GibraltarEPR:
THE classic Italian band, certainly the best-known. Their first three Italian albums are all must-haves. Storia di un Minuto is a very striking debut. Their music is very symphonic, mixing influences from King Crimson and Genesis mostly, but in the end arriving at something not like anything before, and providing the mould for many other Italian and other European bands. Guitarist Franco Mussida is most obviously classically trained, keyboardist/main vocalist Flavio Premoli's playing ranges from gentle piano etudes to wailing Moog. Adding a distinctively Italian flavour is flute/violin player Mauro Pagani. The mixture works best on tracks such as the beautiful "Impressioni di Settembre" and the exuberant "E' Festa". Per Un Amico is an equally fine album, neatly balancing between gentle contemplation and bouncy melodicism, never getting especially heavy, but consistently interesting and lovely. Photos Of Ghosts is a poorly remixed version of Per Un Amico, with English lyrics by Peter Sinfield, who obviously didn't know what the original Italian lyrics were, and didn't seem to care. Some of the songs are reedited and stuck elsewhere, vocals are added to the instrumental "Generale!" (retitled "Mister Nine-Till-Five"), and there's even a wimpy re-recording of "E' Festa" called "Celebration". PLEASE get Per Un Amico if you can, Photos Of Ghosts is NO substitute! L'Isola Di Niente features a minor personnel change, their original bass player is replaced by ex-Area (!) member Jan Patrick Djivas. It's certainly their finest hour, with the breathtaking title-track beginning the album with a BIG bang. The intricately multilevelled "Four Holes In The Ground" is a classic, and became a concert favourite (not hard to see why!). "Via Lumiere" is a fine fusion-y instrumental, while "Dolcissima Maria" is a beautiful ballad. Even the English-language (again with Sinfield lyrics) "Is My Face On Straight?" is excellent. If you're just starting out in Italian prog, this is one to get! The World Became The World is another English-language album, but this time with the same music, so it's not as bad as Photos Of Ghosts. Again there is a re-recording of a song from the first album: the title song is "Impressioni di Settembre" with English lyrics. Cook is a high-quality live album recorded in Canada and the US, and is the same as the erroneously titled Italian album: Live in U.S.A.. Marconi Bakery is a compilation of music from the first three Italian albums. Later albums feature ex-Acqua Fragile leader Bernardo Lanzetti on lead vocals. I haven't heard these, but from what I've heard of Lanzetti, I'd expect these to be less listenable than the early albums. -- Mike Ohman
CD 1: Raccolta Studio
1. Impressioni Di Settembre (4:21)
2. La Carrozza Di Hans (5:40)
3. Dove... Quando (4:07)
4. è festa (4:50)
5. Appena Un Po' (6:52)
6. Il Banchetto (5:17)
7. Photos Of Ghosts (5:20)
8. L'Isola Di Niente (8:31)
9. La Luna Nuova (6:20)
10. Dolcissima Maria (4:02)
11. Harleqin (7:48)
12. Choccolate Kings (4:38)
13. Traveller (5:27)
14. Passpartù (4:52)
Total Time: 78:32
CD 2: Raccolta Studio
1. Suonare Suonare (4:47)
2. Si può Fare (4:52)
3. Come Ti Va (5:40)
4. Quartiere Otto (5:30)
5. Chi Ha Paura Della Notte (4:31)
6. "46" (4:16)
7. Un Amore Vero (5:01)
8. Andare Per Andare (6:22)
9. Il Cavallo Di Legno (4:28)
10. La Rivoluzione (3:50)
11. KNA (4:48)
12. Sea Of Memory (6:44)
13. La Terra Dell'Acqua (8:14)
14. Cyber Alpha 3.1 (4.27)
15. Nederland 1903 (3:22)
Total Time: 77:18
CD 3: Raccolta Live
1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (4:40)
2. Mr 9 Till 5 (4:32)
3. Altaloma 5 Till 9 (15.31)
4. Celebration (8:14)
5. Il Pescatore (3:59)
6. Out Of The Roundabout (6:13)
7. Sei (6:12)
8. Maestro della Voce (7:54)
9. Promenade The puzzle (7.10)
10. La Luna Nuova (Four Holes In The Ground) (7.40)
11. La Carrozza di Hans (6:25)
Total Time: 78:58
Line-up/Musicians
Franz Di Cioccio
Franco Mussida
Mauro Pagani
Giorgio Piazza
Flavio premoli
Patrick Djivas
Bernardo Lanzetti
Gregory Bloch
Lucio "violino" Fabbri
Cosma
Walter Calloni
Fabrizio de André
guest:
Roberto Colombo
Phil Drummy
Stefano Tavernese
Peter Hammill
Piero Monterisi
Roberto Gualdi
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