Progressive rock flourished in the seventies, even though ir never went away completely afterwards. On first glance it was mainly a British affair, dominated by bands like Yes, Genesis, Camel, Pink Floyd, Caravan, King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. There were lots of great bands from other countries as well though, especially in Italy. When I prepared my list of essential pop/rock albums according to my own taste, I included eleven albums by Italian prog rock bands in the seventies. So I added a twelfth for this post - one released less than two years ago, as a bonus. These albums are listed in chronological order. The image above is made with Photofunia.
Quella Vecchia Locanda (Quella Vecchia Locanda, March 1972)
Quella
Vecchia Locanda is the first studio album by Italian progressive rock
group Quella Vecchia Locanda ("That Old Inn"). It is one of the few
albums to successfully integrate classical music influences into a
progressive rock soundscape (with some jazz thrown in for good measure) -
eclectic prog avant la lettre. There are some obvious influences (like
Jethro Tull, Focus, and Genesis), but they do create their own sound,
which is also different from other Italian prog bands of the time.
Especially their use of the violin and flute stands out - while the
singing (in Italian) by Giorgio Giorgi is excellent. Among my favourite
tracks are Realtà, Il Cieco, Dialogo, and Sogno, Risveglio E...
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, May 1972)
Banco
del Mutuo Soccorso is the debut studio album by the Italian progressive
rock band Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (also known as Banco or BdMS). This
is an amazing first effort, that for me is superior to the debuts of any
of their more famous British colleagues. The voice of charismatic lead
singer Francesco Di Giacomo takes some time to adjust to, but the
compositions are strong, the playing excellent, and that he sings in
Italian is a clear plus for me. The album is highly rated in the prog
community, even though their next two efforts score even higher. I'd
like to single out two tracks, the epics Metamorfosi and Il Giardino Del Mago, which together make up for more than 70% of the playing time.
Uomo di Pezza (Le Orme, 1972)
Uomo
di pezza (translated Rag Doll Man) is the third studio album by the
Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It is their first that is widely
considered a masterpiece of Italian prog. There are some influences from
bands like Emerson Lake and Palmer, but Le Orme's Italian lyrics and
often romantic approach to the songs provide sufficient individuality.
One of many Italian prog bands of the time that deserves to be better
known. The only gripes I have with this album is that it is so short
(under 32 minutes), and that some songs deserved to be further developed
and elongated in true prog style. Still, an excellent album.
Recommended songs are La Porta Chiusa, Figure Di Cartone, Alienazione, and especially Aspettando L'Alba.
Per un Amico (Premiata Forneria Marconi , November 1972)
Per
un Amico ("For a Friend") is the second studio album from the Italian
progressive rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi. Prog lovers tend to
praise their first two albums very highly (both typically making the
top30 best prog albums) - for me, there is a considerable increase in
quality going from the first to the second. Their style is symphonic
rock, influenced by the likes of Yes, Genesis and King Crimson, with
great virtuosic artistry of all members, and lyrics sung in Italian to
create a very different feeling from those bands. This is definitely a
prog masterpiece, with all five songs of consistent high quality.
Darwin! (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, December 1972)
Darwin!
is the second studio album by the Italian progressive rock band Banco
del Mutuo Soccorso (also known as Banco or BdMS). It is widely accepted
in prog circles as one of the best progressive rock albums of all time
(typically around #20 in the all-time favourites list of the
ProgArchives site). It undoubtedly one of the best albums of the Italian
prog scene, which in general deserves to be better known. My favourites
from this album would include Danza Dei Grandi Rettili, Miserere Alla Storia, Ed Ora Io Domando Tempo Al Tempo Ed Egli Mi Risponde ... Non Ne Ho!, and especially the epic L'Evoluzione.
Felona e Sorona (Le Orme, April 1973)
Felona
e Sorona is the fourth studio album by the Italian progressive rock
band Le Orme. It is a concept album based on a story of two planets
which revolve one around the other, without ever coming in contact.
While Felona is shiny and flourishing, Sorona is dark and home to
plagues and catastrophes: however, in the second part of the suite, the
fate of the two planets is inverted. As with the preceding album,
singing and playing are excellent, with synthesizers producing gloomy
and spacey effects befitting the story. One year later they recorded a
version in English, but the original Italian album is the one to have.
Zarathustra (Museo Rosenbach, April 1973)
Zarathustra
is the debut album by the Italian progressive rock band Museo
Rosenbach. It is a concept album based on the works of the philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche. Musically, it is a blend of hard and symphonic
progressive rock (Uriah Heep meers early Genesis meets Banco...), with
lyrics in Italian. The main focus is obviously the side-long epic title
track, but the other three songs are very much worthwhile as well,
especially Dell'Eterno Ritorno. The album, the only one by this
band until they reformed around 2000, is rightly hailed as one of the
gems of Italian symphonic prog.
Contaminazione (Il Rovescio della Medaglia, October 1973)
Contaminazione
is the third studio album by the Italian rock group Il Rovescio della
Medaglia. It is their only progressive rock album (not counting their
remake of this album in English two years later), and it is widely
recognized as one of the highlights of the flourishing Italian prog
scene of the seventies. The album is inspired by Bach's Wohltemperierte
Klavier and incorporates many themes from that masterpiece and other
Bach works. In general, I'm not a big fan of this type of fusion and
many famous examples don't work for me (like ELP and Ekseption).
However, this particular one is exceptionally well done, with a
synthesizer-rich rock sound and vocals in Italian.
Io sono nato libero (Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, December 1973)
Io
sono nato libero is the third studio album by Italian progressive rock
band Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (also known as Banco or BdMS). It is a
politically themed album, with an even wider range of musical influences
than their first two. It is rated very highly in the prog community,
about at the same level as Darwin! Francesco Di Giacomo's dramatic voice
sounds more naturally suited to the works here than before, and there
are some killer synthesizer passages. Of particular interest are the
epic Canto Nomade Per Un Prigioniero Politico, La Città Sottile, and Dopo... Niente È Più Lo Stesso.
Celeste - Principe di un Giorno (Celeste, 1976)
Celeste
(also known as Principe di un Giorno) is the debut studio album of the
Italian progressive rock band Celeste. Although they recorded a few more
albums from 1991 onward, this debut album is the one they are revered
for in prog circles - it is considered one of the best from the thriving
Italian prog scene of the seventies. There is a pastoral feeling to
most of the album, with loads of mellotron, although there are more
rocking passages to prevent any boredom setting in. My favourite tracks
are Favole Antiche (Ancient Tales), Giochi Nella Notte (Games In The Night), La Grande Isola (The Great Island), and La Danza Del Fato (The Dance Of The Fate).
Forse le lucciole non si amano più (Locanda delle Fate, June 1977)
Forse
le lucciole non si amano più is the debut studio album by Italian
progressive rock band Locanda delle Fate. The title translates as "Maybe
the Fireflies Do Not Love Each Other Any Longer", which is reflected in
the outstanding album cover. The music resembles the earlier prog
albums of Genesis or Renaissance in places, albeit with more jazz
influences, and covered with a clear Italian prog sauce, not least by
the singing (in Italian) of Leonardo Sasso. Special attention for the
instrumental A Volte Un Istante Di Quiete, Profumo Di Colla Bianca, Non Chiudere A Chiave Le Stelle, and Vendesi Saggezza.
and the 2020 bonus:
Sadako e le mille gru di carta (Logos, July 2020)
Sadako
e le mille gru di carta is the fourth studio album by the Italian
Progressive rock band Logos. They continue the typical Italian prog rock
style that they perfected on their previous album (L'Enigma della
Vita), while managing to keep the album fresh and undoubtedly great.
There appears to be consensus in the prog community that the 2020 album
is even better, but for me they are both at the same (very high) level.
Some critics have praised the Italian lyrics; I have not come around to
reading them (in translation) - but the music speaks for itself. No less
than four 10+ minutes epics on the album, and I've picked three of them
as even better than the rest: Paesaggi Di Insonnia, Un Lieto Inquietarsi, and Sadako E Le Mille Gru Di Carta.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.
