Spun each twice since last night. Both total winners. That cat playing guitar in Semiramis was in his teens right? Italian binge here we a'comin!
Spun each twice since last night. Both total winners. That cat playing guitar in Semiramis was in his teens right? Italian binge here we a'comin!
That's what the liner notes on Semiramis says. I think the whole band was that young.
I believe the drummer was the eldest - at 20, IIRC!
And yes, bot RRR and Semiramis are total fuckers; I love that uniquely Italian, semi-jazzy, semi-heavy "manic symph" - of which also IBdB, Campo di Marte and Osanna were purveyors. Very much a middle route between VdGG, JTull and Krimson - all of which were huge in Italy back then. My fave before all is Cervello's Melos, which is also my top one-off release from an Italian act. Corrado Rustici was only 16 when he laid down those guitar tracks.
The vocalist in RRR (and later in Samadhi) was quite extraordinary; I'm a bit surprised as to why he isn't more appreciated. His voice was androgynous without resorting to castrate cliches.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Guitarist Nanni Civitenga of RRR and Samadhi fronted a band in the 80s called Arpaderba. I finally got to hear their album, L’aleph and let me tell you, it is a nice, bright spark in a dark time for prog (particularly Italian prog...how many Italian prog albums can you name made in 1981?). Has a unique sort of mix of Italian folk, minimalist electronics (a la Terry Riley) and Italian prog. You could enjoy it if you like the RRR and Samadhi albums but don’t expect it to be anything like them. Incidentally, I think the Samadhi album is one of the more underrated (or at least under-mentioned) Italian prog albums of the 70s. Really good sympho with very smart for-real orchestrations; one of the things I like about 70s prog from Italy is the fine orchestrations a lot of those albums had.
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison
N.P.:nothing
I love the Samadhi as well, but I'm not even sure I'd call it "symph" - to me, this is an ultra-sophisticated take on the merger of orchestral pop and jazz. But yes, an absolutely wonderful record nonetheless! But then again I'm one who likes Ping Pong and Citta Frontale as well.
As for 1980 and beyond in Italian progressive, there were Stormy Six, Piccio dal Pozzo and frankly not much else - although they released some of my fave Italian titles ever during that tenure. For more "ordinary" Italian prog from that period, I never really warmed to stuff like I Cocai and (the other, first) Nuova Era, which I believe were both issued in 1981-2.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Semiramis is in my top 5 RPI releases. Lucily I scored an original vinyl copy of this back around '85.
The RRR is pretty damn good too.
There is an RRR album out from 2010 with the original vocalist (Luciano Regoli) and a few other original members called "Il pittore volante" which I like a lot. Regoli became a painter and apparently had left prog rock for many decades.
Nice to see Arpaderba mentioned. I first heard this album in Rome back in 1994. Still no CD unfortunately. Here are my notes: Arpaderba are an instrumental medieval folk rock group lead by the former guitarist from Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno and Samadhi. Reminds me of somewhat of the bands coming out of Brittany during this time like Avel Nevez or an instrumental Malicorne. Very nicely played (especially the violin), with just a bit too much gloss in the production to have any major impact on the scene. Minimum Vital would later take a similar approach (though with Baroque as a blueprint) and apply much more firepower. Still a very worthy piece and a surprisingly different sound to come out of Italy.
There was definitely a dearth of quality progressive music coming out of Italy in 1981. A few other bands of interest that I've heard would include Meditteraneo, Gianpiero Prammaggiore, and Barracca & Burattini (named after a 1954 Italian film). The latter just reformed and has a new album coming out (?!)
Other decent quality RPI bands from the early 80s:
Mo.Do. (1980)
Abissi Infiniti (1981)
Gli Apostholi - Un'Isola Senza Sole is often said to have been released in 1972, but a recent interview with a band member puts it in 1981
Guercia (1982)
Hopo (1982)
L'Estate di San Martino (1983)
Mellonta Tauta (1983)
Slogans (1983)
La Compagnia dell'Annello (1983)
Condor (1985)
Of those listed, Hopo, Condor, Mo.Do., and Gli Apostholi are really quite good, IMO.
And then in the late 1980s, the really good Nuova Era (not the early 1980s Christian band) gets their beginning, in 1988.
These get a lot of praise here, but they aren't among my favorite RPI albums. The Semiramus has grown on me over time, and does have some really outstanding moments. But I find some of their compositional choices a bit questionable. There are lots of parts that sort of come out of nowhere and don't really fit with the flow of the music. Obviously those sort of moments are pretty common in Prog, but I just don't feel Semiramus handles them as well as many other groups. Lots of potential here, though, especially given how young they were.
The RRR I haven't spun in a while (coincidentally I just spun Semiramus a few days ago, so it's fresh in my mind). RRR also has some good moments, but it doesn't really have any qualities that I personally find outstanding. I'll give it a spin soon and see if I feel differently. Overall, these have been good enough for me to keep, but aren't really among my favorites in the Italian scene.
Bill
I'm a far bigger far of Semiramis vs RRR, although I'm probably overdue to revisit the latter
Semiramis is killer
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
Semiramis weren't essentially an "ordinary" RPI symph-prog-styled group, but rather a heavy progressive band with that daunting Solina added - IMHO. They are better compared to South-American acts like El Reloj, Espiritu or even Crucis than to Banco or Le Orme. Personally, I find that apparent "arbitrariness" of Semiramis' arrangements to be a large part of their juvenile charm. And they had great chemistry to go with the energy!
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Abissi Infiniti, Mo.do and Hopo are the only ones from that above list that I have heard of. Well, there’s also Nuova Era, but they were from a later scene. In the early 80s, it looked mostly like the leavings of the original 70s Italian prog scene struggling to be heard in a musical climate that was hostile to them (remember, this was the era when bands like PFM and Banco were making straight pop music). Nuova Era’s first album came out in 1988, they were from a scene of younger musicians (see also: Ezra Winston, Sithonia, Malibran...) deliberately trying to make modern music inspired by classic Italian prog. Incidentally, I really like L’ultimo viaggio and definitely need to hear some of Nuova Era’s other stuff (supposedly their later albums are even better).
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici
N.P.:“From Under”-PFM/Chocolate Kings
I've heard the ones listed herein, but I really didn't care too much for any but the Hopo. The Mo.Do. sounds way too dry and stylistically "contrived" to take off, while others suffer a bit from the digital realms of the 80s. I think Nuova Era was one of the first "retro-conscious" bands of the new bunch (at least from their second album onwards), along with Ezra Winston and Eris Pluvia fending off the likes of Fancyfluid, Edith and Leviathan, whose accomplishments amounted to, er... Better not say.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Back on the RRR train. This thing kicks major motherfuckin ass, bitches. I love track 5 with these little licks (the flute one and the staccato Hammond one). Its strange how sometimes the recording sounds "thin" but then at other times it sounds deeper and fuller. LOVE this album!
Also dig that acoustic guitar part at the beginning of track two - gorgeous - then they start that groove in 9 (4+5) with the percussion and flute. GOOD!
Last edited by chalkpie; 05-28-2015 at 08:42 PM.
Yeah, that was my next question....just saw that they had a newer one, and it actually has the same rating over at PA which surprised me. Gonna to have to check it out. Jeff - does it really stand up to the original album (granted they are much older, wiser, and probably fatter)?
I did not care for the new RRR at all. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, though. You can hear snippets of it online:
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
The new RRR have reformed again with a new line up and released an live Album this year (a Studio Album might follow)
Semiramis are also "existent" with a very different line up (it's not clear if they are going to record anything)
Luciano Regoli was the singer of italian Prog Metal band DGM in the 90s (and sang on about 3 albums or so).
And as they where mentioned in this thread:
new Albums by Nuova Era and Malibran are in the work
Sinthonia exist at least somehow as Meseglise
Ezra Winston might reform (but it's rather unlikley)
I understand they reformed with the original lineup for a one-off concert. As Michele Zarrillo has a lucrative career as a Big Time Pop Star, I don’t think he has much time to waste on his high school band anymore.
I think they exist as Sithonia still, at least they released a new album (La soluzione semplice) less than five years ago.Sinthonia exist at least somehow as Meseglise
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
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