22 May 2018: Italian Prog Night in honor of Lew Fisher

Tonight's program is dedicated to Lew Fisher, a long time fan and promoter of progressive music.  His group, the Progressive Music Society, went through several incarnations as technology changed until he closed it down a few years ago.  The group was an invaluable source of discussion and suggestions for fans of progressive rock.  Lew continues his advocacy for prog through his daily Facebook posts.  Because he is such a fan of Italian prog, I asked him for some suggestions other than the standard PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) and tonight's program is the result.   Good listening everyone!   Notes on all the tracks and bands played tonight are below. The complete playlist for tonight's show appears after the music notes.

The first half of tonight's show will spotlight Maurizio Di Tollo's 2015 release, "Memorie di uno sparring partner" which Lew feels is destined to be a prog classic.

Prog Archives Review by Aussie-Byrd-Brother
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Rock Progressivo Italiano Team

Italian multi-instrumentalist Maurizio di Tollo certainly keeps busy with a wide range of progressive music related work! The last few years have seen him drumming on La Maschera di Cero's well-received `La Porte del Domani' and several Hostsonaten discs, playing keyboards and drums on a cool self-titled instrumental album by the trio `Arena Di Tollo Marras', and even delivering a superb solo prog-rock album all his own entitled `L'Uomo Trasparente' in 2012. He presents a follow-up to that one in 2015 with `Memorie di uno Sparring Partner' (Memoirs of a Sparring Partner) , and it's a shock to discover it's not really much of a progressive rock album at all. Now before all the RPI and prog-fans start clenching their butt-cheeks in panic, make no mistake - Maurizo and his musical guests here (many of them Italian prog notables) have delivered an intelligent and very modern rock album full of extremely well-played instrumentation around very strong song-writing and effective melodies, but prog elements do show up, just in skilfully executed shorter passages in and around the actual tunes, which are always the focus.Along with Maurizio's own world-weary vocals and a general melancholic air that pervades all the tunes, `Memorie...' isn't really too far removed from Steven Wilson's recent solo works, as well as the darker moments of Fabio Zuffanti's more recent projects. The moody and sometimes dark rock of the album also mixes in elements of electronica, jazz and a definite singer- songwriter quality, though not in a folky manner that the term is often applied to. Instead the pieces revolve around very personal and reflective thoughts, which will likely be even more appreciated by those who speak Italian.
Looking at some of the particular highlights, piano-driven opener `Sempronio' comes to life once it picks up in tempo with subtle jazzy vibes, and it also holds a beautiful trumpet solo in the final moments. A definite solo Steven Wilson-like sound burns through `Il Cielo e' un Uomo Solo', where plaintive piano, gently humming Hammond organ, whirring dreamy synths and warm acoustic with emotional heart-wrenching electric guitar solo spots weave a seductive mix together, all while the tune itself holds a particularly lovely melody. Same goes for `La Vita Buona', a seductive the late-night contemplation of creeping electronics, ghostly piano, Anathema-like slow-burn electric guitar smoulders and dramatic upfront drumming behind Maurizio's raspy vocal.
`I Padroni del Vapore' is a welcome harder diversion with a crashing brooding heaviness and snarling vocal, `Se Questo e' l'Amore' is a stark piano rumination, `Il Poeta' a tough rocker, `Amore Mio, Hai Ragione' a powerful ballad fuelled by Mellotron on the chorus, and instrumental interlude `A Occhi Chiusi' begins on delicate piano before the whole band roar to life, aggressive chunky bass and hard driving drums the highlight. The longest piece at over seven minutes, `La Paura' is definitely one of the more overtly proggy pieces, a soaring theme with heavy bursts, programed loops and even triumphant and uplifting moog soloing, and Maurizio delivers a confident, commanding lead vocal fitting of a final closing musical statement.
After the initial disappointment that this isn't a full-blown prog-rock work to compare to his previous work (and sure enough, closer inspection of the BTF Records press release about the disc states that particular fact ' always pays to read the fine print beforehand!), `Memorie...' still quickly reveals itself to be a perfectly impressive work all its own. As prog-rock listeners, it's nice to sometimes take a step back and listen to something less busy or complex, yet no less intelligent and artistic, and Maurizio and his musical collaborators have definitely delivered that here. If you're in the mood for a thoughtful, early A.M hours kind of introspective listen and can give it several plays to link it sink in, ` Memorie di uno Sparring Partner' proves to be a fragile, haunting little gem.
Three stars as a prog album, four stars as a stylish and smart rock album.
Studio Album, released in 2015

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Sempronio (5:45)
2. Io e le Cose (5:50)
3. Il Cielo e' un Uomo Solo (5:07)
4. La Vita Buona (6:35)
5. I Padroni del Vapore (4:21)
6. Se Questo e' l'Amore (4:39)
7. Il Poeta (5:56)
8. Amore Mio, Hai Ragione (4:28)
9. A Occhi Chiusi (3:12)
10. La Paura (7:26)

total time: 53:23

Line-up / Musicians - Maurizio di Tollo (Distillerie di Malto, Fabio Zuffanti, H?stsonaten, La Maschera Di Cera, Moongarden) / Vocals, Piano, Synth, Moog, Programming
With:
- Christian Marras (Luca Scherani, Arena Di Tollo Marras) / Bass
- Eros Cristiani (Mauro Pagani) / Piano, Synth, Programming
- Andrea Pica / Guitar
- Ged Lynch (David Rhodes, Peter Gabriel, Random Hold, David Sylvian) / Drums, Percussion
- David Rhodes (Peter Gabriel, Random Hold, Talk Talk) / Guitar
- Roberto Gualdi (PFM, Alessandro Farinella, Voodoo Hill) / Drums
- Nicola Oliva / Guitar
- Andrea Cavalieri (Luca Olivieri) / Contrabass
- Ernesto Nobili / Classic & Acoustic Guitars
- Nico Casu / Trumpet
- Giux Mura / Back Vocals
- Fabrizio Barale (Luca Olivieri) / Guitar

Also on tonight's program:

Garybaldi was an Italian progressive rock band founded in the early 1970s.

We'll be hearing "Nove 1" from the album Storie Di Un'Altra Citta

La Maschera Di Cera took life in 2001 when Fabio Zuffanti ( bass player with Finisterre and with a lot of other projects ) decide to form a  group who could re-create the glorious tradition of the italian progressive sound of the ’70.

We'll be hearing"Encicla 1168" from the album LuxAde 

Taproban was founded in Rome in 1996 by keyboards player Gianluca De Rossi and gets its name from Taprobana, the ancient denomination of Ceylon Island (Sri-Lanka), where Tommaso Campanella set his The City of the Sun. The group takes its inspiration by the Synmphonic-Pop or Progressive Rock of the earlier seventies, that had its best representative groups in Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant and King Crimson. The absence of an electric guitar player and the consequent prominence of the keyboards, however, recall the triangle formation of Emerson Lake & Palmer or Le Orme, creating a sound language that prefers instrumental parts rather than lyrical.

We'll hear "Outside Nowhere (Parts A-F)" from the album Outside Nowhere.

Formed in Rome in 2001 as a ’70s-centric prog covers band, La Bocca della Verità (The Mouth of Truth, so named after an ancient marble mask located in the Roman capital) have finally released their own work, a sprawling science fiction concept album that starts in the year 2161 and presumably tells the story of the planet Avenoth. 

We'll be hearing "La Suite dei Tre Pianeti" from the album Avenoth.

 

 

10 April 2018: Alphataurus - Pete Namlook/Klaus Schulze

Alphataurus is an Italian progressive rock band from the Milan area. Under the original lineup Alphataurus released only one album, Alphataurus, dated 1973, at the peak of the European progressive rock wave. The album was generally well received ^[1] and work on a second album started, but due to “a string of personal events” the band split up in 1973.

From the Italian prog website:
      A group from Milan born in 1970, Alphataurus were one of the many unknown Italian bands who suddenly had a recording deal, made an album and disappeared into oblivion.
Having played in some important festivals in 1972, the group was offered by Vittorio De Scalzi of New Trolls a recording deal for his new label, Magma.
ThTheir one and only album, Alphataurus, the first on the newly born label, is a masterpiece, so well crafted and played that it seems impossible that's been made by a group of unknowns. The singer Bavaro has a very original voice, keyboard player Pietro Pellegrini plays with competence and no self-indulgence, guitar-playing of Guido Wassermann is well cared and the rhythm section of Oliva and Santandrea creates a powerful background.
       The album includes five long compositions of which Peccato d'orgoglio and La mente vola are the best, the latter featuring a nice moog intro and a stunning vibes solo.
Soon after this the band split while preparing the second album. A 1992 CD entitled Dietro l'uragano includes some demo recordings of unreleased instrumental parts with no vocals, the result is good though it obviously sounds incomplete at times.
      Drummer Giorgio Santandrea was briefly in Crystals, while keyboardist Pietro Pellegrini has long collaborated with Riccardo Zappa and PFM.
      Singer Michele Bavaro, from Bari, released a commercial solo album in 1988 (Surplace - Macaroni MAC 64701) and various CD's of Italian songs, playing throughout the world.
     In 2010 three of the original members (Pellegrini, Wassermann, Santandrea) reformed Alphataurus to play at the Progvention held in Mezzago (near Milan). The new line-up, which includes singer Claudio Falcone, keyboardist Andrea Guizzetti and bassist Fabio Rigamonti, has stayed together for a few concerts, and at the end of 2011 the original drummer Giorgio Santandrea left his place to Alessandro "Pacho" Rossi.
       The nice 2010 reunion concert has been issued on CD and LP in 2012 with the title Live in Bloom. In the same year the second official studio album by Alphataurus has finally seen the light, entitled AttosecondO, an album of excellent quality.

Tracklist

1	Peccato D'Orgoglio	12:22
2	Dopo L'Uragano	5:05
3	Croma	3:16
4	La Mente Vola	9:20
5	Ombra Muta	9:43

Pete Namlook (born 25 November 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann [ˈkuːlmaːn] in Frankfurt, Germany, died on 8 November 2012^[1]) was an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversaw. Inspired by the music of Eberhard Weber, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chopin, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd, and most important Klaus Schulze; He composed and produced his albums while many in collaboration with others.
As of August 2005, Namlook and company had released 135 albums (excluding re-releases, vinyl singles, compilations of existing material, and FAX releases beginning with PS, in which he personally is not involved in the music making).
Pete Namlook released many solo albums, as well as collaboration albums with notable artists such as Klaus Schulze, Bill Laswell, Geir Jenssen (alias Biosphere), Gaudi, Atom Heart, Richie Hawtin, Tetsu Inoue, Atom™, and Tying Tiffany.
"Namlook" is "Koolman", a phonetic rendering of his real name, spelled backwards.
Kuhlmann died on 8 November 2012 after suffering a heart attack.^[2]

AllMusic Review by Jim Brenholts

Pete Namlook (aka Peter Kuhlmann) and Klaus Schulze developed and nurtured The Dark Side of the Moog series. The Dark Side of the Moog 5 also features Bill Laswell. (He has collaborated on four of the CDs.) One of the coolest things on this disc is a 14-second intro by Robert Moog himself. Namlook, Schulze, and Laswell used "Adam's Psychedelic Brunch" as their base track title, a play on Pink Floyd's "Adam's Psychedelic Breakfast" from Atom Heart Mother. And, as listeners expect, this CD features the sequences, atmospheres, and ambience associated with this trio. The soundscape elements flow seamlessly within the intricate sound design. Namlook, Schulze, and Laswell are always at the top of their game. This Berlin school offering will appeal to fans of Ron Boots, Edgar Froese, Ian Boddy, and Paul Ellis.

Dark Side of the Moog 5

Tracklist

1	Psychedelic Brunch (Part I)
2	Psychedelic Brunch (Part II)
3	Psychedelic Brunch (Part III)
4	Psychedelic Brunch (Part IV)
5	Psychedelic Brunch (Part V)
6	Psychedelic Brunch (Part VI)
7	Psychedelic Brunch (Part VII)
8	Psychedelic Brunch (Part VIII)

Credits

• Producer – Pete Namlook
• Written-By [Created By] – Bill Laswell (tracks: 3, 7), Klaus Schulze, Pete Namlook

09 September 2014 Goblin: "Suspiria" & Timothy Pure "Island of the Misfit Toys"

Goblin (also Back to the Goblin, New Goblin/Goblin Rebirth, the Goblin Keys and Simonetti's Goblin) is an Italian progressive rock band known for their soundtrack work. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating soundtracks for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. CD re-releases of their soundtracks have performed well, especially in Germany and Japan. Goblin returned with a series of live concerts in Europe in 2009 and in North America in 2013.
Initially named Cherry Five, the band has been influenced by Genesis and King Crimson. Their early work spawned one eponymous progressive rock record, and they were then called in to compose the soundtrack for Profondo Rosso. The band changed their name to Goblin, rewriting most of the score, originally written by Giorgio Gaslini including the famous main theme. The 1975 soundtrack album was a huge hit.^[where?] After a reshuffle in their line-up, and they put out an instrumental progressive rock album Roller, before working with Argento again for 1977's Suspiria. Other film soundtracks and a concept album (Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark) followed, then the score for the European version of George A. Romero's 1978 Dawn of the Dead. Tracks 1, 2 and 5 from the European version are also in the American version of the album.
Despite their success, membership continued to be a revolving door, and the band also struggled to maintain their credibility. The remaining members continued to work on further soundtracks, and there was a partial reunification for Argento's Tenebrae (1982) (although each member of the band was credited separately, not as Goblin). The last collaboration with the director took place in 2000, with the film Non ho sonno (Sleepless).

Suspiria (pronounced [susˈpi.ri.a], Latin for "sighs") is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento, co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, and co-produced by Claudio and Salvatore Argento. The film stars Jessica Harper as an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, which she discovers is controlled by a coven of witches. The film also features Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosè, Alida Valli, Udo Kier, and Joan Bennett in her final film role.

Timothy Pure biography
American progressive rock band from Georgia has made 3 albums so far, two of them are concept albums. With a lush songwriting approach and a conceptual and highly symbolic perspective on lyrics, the band excels in building up structures of emotional richness that allow for an uninterrupted storyline immersed in drama and sharp social analysis. Their music is a mixture of sweet atmospheres and fine prog passages. Certainly influenced by PINK FLOYD, they manage to produce a typical dark and melodic sound with very strong lyrics.

"Blood Of The Berry" is a concept album that tells a story of love and sacrifice. The music features light and dark musical tones and flows which is what makes this American band so good. The last album "The Island Of The Misfit Toys" (2000) is something more than a prog album: music and words seem to tell us a story you never would be over. This album describes the problems and nightmares children and adolescents deal with nowadays (mainly because of war or child abuse). Matthew Still has a beautiful and emotional voice, the instruments are played in a very subtle way and the production is high standard. Fans of bombastic or overly complex music would be advised to look elsewhere. This is very emotional music which should appeal to fans of concept albums. A must!

23 April 2013: Steve Hillage et al "Cyberwar" Soundtrack and Area, Italian jazz fusion

        Cyberwar, a video game loosely based on Lawnmower Man, consists of three discs but also includes a CD with the soundtrack featured in the game. The soundtrack includes a number of tracks scored and played by Steve Hillage of Gong and System 7.   Copies of the soundtrack are very rare and difficult to come by as the CD itself was never available as a separate release.
        The game was briefly popular in the 1990s:  The player is assigned the role of Dr. Angelo, sent in to Virtual Reality to defeat Jobe, who, in the film was born simple but increased his brain capacity by 400% using Virtual Reality. He eventually leaves his physical body and enters VR permanently. The various gameplay elements are based on the Virtual Reality segments seen in the original film. For instance, one of the levels has the player flying through tunnels avoiding multiple objects, much like one of the games in the film.
       The game did not have multiple lives, but just one - if the player missed any part of any challenge, he would be sent to the "cyber-hell" where he would die. This proved brutal to many who played this game, but the puzzles were colorful and innovative - at least one required the player to remember a code from the first disc to be used in a room on the second disc. If the player entered the wrong code, he would die. 
      This game is now very rare but can sometimes be found on auction sites.

           Arbeit macht frei is the debut album of the Jazz fusion band Area. It is notable for featuring Patrick Djivas (which is now known better for his work with Premiata Forneria Marconi) on bass and Eddie Busnello on saxophone, which parted after the release of the album. According to the booklet the lyrics were written by Frankestein (which is an alias for Gianni Sassi), and the music was written by Patrizio Fariselli. "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)" became Area's first hit (even if most of the 7" censored the word "nero", which was a reference to Black September). It was only released as a juke box only item, and the b-side was the song "Miña" by Italian prog band Aktuala. On the posthumous live release "Concerto Teatro Uomo", Demetrio Stratos says that "L'abbattimento dello Zeppelin" was composed after a pub on which they were playing asked them to perform "Whole Lotta Love". They didn't know the song and played that one instead, and they got fired. Guitarist Paolo Tofani can be heard quoting the main riff during his solo. "L'abbattimento dello Zeppelin" was also released as a 7", backed by the title track of the album, but failed to hit any charts.
           "Arbeit macht frei" (German pronunciation: [ˈaɐ̯baɪt ˈmaxt ˈfʁaɪ]) is a German phrase meaning "labour makes (you) free".^[1] The slogan is known for having been placed over the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps during World War II, including most infamously Auschwitz I, where it was made by prisoners with metalwork skills and erected by order of the Nazis in June 1940.
Track listing 

Side one

1. "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)" – 4:27
2. "Arbeit macht frei" – 7:56
3. "Consapevolezza" – 6:06

Side two

1. "Le labbra del tempo" – 6:00
2. "240 chilometri da Smirne" – 5:10
3. "L’abbattimento dello Zeppelin" – 6:45

Personnel

• Eddie Busnello - Saxophone
• Giulio Capiozzo - Drums, Percussion
• Patrick Djivas - Bass, Double Bass
• Patrizio Fariselli - Piano
• Demetrio Stratos - Vocals, Organ, Steel Drums
• Giampaolo Tofani - Guitar, Synthesizer
• Ria Gaetano - Engineering