Artist
ALPHATAURUS
Michele Bavaro (vocals)
Pietro Pellegrini (keyboards, vibes)
Guido Wasserman (guitar)
Alfonso Oliva (bass)
Giorgio Santandrea (drums)
A group from Milan of which little is known, Alphataurus were one of the many unknown Italian bands who suddenly had a recording deal, made an album and disappeared into oblivion.
Their only album, Alphataurus, the first on the newly born Magma label, is a masterpiece, so well crafted and played that it seems impossible that's been made by a group of unknowns. The singer Bavaro has a very original voice, keyboard player Pietro Pellegrini plays with competence and no self-indulgence, guitar-playing of Guido Wasserman is well cared and the rhythm section of Oliva and Santandrea creates a powerful background.
The album includes five long compositions of which Peccato d'orgoglio and La mente vola are the best, the latter featuring a nice moog intro and a stunning vibes solo.
Soon after this the band split while recording a second album. This has been reissued on CD as Dietro l'uragano but only includes the instrumental parts and no vocals, the result is good though it sounds incomplete at times.
Drummer Giorgio Santandrea was briefly in Crystals,
while keyboardist Pietro Pellegrini has long collaborated with Riccardo
Zappa and PFM.
Singer Michele Bavaro released a commercial solo album near the end of the 70's.
He's probably the same Bavaro that has recently released a CD of Italian songs
for the brazilian market.
In 2010 three of the original members (Pellegrini, Wasserman, Santandrea) reformed Alphataurus to play at the Progvention held in Mezzago (near Milan). The new line-up, which includes singer Claudio Falcone, keyboardist Andrea Guizzetti and bassist Fabio Rigamonti, has stayed together for a few concerts in 2011.
| LP | |||
| Alphataurus | Magma (MAGL 18001) | 1973 | triple gatefold cover |
| AMS/BTF (AMS LP 09) | 2009 | reissue of 1973 album with triple gatefold cover and yellow vinyl | |
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CD |
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| Dietro l'uragano | Mellow (MMP 132) | 1992 | recorded in 1973 by original line-up less singer Michele Bavaro |
| Alphataurus | Vinyl Magic (VM CD 051) | 1995 | reissue of 1973 album - mini-LP triple gatefold cover |
| AMS/BTF (AMS 189CD) | 2011 | as above with mini-LP triple gatefold cover | |
Alphataurus is a very rare album in its original issue, with a distinctive nice triple gatefold cover.
A Korean issue was made in 1000 copies (Si-Wan SRML 2001) with the same triple gatefold cover design as
the original. Later Korean issues had a single cover.
Also a Japanese issue exists (King K22P328) with single cover.
The first italian vinyl reissue ever made came out in 2009 on AMS, with a reproduction of the original triple foldout cover, and yellow vinyl.
Alphataurus has had a 2003 CD reissue by
the Japanese label Arcangelo (ARC-7020) with a mini-LP cover. This is
also part of an 8-CD box set dedicated to Grog (that includes in fact only three
Grog releases along with five albums originally on
Magma).
Even the CD reissues on Vinyl Magic and AMS have a triple gatefold mini-LP cover.
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Alphataturus - front cover |
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| Alphataurus - triple gatefold cover |
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| Alphataurus - cover inner |
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| LP label |
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| Dietro l'uragano - CD cover |
Click on the pictures to enlarge
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| Alphataurus - Promotional pictures | |
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| Live at
Progvention 2010 Bloom, Mezzago, 6-nov-2010 Photos by Eugenio Crippa |
Official Alphataurus website: www.alphataurus.it
Thanks to Eugenio Crippa for the use of his live pictures and to Matthias Scheller and Alphataurus for the group's photos.
