Cervello - Melos

This one gets overlooked a lot by the Italian Prog fans but in my opinion it's one of the best things to come out of Italy in the 70s! I actually picked it up completely at random many years ago...I knew absolutely nothing about it except that it was a band from Italy. Like you, I usually do a bit of research on some of the various prog sites out there before buying something, but it's always nice when a surprise like this comes along.

This is a very dynamic album. A very heavy sound at times, with lots of great guitar work, but plenty of nice lighter moments as well that use the the flute, vibraphone, and acoustic guitar. In fact, it's a pretty wild ride...the quiet passages linger for a bit and then tend to give way to sudden outbursts and cool odd-meter vamps. The vocals may be a tad on the harsh side for some tastes, but I think the aggression here suits the music well.

Cervello is: Gianluigi Di Franco (vocals, flute, percussion), Corrado Rustici (guitar, flute, vibes, voice), Giulio D'Ambrosio (sax, flute, vocals), Antonio Spagnolo (bass, acoustic guitar, flute, vocals), Remigio Esposito (drums, vibes). A couple of these guys were in the band Osanna, a group that I'm only vaguely familiar with (add another thing to the list...!). Again, the guitar work in particular is outstanding, but also the way the group uses the flutes and saxophone in addition to some interesting guitar tones. They really get some very interesting sounds going, to the point where you might actually be fooled into thinking there are keyboards on the album. Through their creative arrangements and use of additional instruments, they sound larger than a five-piece group.

I highly recommend this recording for Italian prog fans. It was out of print for a while, but I believe it's now available again on Japanese mini-LP CD.

In Heavy Rotation This Week

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Storia Di Un Minuto
My favorite PFM album and one of the best of the whole Italian prog scene, I think. "Impressioni Di Settembre" and "La Carrozza Di Hans" are personal favorites. Someone over at Progressive Ears recently posted an English translation of the lyrics and it's really added to my appreciation of this brilliant recording.

Capitolo 6 - Frutti Per Kagua
This one is relatively new to me, and so far I'm really loving it. Another great Italian band that only recorded one album, but these guys sound pretty unique, not like the typical Italian prog sound. The flute features prominently here. The side-long title track is a real trip, and really plays more like a suite made up of smaller parts.

Leviathan (self-titled)
A strong effort from this little-known American group from 1974. This is a very dynamic group that combines progressive rock, hard rock, and folk, with plenty of heavy guitar and organ work, but an equal portion of quieter, more reflective moments. The 2nd cut, "Angels," is an example of one of these quieter moments, and it's absolutely beautiful. A lot of great Mellotron playing on this record too.

King Crimson - USA
I've always thought this was a great snapshot of King Crimson in their prime. The live versions of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" and "21st Century Schizoid Man" here are staggering. And I love John Wetton's aggressive, distorted bass work throughout the record. I've always had a soft spot for "Asbury Park" too.

AREA: International POPular Group

Area has to be one of my favorite discoveries from the Italian scene. I always find these guys a bit hard to describe because they are sort of all over the map musically, melding influences from Mediterranean to experimental, yet they have an instantly recognizable sound. And they somehow also manage to include in that combination two of my favorite genres-- progressive rock and free jazz-- and somehow make it work. They are not your typical Italian prog rock group.

At this point I've got six of their albums: Arbeit Macht Frei, Caution Radiation Area, Are(A)zione (live), Crac!, Maledetti, and Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabiati Restano! My personal favorites at the moment are the first one and the last one. My understanding from reading some other articles on the web about them is that that last one (Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno...) is not as highly regarded as the others, but in my opinion it is actually one of their best. Really catchy melodies on that one, but at the same time it also has some of their most avant-garde oriented material and some nice vocal acrobatics to boot. Demetrio Stratos was just a monster of a singer. Stratos also released a couple of solo vocal albums...I've heard one of them and it's pretty unreal. He died in 1979 (age 34!) from aplastic anemia. A true tragedy, and I wonder the same thing that I wonder about Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane...how much farther would he have gone with the music if he had lived longer? It's hard to imagine.

I don't think any description I give here will really give a sense of the Area sound. So as John Coltrane said "Let the music speak for itself"...



As Stratos seems to be such an integral part of the Area sound, I have not yet had the guts to check out Tic & Tac (1980) or Chernobyl 7991 (1997), which obviously do not include him. But I'd appreciate any comments from anyone who has heard either of these. I'm definitely curious. In fact, if anyone has recommendations or info on any of the material with Stratos that I've missed...any of the live recordings, or Rock Exhibition...and I think there are maybe a couple of others?...I would love to hear from you.