I just recently bought the first 3 Osanna records "L'Uomo", "Milano Calibre 9", and "Palepoli". I had never before heard Palepoli. How the hell did I miss this one?
I was introduced to Rock Progressivo Italiano years ago by some friends in California, who played me PFM, Area, and Acqua Fragile. For a while this was all I thought there was. Then I came across Museo Rosembach's "Zarathustra" and thought, damn, here's another one! Then a new prog audiophile friend introduced me to his massive collection and the gates were flung open on all the rest: Banco, Cervello, Il Balletto, Biglietto, Jumbo, New Trolls, Osanna, etc. Yet somehow, in all these years, I had never heard "Palepoli". After reading all the positive reviews, I decided to finally get it, and...just damn!
Ive been playing it excessively for a week now, learning it, studying it, digging the hell out of it! Being in my mid 40's, I am so thankful I still get the opportunity to find these old monster masterpieces that I can fall in love with and obsess over, diving into the worlds they create. I have never heard an album quite like this one before. Sure, it is definitely 70's Italian, with all the hallmarks of the Osanna instrumentation and approach - heavy fuzzed out guitar, flute, loud and aggressive attack passages followed by soft, moody, even ominous atmospheres; sudden free form noise sections then manic riffing and distorted vocals. But the way they structure this one is unique, and fascinating to me. So I am posting about it here to learn what experiences others have had with this album specifically, and with Osanna in general. In their heyday they seem to be have been quite the theatrical live experience. Has anyone seen and / or heard how the live performances for Palepoli were conducted?
What about their later catalogue? I used to have a cassette copy of "Suddance" and liked it, but it was nowhere near as experimental as their first 3. And I have never heard "Landscape of Life".
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