Artist

THE PSYCHEGROUND GROUP
THE UNDERGROUND SET

Unknown

Two groups to be mentioned together, as behind their names hid, for contractual reasons, the musicians from Nuova Idea. But surely the mastermind behind them was composer Gian Piero Reverberi, who was also the producer of Le Orme and wrote most of the tracks on these albums under the nickname Ninety.

Like Planetarium, Blue Phantom or Fourth Sensation these were Italian groups whose members were never listed on the covers.
The Underground Set were often thought to be an English group, their first album having been issued in many European countries. It's interesting to notice that the group has been mentioned as English in Vernon Joynson's Tapestry of Delight book.
But in an interview with Paolo Siani on the Italian Musikbox magazine, the drummer was one of the first to reveal that the musicians playing on this band's two albums were in fact Nuova Idea, as Radio Records (the label on which the first album and the singles appeared) was distributed by their label Ariston at the time.

Mainly instrumental, with just some choral vocal parts, the albums are typical of a late 60's organ-led psychy pop sound and some tracks were used as TV film themes. 
The Psycheground LP from 1971 is similar, featuring five instrumental tracks that show the inspiration of the british 60's rhythm & blues.

Both albums by the Underground Set are very rare, and were never reissued on vinyl in Italy. No counterfeits exist.

The first album was also issued at the time with a slightly different cover in the UK (on Pantonic PAN 6302), Germany and France (both on Vogue LDVS 17189).
A CD reissue of it by the Japanese Shagadelic label (no.SDCD4) was released in 2002 with a nice mini-gatefold cover. The same album has been first reissued on vinyl by the Spanish label Wah Wah (no. LPS 057) in 2008, with two bonus tracks.

Two tracks from the first Underground Set album, Arcipelago and Emisfero, also appeared on a single credited to Giorgio David with the Gianfranco Reverberi orchestra (Las Vegas LV-1054), and on another one under the name Unito e gli Optiamo (Radio RR 1060);
Arcipelago was also released on single by Giancarlo Branca (Radio RR-1049). All these singles came out in 1970.

The soundtrack to the Italian version of the movie L'uomo dal pennello d'oro was credited to The Underground Set, with tracks from their albums. The soundtrack also contained a song by J.Plep, another group connected with Nuova Idea.
The film came out in Italy in 1972, but it had originally been released in Germany in 1969 with the title Der Mann mit dem goldenen Pinsel with a different soundtrack.

The Psycheground LP is very rare and expensive. It's been reissued for the first time on vinyl in 2008 by Cinedelic in a limited pressing of 500 vinyl copies, and later on CD by AMS.
Two tracks from this album, Ray and Psycheground were included in a compilation of instrumental tracks called Double Dacron (Leo LRS21), issued in the early 70's and also featuring compositions by Giuliano Sorgini, Rino De Filippi and Juan Falenito.

The Underground Set - LP and label
The Underground Set - LP, English and German issues
War in the night before - LP and label
Arcipelago - 7" single	Motor road underground - 7" single
Una lettera - 7" single
Unito e gli Optiamo / Arcipelago - 7" single
The Psycheground Group/Psycheground - LP

Thanks to Giorgio Meloni of Metrodora, Danilo Ragonesi, Mauro Costa, Giuliano Semprucci, Boris Jerschensky and Amos for some pictures and information.