Artist

SENSATIONS' FIX

1974-75
Franco Falsini (guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Richard Ursillo (bass)
Keith Edwards (drums)

1976
enters:
Stephen Head (keyboards)

1977
Edwards quits, Stephen Head plays keyboards and drums

Franco Falsini had been in 1966 one of the founder members of the legendary power trio Noi Tre, that also featured a future member of La Triade, Agostino Nobile. The group, equally influenced by the likes of Cream and Pretty Things, only released a single in 1968, after which Falsini left them, replaced by another future legend of the italian progressive rock, Paolo Tofani, later with Area and also known as Electric Frankenstein.

After another short-lived group, Le Madri Superiori, Falsini then formed Sensations' Fix, with former Campo di Marte italo-american bass player Richard Ursillo and american drummer Keith Edwards.
It's worth noticing that the group's name has been written as Sensation's Fix on their promo-only first album and Sensations' Fix in the other ones.

The group was based in a farm near Florence, and had a krautrock-like attitude that leaves them as a unique band in the italian prog field. Mainly an electronic band, based on keyboards and with very little use of voice, they released no less than three albums in 1974, one of them only intended for promotional use, and all based on instrumental-only themes in the same style as many german bands of the Cosmic Couriers genre. 
Their albums were self-produced and recorded in the band's own studio, with an amateurish sound quality.

With the entrance of keyboardist Stephen Head, the fourth album Finest finger is their first containing many vocal parts, a more accessible work than their previous ones. In the same direction their next LP, Boxes paradise.

The band went to California, where another US-only album, Vision's fugitives, was released, with no success. The most american-sounding of their album, this also includes former Campo di Marte drummer Carlo Felice Marcovecchio (credited as Marco Marcovecchio) in a couple of tracks.
Their late album was Flying tapes, released in 1978 and including reworkings of tracks from their earlier LP's.
In 1979 with the new name Sheriff, the group, now based in Virginia and with a line-up of Falsini, Ursillo, Edwards and second guitarist Frank Filfoyt, issued an US-only album, with a much rockier sound.
The final split followed, probably in the early 80's.

Leader Franco Falsini also released a solo album, Cold nose, soundtrack to a film with the same name, in 1975.
He's been reported producing techno music in London in the early 90's.
Bass player Richard Ursillo has kept playing in various groups in the Florence area after the band's demise, and was briefly involved in
Campo di Marte 2003 reunion.

 

LP
Sensation's Fix Polydor (AS 273) 1974 promo-only
Fragments of light Polydor (2448 023) 1974 single textured cover
Portable madness Polydor (2448 034) 1974 single textured cover
Finest finger Polydor (2448 048) 1976 gatefold laminated cover
Boxes paradise Polydor (2448 064) 1977 single cover
Vision's fugitives All Ears (SF 11478) - USA 1977 US-only album - single cover with lyric insert
Flying tapes Polydor (2448 074) 1978 single cover


CD
Antidote Hablabel (HBCD 101) 1989 unreleased recordings from the 70's - now deleted
  Get Back (GET 3) 2003 reissue of the above CD
Fragments of light Polydor (517 854-2) 1992 reissue of 1974 album - now deleted
  Polydor (523 696-2) 1998 as above


VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATIONS
Parco Lambro
(with
Just a little bet on the curve)
Laboratorio (LB/LP 201) 1976 live recording from the 1976 Parco Lambro festival - also features Agorà, Ricky Gianco, Area, Canzoniere del Lazio, Toni Esposito, Paolo Castaldi, Eugenio Finardi.
  Stampa Alternativa (RP 02) 2005 CD reissue of the above with different mini LP cover - only sold with the book Area/Musica e rivoluzione by Gianpaolo Chiaricò
Firenze sogna
(with Music is painting in the hair)
Materiali Sonori (MASOCD 90055) 1993 CD with book - compilation of Florence 70's-80's bands, also including Bella Band

 

SHERIFF

LP
Sheriff Observatory (OR 1996) - USA 1979 US-only album

 

The rarest album to find is their eponymous album from 1974, only distributed by the band and the label for promotional purposes. 
The other albums, all on Polydor, are rather common even if they have not been reissued.

Sixth album, Vision's fugitives, was released only in USA in 1977 on the small All Ears label (SF 11478); it's rather scarce and came with a distinctive cover and a lyric insert. Even the 1979 album by Sheriff was issued only in the USA on the Observatory Records label and never reissued on CD.
The Antidote CD was only released by the independent italian label Hablabel in 1989 and included some unreleased recordings from the late 70's made in Paris, New York and Rome.

No counterfeits exist.

For mysterious reasons only the Fragments of light album has been officially reissued on CD, while Antidote is a compilation of unreleased material that will only appeal to diehard fans of the genre.
Japanese CD reissues of Finest finger (with gatefold cover) and Portable madness, as well as Franco Falsini's solo album Cold nose, exist on the Tachika label, with mini-LP covers; these are probably bootleg releases, but have an excellent quality.

Sensation's Fix - LP

Fragments of light - LP

Portable madness - LP

Finest finger - LP

Boxes paradise - LP

Vision's fugitives - LP (USA only)

Flying tapes - LP

Sheriff - LP (USA only)

Antidote - CD cover

 

 

Many thanks to Paolo Noro for the scan of the Antidote CD, and to Scott Martin for information on the japanese CD reissues.