Another band coming from a 60's long career, The Showmen from Naples had some hits in 1968 and 1969 with their original blend of soul, rhythm & blues and italian pop, releasing only an LP and a bunch of singles on RCA. The band had been formed by bassist/singer Mario Musella and sax player James Senese in 1966, and their first single came in 1968. They had a great hit with Un'ora sola ti vorrei, that won the 1968 Cantagiro. The original group split at the turn of the 70's, with Musella embarking in an unsuccessful solo career (he sadly died in 1979), and Elio D'Anna going to form Osanna.
After a short time Senese and Del Prete, aided by the guitarist Botta (now on bass), reformed the group with a new line-up, and more influenced by the current italian rock tendences released a single and an album simply called Showmen 2 (it's not clear whether Showmen 2 is the album title or the name of the band, but the liner notes refer to the group as simply Showmen) on the small local label B.B.B. with little promotion.
The album is housed in a stunning gatefold cover and contains a peculiar mix of rock, rhythm & blues, prog, not far from the sound of Chicago or the english band If. The voice has melodic pop influences, but the music is powerful and well played, with strong horn arrangements that make this album unique in the italian prog scene of the time. Tracks like Abbasso lo zio Tom (also released as a single and with lyrics about racism) or Epitaffio have good lyrics and nice arrangements.
The band disbanded after the album, founders Senese and Del Prete creating Napoli Centrale with a production of three jazz-rock albums in 1975-77.
1. Abbasso lo zio Tom 6:54 2. Amore che fu 8:22 3. Epitaffio 7:16 4. Corri uomo corri 7:10 5. E la vita continua 4:49 6. Ma che uomo sei 7:32
Gianmichele Mattiuzzo Organ, Piano, Vocals James Senese Sax, Flute, Percussion, Vocals Pepe Botta Bass, Vocals Piero Alonso Guitars Franco Del Prete Drums, Percussion Mario Archittu Trombone, Piano
Action: 10% discount coupon for Depositfiles Gold accounts for 6 months and 1 year periods. The coupon is very simple in usage: you enter it on the Gold account payment page and after the prices are recalculated can buy an account with the discount. Your coupon: vkanhlm5uqib3uugw6aqifkcudbnzqej
Oldish Psych & Prog offers progressive psychedelic rock music mp3 lossless downloads
