ZARATHUSTRA

Italian progressive rock has always fascinated me, as its elegance and dreamy tones tend to stand out from other schools of thought in the genre. While I may not speak Italian, the lyrics resonate with me in a way that ordinary English progressive rock does not, and I have always found myself coming back to select Italian prog albums for this very reason. The lyrics act almost as wordless vocals, as the beautiful Romance language makes for a more audibly appealing sound than the dreary, harsh, and irregular English language. Italian prog also has a propensity for giving rise to a myriad of "one-shot wonders"; bands who would release one masterful album, then disappear into the abyss, never to be heard from again. One such band, and perhaps the best example of this phenomena, is the group Museo Rosenbach, aka "Rosenbach Museum" in English. While the band has released a few new studio albums in the twenty- first century after reforming, the band's heyday from 1971-74 is of great note, with the group releasing a sole studio album in 1973, which is considered to be a "cornerstone" of the Italian prog subgenre.

Museo Rosenbach is relatively well-known in prog circles, although they are by no means the flagship of Italian prog bands. Premiata Forneria Marconi released far more albums, many of which were seminal in their own right. However, Rosenbach's 1973 standalone effort "Zarathustra" is in my opinion superior to any PFM album, even the illustrious "Per un Amico" which is held in very high regards in its own right. A concept album based on the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and his book "Thus Spake Zarathustra", it contains extremely dark elements and undertones, wonderfully capturing the essence of nihilism in musical terms. Side one is a 19:11 epic, split into five parts. I would not go as far to say that there is a story to be told here, but rather the album is a collection of songs which are based around Nietzsche's philosophy, which in its own right can be interpreted in many ways. For example, Rosenbach invokes the "Superman", or Ubermensch, a central tenet of Nietzsche's worldview. There are a few songs which are more introspective outlooks on nature and mankind on the second side, but perhaps the crowning glory of the album is the epic title track.

In general, I have always found Italian prog vocalists to be rather generic and uniform. However, the vocalist on this album is a little bit different in that his voice is gruff; he is not necessarily a great vocalist but his tone fits the mood of the album very well. If you are a fan of the mellotron, then this album is for you. The band relies heavily on this instrument, and it features an incredibly prominent central theme in the title track. Rosenbach has well-defined images, those being Pink Floyd, Genesis, and King Crimson. At this time those aforementioned bands would have already released the albums "Meddle", "Supper's Ready", and "In the Court of the Crimson King" respectively, and those influences are deeply felt in the band's music. However, I would not go so far as to say that Rosenbach is an unoriginal band, as their sound is very unique in its own right, and I mainly attribute this to the band's tones. Genesis has always struck me as a triumphant-sounding group, and while Pink Floyd and King Crimson have explored pessimism, I feel like this band goes beyond that, greatly applying the tones of nihilism into music. However you may want to interpret Nietzsche's concept of nihilism, it is pretty obvious that the music on "Zarathustra" is ominous, yet stoic. Even the album artwork is undeniably scary, with an inhuman collage of what I perceive to be an image of Christ perforated with various images and individuals, the most notorious of which being the late Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Given that the 1970's featured a minor social upheaval which in turn brought Italian prog to fruition, as well as led to the idolization of Nietzsche's work by neo-fascists, the album was banned from radio airplay, and could be the reason why the band never took off in the way that more successful contemporaries such as PFM and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso did.

All politics aside, "Zarathustra" the title track is one of those epics which passes by very quickly, and leaves a lasting impression on the listener. This is not uplifting music, yet it is artsy. It serves as an antithesis to the generally optimistic nature of music without making an explicit sociopolitical statement in the way an ITCOTCK did back in 1969. No band member is obscenely prominent, and the group works as a unit - this makes for a sound which is "Museo Rosenbach" as opposed to "Lupo & Co.". Much of the second side is unremarkable, but fans of this sound will likely rejoice at the prospect of having the album explore more than just the epic. Side two is not required listening by any means, and its arrangement only seems to cast it aside as unimportant in contrast to the leviathan on the first side. Furthermore, the production of this album is incredibly gruff; there is major lack of depth in the bass, and the vocals are obviously not mastered properly, but that is to be expected out of an obscure 1970's prog band which was not signed to a major label. In fact, the original LP is extremely rare, and a first edition will set you back thousands of dollars, similar to that of Leaf Hound's "Growers of Mushroom" over in the hard rock camp. Obviously collectors have already had their sights on this band, but fortunately with the advent of the internet and a few remasters, this album is pretty much available to everyone now. The band even came back with a remastered updated version of the album in 2012, which features the original vocalist and pretty much features the same arrangement, although the track layout has been reversed, with the aforementioned second side tracks going first, which I feel was for the better given it is a bit of an appetizer for the listener in preparation for the epic.

In conclusion, "Zarathustra" is a quintessential album of Italian prog. Its eclectic nature puts it into contention with the finest PFM and BdMS albums, and is one of the greatest albums to emerge from the "one-shot wonder" camp of Italian prog outfits. With albums like this, we should feel gracious that the internet has allowed us to delve back into what is essentially an endless sea of obscure classic prog albums which were previously lost in time. However, to call "Zarathustra" a masterpiece is a bit of a stretch; there are wonderful motifs of sound and an amazing concept which the band works with, but only half of this album can be considered truly seminal. With that said, this is an excellent album that is a top five in terms of Italian prog. To put things in comparison, the other four albums in my Italian prog top five are "Per un Amico", "Darwin", Il Rovescio della Medaglia's "Contaminazione", and "Photos of Ghosts".