NOI

I Santoni came from Florence, Italy, originally formed in 1967 as a quartet with Bruno Mosti on keyboards/vocals, Franco Bettazzi on sax/flute, Wilson Lupi on drums and Marco Puggelli on bass.Lupi was soon replaced by Fabrizio Prussi and another addition followed, Giorgio Gorini on sax/flute.By the time of their first single in 1971 Puggelli had left his place to Giovanni Rondelli and the next year the only album of the group ''Noi: I Santoni'' came out on Car Juke Box label.

While not actually a prog album, ''Noi: I Santoni'' shows the clear tendency of this obscure band towards elaborate and artistic compositions, despite they are all delivered in very short forms.The sound of the group is led by the constant use of Hammond organ and the discreet presence of flutes and saxes.The work is characterized by a strong melodic content, somewhat close to the more accesible tracks of BLOCCO MENTALE, DELIRIUM and DALTON with a vintage-styled organ leading the way, while guitars are used carefully.Some light interplays with flute, sax and piano in evidence can also be detected.But the overall result is in fact an album full of song-structured pieces, having some minor yet delicate instrumental themes with a slight Proto-Prog color.The vocals of Mosti are certainly good, a typical Italian voice with an instant expression, and the vocal harmonies belong among the highlights of the album.

The sole release of I Santoni was not particularly succesful, still it was good enough to give the band the opportunity to tour Italy and even play abroad.Sadly they disbanded a couple of years after the release of the album.

This is some Italian Art Rock, not at its best but definitely at a very decent deegree.Melodic, emotional and sophisticated with 60's psych and proggy touches all the way.Recommended for fans of the easier side of Prog music.