UNO

Uno (a title even I have no trouble pronouncing!) is not one of the better known RPI albums, not even one of my favourites but it's certainly an important early example of the Italian prog genre. Not overly complex for the most part, it nevertheless has some strong musical interplay, usually between the guitar and keyboards. It has a strong Hammond presence and to my ears and not surprisingly arriving at the start of the decade, still has a foot in the sixties. When talking of reference points to their sound no individual bands spring to mind yet it all sounds familiar, no doubt because they'd almost certainly been paying attention to what was going on in the USA and UK in that proto prog late sixties era where bands were really starting to stretch out. Add this to some classical influences, baroque flavoured harpsichord and a few experimental flourishes.

The band play well and vocalist Angelo Giardinelli is a fine singer as well as a competent guitar player who gets plenty of opportunities to shine along with keyboard player Giorgio Brandi in the frequent instrumental sections, as good an example as any being on opener La Paura where halfway through this six minute piece it shifts through a number of Hammond/guitar fuelled parts to close. The rhythm section of Filippo Carnevale (drums) and Carlo Bruni (bass) are tight and hold it all together well. Il Vento, La Luna E Pulcini Blu is the longest track at almost ten minutes. Harpsichord plays a prominent role, with acoustic guitar including a short flamenco styled part and some experimental touches on the lengthy instrumental workout and is the most complex of the six tracks.

Not an essential RPI album in my opinion but still very good and well worth checking out. Go for the BTF papersleeve edition which is full of bonus tracks which are less progressive than the main album and show the more commercial side of the band. A real shame we only have one album as Panna Fredda had the potential to be one of the greats of the Italian prog scene. 3 ½ stars.

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