UNO

A one shot Italian band formed by ex-Osanna members Danilo Rustici and Elio D'Anna in 1974 after the split up of the later.Along with drummer Enzo Vallicelli (formerly on Hellza Popin) they travelled to London,UK,propably to catch some more attention in the international market.For this reason the eponymous debut was sung half in English,half in Italian,released on Fonit.

Time goes always forward but for Uno time stopped propably around 1970.The sound is closer to early-70's Proto-Prog than recalling members of an experienced prog band like Osanna.The opening ''Right Place'' is quite good,Orchestral Rock with Folk references and driving saxes,while the English vocals of Rustici are great.The following ''Popular girl'' is absolutely cheesy and commmercial,standard yet unsurprising Blues Rock,saved only by D'Anna's good flute soloing.The first Italian track ''I Cani E La Volpe'' is an interesting approach on Acoustic Rock with good synths,nice sax solos and excellent vocals again.''Stay with me'' sees the band turning into some sort of Folk ballad,but the results are not conveincing.The short and acoustic ''Uomo Come Gli Altri'' will give rise to the long ''Uno Nel Tutto'', propably the most demanding track of the album, close to OSANNA's style, with tons of complicated driving saxes,delicate flutes,symphonic passages and hard guitar playing.''Goodbye friend'' is a depressive yet ethereal outro,starting as an acoustic song and becoming orchestral on the way,featuring the saxes of D'Anna and the crying voice of Lisa Strike,known for her performance on Pink Floyd's ''Dark side of the moon''.

The same album was also released in an exclusively English version for the foreign market without much success.Being a trio,the band had problems transforming their sound on stage,solved by the presence of Danilo's brother Corrado on bass and guitars.This collaboration would mark the farewell of Uno,as the band was soon re-named to Nova and performing in a more Jazz-Rock vein.

''Uno'' is a good album,containg elements from both Italian Prog and Classic 70's Prog sound,mixed with occasional Folk beats.Still it lacks in coherence and inspiration compared to OSANNA,but it remains a decent Italian prog obscurity.Recommended.