Artist
DEMETRIO STRATOS
One of the most creative artists in the whole Italian
rock scene of the 70's, Demetrio Stratos (real name Demetrious Efstratios) was
in fact born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1945 from a greek family, and came to Italy
in 1962.
His first musical experiences came in the early 60's, first as keyboardist and
later as singer, and he joined a popular beat group, I Ribelli, that released
their eponymous album for Ricordi in 1968.
When I Ribelli split he was signed to Numero Uno, that issued his first and only single in 1972. Daddy's dream, an unsuccessful attempt to launch Stratos as a commercial singer that went unnoticed. In the same year he formed Area, one of the most interesting and influencial Italian progressive bands.
His works with Area are well known and documented, but Stratos kept following his studies on the use of the human voice, and his solo albums are a great demonstration of his capabilities. He collaborated with various Italian and international avantgarde artists, and guested on many contemporary music albums.
In 1979, along with Area's
guitarist Paolo Tofani and former PFM founder member Mauro
Pagani, he recorded a live album called Rock and roll exhibition, a
sort of divertissement based on the reworking of rock'n' roll classics and
distant light years from his avantgarde interests.
This was his last record release, as he died in New York on 13th June, 1979 of
medullary aplasia.
The day after, a great celebrative concert was held in Milan with 60000 people
attending. A posthumous album, Recitarcantando, recorded live in 1979
with Lucio Fabbri, was released in 1980 by Cramps.
| LP | |||
| Metrodora | Cramps (5206 205) | 1976 | single cover - issued in Cramps' DIVerso series (no.5) |
| Get back (GET 5206) | 2001 | single cover | |
| Cantare la voce | Cramps (5206 119) | 1978 | issued in Cramps' Nova Musicha series (no.19) - gatefold cover with inner and booklet |
| Rock and roll exhibition | Cramps (5205 901) | 1979 | with Mauro Pagani and Paolo Tofani - single cover with inner |
| Akarma (AK 1016) | 2001 | as above | |
| Recitarcantando | Cramps (5206 501) | 1980 | gatefold cover with inner |
CD |
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| Metrodora | Cramps (CRSCD 065) | 1989 | reissue of 1976 album - now deleted |
| Cramps/EMI (72438 57441 2) | 1998 | as above | |
| Edel (CRA 0136612) | 2001 | as above with digipack cover | |
| Cramps (CRSCD 065) | 2009 | new reissue with mini-LP gatefold cover | |
| Cantare la voce | Cramps (CRSCD 119) | 1989 | reissue of 1978 album - now deleted |
| Edel (CRA 0136592) | 2001 | as above with digipack cover | |
| Cramps (CRSCD 013) | 2009 | new reissue with mini-LP gatefold cover | |
| Le milleuna | Cramps (CRSCD 034) | 1990 | 1979 recordings |
| Edel (CRA 0136572) | 2001 | ||
| Rock and roll exhibition | Cramps (CRSCD 010) | 1994 | reissue of 1979 album - now deleted |
| Akarma (AK 1016) | 1999 | as above with mini gatefold cover | |
| Recitarcantando | Cramps (CRSCD 035) | 1994 | reissue of 1980 album with slightly different mix and longer tracks - now deleted |
| Edel (CRA 0138642) | 2001 | reissue of 1980 album with digipack cover | |
| Concerto all'Elfo | Cramps (300 037-2) | 1995 | 1978 live recording |
| Cramps/EMI (72438 57443 2) | 1997 | ||
| Stratosfera box set | Akarma (AK 1037/5 CD) | 2002 | 5CD box set including his solo albums Metrodora, Cantare la voce, Recitarcantando, Le milleuna, Concerto all'Elfo |
VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATIONS |
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| Qui giovani (with Daddy's dream) |
Numero Uno (2G2KY 19279) | 1972 | compilation, also featuring Demetrio Stratos, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Formula 3, Adriano Pappalardo |
| Futura
- Poesia sonora (with O tzitziras, o mitziras) |
Cramps (5206 307) | 1978 | 7 LP box |
| Cramps (CRSCD 091-095) | 1989 | 5-CD set - reissue of the above 1978 box set | |
| Quelli della Numero Uno (with Daddy's dream) |
Numero Uno (CFD 01080-10) | 1999 | 10 CD - box set with tracks from singles |
SINGLES (with picture cover) |
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| Daddy's dream Since you've been gone |
Numero Uno (ZN 50142) | 1972 | |
Though not particularly expensive the original albums
by Demetrio Stratos are not easy to find.
The rarest item from his discography is his only single on Numero
Uno, Daddy's dream, that also received a French pressing on Vogue at
the time.
People interested in the Recitarcantando CD reissue May notice that it's been reissued three times, by Cramps, Edel and in the Akarma box set; the first of these, now deleted, contained some extra tracks and a different (rougher) mix of the concert than the vinyl version.
|
Metrodora - LP |
|
Cantare la voce - LP |
|
Rock and roll exhibition - LP |
|
Recitarcantando - LP |
|
|
|
Daddy's dream - 7" single cover |
An unofficial site dedicated to Demetrio Stratos is at http://thanitart.com/demetrio/index.html
