Artist
MARIO BARBAJA
Mario Barbaja (real name Barbaglia) is a little known artist based in Milan, whose early works have much in common with another singer-songwriter that released his main albums on Ariston, Claudio Rocchi.
Like Rocchi's first album, Barbaja's debut, Argento, is a mainly acoustic work, based on guitar with some flute, sitar and percussion, in a sort of eastern-influenced psych/folk style.
Second album, Megh, has more intense arrangements closer to rock, and is usually considered his best LP. It featured many well-known session musicians, among which guitarist Ricky Belloni from Nuova Idea and his brother Gigi on bass, Eugenio Finardi, Alberto Camerini and Lucio Fabbri (both also with Finardi, the latter was then in PFM), drummers Tullio De Piscopo (with New Trolls Atomic System and later one of the most important Italian session drummers) and Pasquale Venditto from Forum Livii and Ibis, and even a guest appearance by Stormy Six leader Franco Fabbri. With the latest group Barbaja had also collaborated writing Sotto il bambł, released on single in the same year.
Later albums from 1975 and 1978 were on a lower level and closer to a poppy style.
| LP | |||
| Argento (...quando il nostro amore diventa libertą...) | Ariston (AR/LP 12062) | 1971 | textured gatefold cover - black label |
| Megh | Ariston (AR/LP 12076) | 1972 | single cover - Ariston Gnomo label |
| New York bazar | Ariston (AR/LP 12273) | 1975 | gatefold cover |
| Made in Hong Kong | Ariston (AR/LP 12341) | 1978 | single cover with lyric inner and poster |
SINGLES (with picture sleeve) |
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| Il mondo di Giulietta Il cammino |
Ariston (AR 0521) | 1971 | both tracks from Argento |
| Argento Il mio cammino |
Ariston (AR 0522) | 1971 | side A from Argento |
| Sono stato Non dire mai |
Ariston (AR 0550) | 1972 | both tracks from Megh |
| Super supermarket Lady drive in |
Ariston (AR 0705) | 1975 | both tracks from New York bazar |
First two albums, usually considered his best ones, are
rather rare.
Argento came with a textured gatefold cover and still had the old design Ariston
black/silver label, while Megh had a poor single cover and came on the
recently introduced beige Gnomo label.
No counterfeit exists, nor foreign issues.
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Argento - front cover |
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Megh - front cover |
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New York bazaar - front cover |
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Made in Hong Kong - front cover |
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Argento - 7" single |
Sono stato - 7" single |
Thanks to Carmine Musella for one of the scans on this page
