Progressive rock has a lot to owe to Italy. Not only was a lot of great music made there, but in many ways Italy is the country that kept the movement going in the beginning. When bands like Genesis couldn't get anyone to listen in England, they were already topping the charts in Italy, and it was the Italian support that kept a lot og other bands afloat as well. Basically, the prog scene would probably have been much shorter, and had a lot less to offer, if it weren't for Italy and its desire to accept great music or what it is, regardless of whether or not it fits on a neat, convenient single. Maybe it's a sign of cultural openness. I don't know. All I know is that a lot of great things were happening in Italy in the 1970's, and thankfully, we still get to reap the rewards.
Italian progressive music definitely owes a lot to the classical history of Italy, and it shows in the music. The music is very classically based, with long, intense musical passages that tend towards both the beautiful and complex. The vocals tend to be more "operatic" (although not necessary opera, if you catch my drift). You can definitely tell that this comes from a country where the musical history of its people have not been lost, and what you have is a great example of the old meeting the new.
Having said all that, I'm going to throw you guys for a loop and start off with something that ignores most of what I just said, because these guys are that good I don't want to take the risk of them getting buried in the comments. This is Area, or as they billed themselves, "Area-International POPular group." Rather than the classical influence, Area drew more from jazz, with a heavy Middle Eastern influence. The music is interesting enough, but what really makes then stand out is their singer. Demetrio Stratos, an Egyptian-born Greek vocalist, died in 1979, but before that he was one of the most charismatic and powerful singers in the progressive rock scene. The result is one of the most energeitc and interesting bands ever, in my opinion. This is called "L-elefante Bianco," off of the 1975 album Crac!
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Now that I've gotten Area out of my system, let's get on with the more conventional Italian stuff. Thankfully, that still leaves awesome music to listen to! This next band is a great example of Italian prog at its finest. The most well-known Italian band was Premiata Forneria Marconi, or PFM for short. They put out a ton of albums, but I have to admit I've only heard a few of them. There first couple of albums were originally released in Italian, but shortly after released with English versions. This is "Photos of Ghosts" off of The World Became the World. It's a perfect example of great Italian prog.
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Another of them major players in Italian prog, though not as known as PFM, was Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. They put out many albums, but I only have two of them so far, this one, Io Sono Nato Libero, and a self-titled one that was basically English versions of their Italian stuff (not as good as the originals, as usual). This is "Dopo . . . Niente E' Piu' lo Stesso." I wish I spoke Italian so I knew what the heck that meant!
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I can't believe I am writing this .....
I have an Area album somewhere.
I get back later with my thoughts.
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The Italian scene is full of one-shot bands, releasing only one album before fading into obvlivion. What's sad is that so many of these bands released truly incredible albums. Maxophone, while not the best of the bunch, certainly is a good example of that. Their one, self titled album was released in 1975, and then that was it, they were gone. This is called "C'e un Paese Al Mondo."
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Chris, it's okay to admit it! See, if I lived in PA, that right there would solidify my vote for you.
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Where did you find that bizarre avatar?
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I just did a search for "bizarre pictures" or something like that on yahoo images. It is pretty strange, isn't it? I couldn't resist!
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Dopo . . . Niente E' Piu' lo Stesso.
After .... Nothing Is The Same Anymore.
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C'e un Paese Al Mondo
One Country In The World
I think.
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Do you know some Italian? Or is that babelfish?
(and why didn't I think of using Babelfish?)
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CORRECTION: In case you didn't catch my crass mistake by reading the MOG player, the PFM song is called "Four Holes in the Ground," NOT "Photos of Ghosts." Sorry!
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Are those cracks and hisses I hear? I'm currently looking for the right gear to put my vinyl into MP3. Sounds like you already succeeded.
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Yeah, the PFM is from my vinyl collection. Nothing too high tech, though. I have a free standing CD burner that was made in the short span of time from when that technology became available, but before they started putting cd-burners on computers cheaply. So I play the vinyl through the burner, have to manually plug in track numbers, etc etc. Not the easiest way to do it. Which is one of the reasons why I'm behind on getting my vinyl digitized. I know they have turntables out with USB plugs to hook right into the computer, but I can't justify buying anything more--already too much money tied up into it all!
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You just keep coming with em ....
I made it through all the songs here, and enjoyed them. I have to say I liked Area..... although I really was not too partial to the vocals.... Love that opening to the Banco del Mutuo Soccorso song, it could be sampled for something ...... I think that was actually my favorite song out of em all.
Still don't think prog is ever going to be a go-to listen, but I can definitely appreciate it more now.
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Well, first, I do appreciate your open-mindedness. I'm not really trying to convert anyone with these posts (although that would be cool, too). I'm just trying to get a little more respect for it!
Having said that, your reaction was actually the opposite of what I was expecting. The Banco song, while I think it's great, is more on the lines of the "typical" prog that seems to turn people off, while the Area is pretty powerful stuff. The Area vocals are definitely something that doesn't appeal to everyone, although by my gushing it's easy to tell how I feel about it!
Thanks for the comment--it's nice to know people are actually listening!
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Interesting, I'm gonna have to come back to this one later, but I would agree that Prog owes much to Italy, and labels like Cramps, seem to reissue a lot of obscure Italian and otherwise obscure LP's from the 60's and 70's. I'll post a great find I found over at Mutant Sounds, which seems to specialize in obscure prog music.
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People get "turned off" by Prog? I was on Neal Morse's forum the other night and read one thread in which everyone was wondering why so many people don't "get it." I too wonder that, and have a few theories that I can feel are churning deep inside me into a full blown post.
Is Prog of the artiste sector? Is a bear Catholic? Does the Pope poop in the woods?
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I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me, disagreeing, or venting, honestly! For what it's worth, I also wonder why people can't "get it", as I hope it's obvious I have a deep love for most (not all) things prog. But living with someone who can't stand pretty much anything I listen to has taught me that not everyone wants to listen to it. And to an extant I can understand why--IMO it all boils down to the reasons why people listen to music, and what sort of music ultimately delivers what they're looking for. I look forward to that post!
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interesting stuff...
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i really like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Maxophone, and PFM is good, too. the Area vocals are a little hard for me to digest though
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Again, my expectations of what people will like on this post are completely reversed! I seriously thought everyone would think the Area stuff was pretty cool, and would sort of dismiss the rest as being a little cheesy, honestly.
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i think the music part to the Area song is good. i'm just the kind of guy where i can really be digging a tune, and then the singer will come in and hit an annoying note with me and i just get completely turned off by the whole thing. i guess it's kind of irresponsible as a listener to do that, but it's hard to overcome sometimes.
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No, I don't think it's irresponsible. You just like what you like is all. He does have a tendancy to "warble" on purpose, which I think it kind of cool, but I can see how it could be a bit of an annoyance.