The full list
Discography:
LP - Mirage (Mu UM108 - 1979)
Only an album on the Turin label Mu for this keyboardist from Piemonte, in a similar style to the works of Pierpaolo Bibbò or Baffo Banfi, but a bit more relaxed.
Line up:
Antonello Salis (keyboards)
Riccardo Lay (bass)
Mario Paliano (drums)
Discography:
LP - Boomerang (Vedette VPA 8335 - 1977)
LP - Flying over Ortobene (Edizioni dell'Isola ELS 2026 - 1979)
A jazz-rock trio from Sardinia formed by keyboardist Antonello Salis, that had a good solo career, mainly in the jazz field, since the 80's.
Very popular in Italy during the 60's and 70's, like many other beat and pop groups I Camaleonti had slight progressive influences in some of their 70's albums, notably Che aereo stupendo la felicità from 1975, though this can't be described as a true prog LP.
Line up:
Alex Jackson (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano)
Dave Summer (guitar, vocals)
Martin Fisher (bass, keyboards)
Pete Huish (drums)
Discography:
LP - Under age (RCA PSL 10449 - 1970)
45 - Sei la mia donna/Fresh garbage (RCA PM 3478 - 1969 - as "Sopworth
Camel")
45 - Mystery tour/Society's child (RCA PM 3497 - 1969)
An english group, one of many that came to Italy during the beat era and chose to stay here afterwards, Camel only released an album in 1970 and two singles, the first of which under the longer name of Sopworth Camel. All of their production was made of other artists' covers from the 60's, such as The Beatles, Spirit, The Who.
Discography:
LP - Cenerentola e il pane quotidiano (Cramps CRSLP 4305 - 1976)
LP - Gelato metropolitano (Cramps CRSLP 4593 - 1977)
+ other singles and LP's
A talented session guitarist in the Milan scene, Brazil-born Camerini played in Il Pacco and L'Enorme Maria, with Eugenio Finardi and Donatella Bardi, and later collaborated with many other artists. His solo albums are rock-oriented.
Discography:
LP - Aria mediterranea (Mu UM 103 - 1978)
CD - Imaginations (Mellow/Fruit Salad MMFS 1009 - 1994 - reissue of 1978 album
with extra tracks)
+ other CD's in the 90's
The talented guitarist of Procession released an instrumental solo album in 1978 inspired by ethno-world atmospheres. Another past member of the same group, bass player Angelo Girardi collaborated in the album.
Discography:
LP - Carota (Borgatti BLP 0052 - 1968)
LP - Alba tramonto (Pathos - 1979)
Franco Carotta released two albums under the surname of Carota, the first one
in a singer-songwriter style also included a song by Fabrizio De André and was
released by a small label from Casalecchio di Reno, Emilia.
The second one, in 1979, was more electric though it can hardly be described as
progressive.
Line-up:
Jack Marchal (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals)
Olivier Carrè (lyrics, vocals)
Mario Ladich (drums)
Discography:
LP - Science & violence (Signal 001 EF 57 - 1979)
CD - Science & violence (Cosmorecord CR 0011 - 1997)
This trio, composed by former Janus
drummer Mario Ladich along with two french musicians/artists, only released an
album in Italy in 1979, a very good record, which shows a much better musicianship and production than Janus' Al
maestrale, this is now very hard to find.
All sung in french, but with long instrumental parts, the album is a very good
example of guitar-led progressive music with some spacey synth parts. All the tracks were composed by Jack
Marchal, hence the record is often considered his solo album.
The CD reissue includes two bonus tracks
Discography:
LP - Il buio, la rabbia, domani (Two Nuns TTN 35003 - 1973)
LP - Da bambino mi hanno detto (Ultima Spiaggia ZLUS 55184 - 1975)
+ singles
Composer and arranger, this artist from Rome also made two solo albums in the 70's, with good instrumental and orchestral parts. Carucci had played in the 60's with I Gatti Rossi.
Line up:
Franco Mele (vocals)
Sergio Giambelli (keyboards)
Fulvio Santoni (guitar)
Roberto Scarpini (bass)
Massimo Santoni (drums)
A group from the Milan area that didn't leave any recorded traces despite a
long career, between 1968 and 1975. Their beginnings were under the odd name
Strhong and a repertoire made of cover versions, then between 1970 and 1972 the
sound became heavier and inspired from Deep Purple and Hendrix.
Since 1972 the band started developing a personal style, playing much in their
area, in some cases supporting Pholas Dactylus,
with a live act based on a single suite around 45 minutes long, entitled Viaggio
oltre il cielo, influenced by King Crimson.
Line up:
Tullio Eusebi (sax, clarinet, flute)
Alex Schiavi (bass)
Luigi Jervolino (percussion)
Nena Avoti (percussion)
Discography:
MC - Catharsis (Belgravia BC 101 - 1978)
45 - Asinara lager pt.1-7 (Belgravia BC EP 201 - 1978)
A group from Milan that featured guitarist Alex Schiavi, who has later
released many CD's of electronic experimentation.
Cemento released a cassette album (as a duo with Eusebi and Schiavi) and a 7" EP
(as a quartet, under the name Cemento Jazz Group), both self-produced, before
disbanding. Their style is mainly improvised jazz.
Also on Belgravia label, Alex Schiavi, along with percussionist Massimo Peloso,
produced the LP Musica futurista in 1981.
Discography:
45 - L'ultimo fiore/Da ora senza te (Bambara VB 7778 - 1974)
Just a single for this band, with two good songs in the style of many other popular italian prog bands.
Discography:
LP - Droga (Roman Recording Company AG 101 - 197?)
A very important name in the italian music scene, guitarist Silvano Chimenti,
from Taranto, started playing with the beat group I Planets, which released an
LP for ARC in 1967, and then began a long and fruitful career as session
musician that still lasts now.
His main work for the italian progressive music collectors is
the Droga LP, released by R.R.C./Fly between 1971 and 1972 and probably
the rarest title in a series called Viaggio attraverso i problemi
dell'uomo (Journey through the man's problems - among them Lavoro
by Enzo Scoppa/Scoen and Cicci Santucci, Spazio by Gianni Mazza, Prima
età by Gianni Mazza and Aldo Sinesio,
Traffico by Enzo Scoppa and others with titles such as Nevrosi,
Thrilling, Tempo libero, all sharing the same cover design).
The album is totally instrumental, with the lead guitar of Chimenti in evidence,
and a style halfway between lounge and soundtrack, with strong rock and blues
influences.
Chimenti also played in the group I Pulsar,
which composed the soundtrack for the film Milano violenta.
Websites:
Silvano Chimenti - www.silvanochimenti.com
Line up:
Claudio Ciampini (vocals, acoustic guitar)
Ronnie Jackson (vocals, acoustic guitar)
Discography:
LP - Ciampini & Jackson (Motion ZSLB 55275 - 1975)
This duo, formed by Claudio Ciampini and Ronnie Jackson, only released an album in 1975, with 10 tracks all sung in english and mainly in singer-songwriter style with some vaguely progressive arrangements. The two had previously collaborated with Simon Luca on his third album E la mia mente?. Englishman Jackson has been an appreciated session musician in Italy for many years after the demise of this duo.
Discography:
LP - Notte (CBS 69085 - 1974)
+ others
Tony Cicco was the drummer and singer in Formula
Tre, and tried a solo career after the end of that group under the name of
Cico.
All of his works are in a commercial pop style. The first of these, Notte,
had a gatefold cover including a large 24 page booklet with lyrics and drawings.
He later formed a pop trio, Fantasy.
Discography:
LP - Super
gasoline blues (Cramps 5205 751
- 1978)
LP - Bluesman (Cramps 5205 752
- 1979)
+ others
Former guitarist with jazz-rock group Blue Morning, Ciotti started his solo career declaring his love for blues, and has released many albums since then.
Line-up:
Renzo Tortora (guitar, vocals)
Uberto Saragoni (organ, vocals)
Alberto Solfrini (bass, vocals)
Pasquale Venditto (drums, vocals)
Discography:
45 - Preghiera/La
fretta di arrivare (CBS 3416 - 1968)
Beat group from Forlì, existing since 1964 and whose name was chosen to
honour Cliff Richard, I Cliffters only released a good single in 1968 and were
later featured with the melodic pop song
Bimba mia on the Fonit
compilation Nuovi complessi
d'avanguardia da Radio Montecarlo (their name is incorrectly spelt as Clifters
on the LP label, but they didn't manage to release any more records, despite a
very long career up to 1973, with many line-up changes.
In 1968 they supported Jimi Hendrix in his two concerts at Palasport in Bologna,
and in the following years they played in the main italian clubs, participating
in the Villa Pamphili Pop Festival in Rome in 1972.
Tortora and Vendito quit the group in 1971 to form
Forum Livii, replaced by the french-tunisian guitarist Christian Souiller
(ex-Migrants) and drummer Beppe Leoncini.
This line-up recorded an album for It, sadly
never issued.
Discography:
LP - Sfogatevi bestie (Ultima Spiaggia ZLUS 55185 - 1976)
LP - Botte da orbi (Ultima Spiaggia ZPLS 34012 - 1977)
LP - Astrolimpix (Ciao 1005 - 1980)
CD - Botte da orbi (Mju:zik
C3P8 - 1999 - limited reissue of 1977 album only included in the mju:zik
magazine)
CD - Botte da orbi (Sublime Music - 2007 - new reissue of 1977 album)
CD - Sfogatevi bestie (BMG 82876 63953 2 - 2004 - reissue of 1976 album)
An artist from Milan, whose early albums on Ultima
Spiaggia are very interesting, a mix of jazz-rock with some Zappa humour.
The last album from 1980 was more in a commercial electropop direction.
The first two albums have only recently had a CD reissue.
Discography:
45 - Cacao/Colonnello Musch (Bla Bla BBR 1331 - 1972)
Not one of the most memorable releases on the Bla Bla label, this single is rather commercial and was played by Pino Massara, producer and founder of the same label.
Line up:
Aldo Rindone (keyboards)
Maurizio Gianotti (sax)
Giorgio Marotti (bass)
Giorgio Diaferia (drums)
Discography:
LP - No speed (Mu UM105 - 1979)
CD - No speed (Electromantic TJRS 1965 - 2005)
Another of many jazz-rock groups on Turin label Mu with a single LP release
in their career.
Drummer Diaferia came from Esagono, while sax player
Gianotti was in the last line-up of Procession.
The album, with six instrumental tracks, is very rare and has been reissued on
CD for the first time by Electromantic in 2005.
Line up:
Mario Bortoluzzi (vocals)
Massimo Di Nunzio (guitar, bass)
Gino Pincini (keyboards)
Marinella Di Nunzio (keyboards)
Marco Priori (drums)
Adolfo Moranti (percussion)
Discography:
LP - Terra di Thule (Il Cerchio - 1983)
CD - Terra di Thule (Compagnia dell'Anello CDA 002 - 2004 -
reissue of 1983 album)
+ others
Active in Padova since 1974 with various line-ups, in 1977 the band became La
Compagnia dell'Anello (one of the chapters in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings),
and was strongly connected with right wing youth movements.
Like Janus,
they had a good live activity in those circuits since their early years, but
could only release a self produced debut album in 1983. The recently reissued Terra
di Thule is a good folk-rock album containing dreamy ballads mainly built on
acoustic guitar, piano
and vocals, while the second side has more keyboards and instrumental parts. The
original LP is rare.
A second album, In rotta per Bisanzio, followed in 1990.
Websites:
Compagnia dell'Anello -
www.compagniadellanello.net
Line up:
Lady Mantide (vocals)
Ciro Perrino (keyboards)
Alex Magazzino (guitar)
Roby Rossi (bass)
Marco Tudini (drums)
Discography:
CD - La compagnia digitale (Mellow MMP 109 - 1992)
An electronic space-rock group formed by ex-Celeste drummer Ciro Perrino after another shortlived band called St.Tropez. The posthumous CD on Mellow includes a live recording from 1979. The group later became SNC, and a posthumous album credited to this band is also available on Mellow.
Discography:
45 - Lady hi, lady ho/Un po' di sabbia, un po' di fantasia (Philips 6025 062 - 1972)
Despite the long name of this group, the style of this single is not
particularly close to progressive rock.
The track on side B was used as main theme of the TV show Aria aperta.
Line up:
Marco Bertoni (keyboards)
Enrico Serotti (guitar)
Lucio Ardito (bass)
Gianni Cuoghi (drums)
Discography:
LP - Confusional Quartet (Italian EXIT 902 - 1980)
10" MLP - Confusional Quartet (Italian EXITM 601 - 1981)
A quartet from Bologna, active since the late 70's and promoted by the young
Italian Records label as a new wave group, just like Art
Fleury.
They played in fact an original blend of jazz-rock with some Zappa-esque humour
and traditional italian music influences.
Discography:
45 - Meditation/Ekstasis (Valiant ZBV 7073 - 1977)
Crash, from Rome, collaborated with composer Emilio Locurcio in his Eliogabalo
rock-opera. In its long story the group included keyboardist Gianni Nocenzi,
guitarists Claudio and Fabrizio Falco and drummer Mario Achilli, all in the very
first line-up of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso.
As Crash they only released a single in 1977, with a prog-inspired track on
side B.
Discography:
45 - Sei sempre tu/Se io fossi (New Star NSR 1138 - 1976)
An unknown group that only released a good single with an anonymous cover. The style is melodic progressive based on organ.
Line up:
Mauro Carbone (sax)
Massimo De Pasquale (electric piano)
Augusto Forin (bass)
Mirco Pagano (drums)
Formed in Sori, near Genova, as a trio in the early 70's, Cripta became a quartet with the addition of keyboardist De Pasquale, playing many concerts in their area. Their style was jazz-rock in the same vein as Perigeo. The group broke up in 1976...and reformed 30 years later with a concert and maybe a CD.
Line up:
Luciano Ninzatti (guitar)
Ernesto Vitolo (keyboards)
Stefano Cerri (bass)
Mauro Spina (drums)
Maurizio Preti (percussion)
A group based in Milan, that didn't have a life on their own, they were the
backing band of Eugenio Finardi since 1978, and
played with him for a couple of years, just being left a small space in his
concert for their own compositions. Mark Harris (from Napoli
Centrale and briefly Rovescio della Medaglia)
replaced Vitolo at the end of 1979.
Five very talented musicians that have played with many other important artists
since then. The great Stefano Cerri, considered by many as the best italian bass
player ever, sadly passed away at the end of 2000, just as his first solo CD Fab-four
strings, a bass solo tribute to the Beatles, had been released.
Discography:
2 LP - Caino e Abele (EMI Odeon 3C064-17865
- 1973)
LP - Selezione da Caino e
Abele (EMI Odeon 3C054-17913
- 1973)
The only reason to include this folksinger from Sicily was his pop opera Caino e Abele, represented in many italian theatres throughout the 70's this was also released on record, having a complete 2LP edition, and another on single LP with some excerpts. The style is more folk than rock, with long vocal parts and orchestral arrangements.
Very popular melodic pop group, and very far from progressive music, only notable for the presence of former Panna Fredda keyboardist Giorgio Brandi in their line-up.
Line-up:
Pasqualino Del Cimuto (vocals)
Angelo Tollis (guitar)
Cosimo (keyboards)
Lino Fasoli (bass)
Franco Galeota (drums)
Discography:
45 - L'alba di Gretel/Autunno (Eterfon CN 465 - 1971)
A little known group from the L'Aquila area, that only released a single in their lifespan. The style is halfway between pop and melodic progressive with good use of guitar.
Discography:
LP - Rapsodia meccanica (Ultima Spiaggia ZPLS 34003
- 1976)
LP - Flussi e riflussi (Disco Più DP39020 - 1979)
Songs played with conventional musical instruments along with industrial and mechanic tools, this is
the content of Rapsodia meccanica, the first record release by Francesco Currà, born in Calabria but living in Genova. An unusual album that can be
compared with works from Battiato or Juri
Camisasca at times.
Currà also released a book with a similar title in 1977, Rapsodia meccanica.
Poesia in fabbrica con le canzoni del disco dell'ultima spiaggia (Squilibri,
1977), a second album in 1979, and has recently published a new poetry book in 2004.
Discography:
LP - Cyan (RCA LISP 34157 - 1972)
+ singles
Like Camel this group consisted of english session musicians living in Italy and working in the RCA studios in Rome (they were Patty Pravo's backing band), but in this case the album only includes mainstream pop. They also released many singles. The original album included a poster.
Thanks to John Elvis Gualtieri, Alex Schiavi, Antonio Rosetti, Gianmaria Rizzardi and Fabio Marchignoli for pictures and information published in this page.
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