curiously jumps between both English and Italian to keep you on your toes that little bit more.

With a commanding and dramatic introduction, the `Crisi Suite' bursts to life with a rapid blur of pompous organ fanfares, stabbing murmuring bass attacks and rattling drumming tension! Slinking in and out of sprightly jazzy runs, bluesy saunters and brisk up-tempo sprints, the piece frequently calls to mind the more well-known Italian band Triade's `1998: La Storia di Sabazio' from 1973 with its lengthy symphonic flights. In parts, ravishing classical-like themes emerge, and swooning vocal breaks (alternatively in English and Italian) are full of dignity and dripping with passion. Enzo Cutuli lets rip with aggressively buoyant bass soloing around a psychedelic swirl of Carlo Crivelli's dizzying and shimmering organ swells, even Aldo Pignanelli gets one of those oh-so-Seventies furious drum solo breaks! All up, this raucous and lavish symphonic suite proves thoroughly addictive and well worth constant replays, and is many ways holds its own against many other tightly written and arranged extended suites found on Italian progressive music releases.

Switching entirely to Italian, the B-side takes a step away from ambitiousness and delivers a run of well-played commercial rock/pop tunes. `Anche Se Ho Sbagliato' is a groovy rocker with snarling guitars, bristling Hammond organ and a joyful peppy choral chorus, romantic ballad `Un Bambino' sighs with gentle doo-wop flavours, and `Il Campanile Della Cattedrale' is reflective with a slightly sombre weariness that may remind some of the most honest Beach Boys ballads. `L'Anima Nuda' starts as a solemn ballad but grows hair on its chest for fiery little spurts, full of stop/start frantic instrumental outbursts (just listen for those breakneck rupturing bass spasms!), but it's a shame about the abrupt fade-out mid-wailing guitar solo. `Giochiamo Insieme' is a prancing psych-popper (superb bass, organ and piano throughout) with a cheerful sing-along chorus, and `La Tua Pelle Scotta' is an up-tempo spiky guitar-driven rocker with a proudly poppy chorus.

It's probably hard to completely recommend Exploit's LP if you have an incomplete collection of the vintage Italian prog works that needs a few more of the classics. Alternatively, the dual languages utilised throughout this disc, and well as the frequently accessible arrangements might help make `Crisi' an ideal gentle introduction to the wider world of Italian progressive music for newcomers! The side-long suite has endless ideas of great merit, but the second half of the set retains a welcome toughness to even its poppier moments, calling to mind similar accessible Italian acts of the early era like I Raminghi and Laser. All up, Exploit's sole precious little `Crisi' is simply a fine Italian rock album overall that holds plenty of charm and personality.

Three stars when placed alongside the classics, but personally a four star LP.