Italian progressive rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Italian progressive rock was born around the early 70s, mostly inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but with certain features of its own that makes some sources mention it as a separate musical genre.
In the early-to-mid-70s, Italy was one the European countries most interested in this genre; many English bands such as Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator and Gentle Giant were discovered by the Italian public before they were consolidated in their home country. Consequently, progressive Italian groups were prolific. Some received worldwide attention, such as Premiata Forneria Marconi and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. Most of the bands, however, were mainly known inside Italy.
As CD reissues started appearing and the Internet made information flow easier during the 1990s, the Italian bands were discovered and rediscovered by a number of progressive rock fans internationally.
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[edit] Hallmarks
Italian progressive rock encompassed a number of different styles. The Italian progressive scene produced a large number of bands releasing one record before disappearing into obscurity. This was the case with highly-regarded bands such as Cervello, Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno and Semiramis.
[edit] Symphonic rock bands
Italy's symphonic rock boomed in 1972, after the successes of Van der Graaf Generator's Pawn Hearts, which was number one in Italy's charts for 12 weeks early that year. The scene more or less ran dry by the end of 1975. [1]
The most popular bands, such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Premiata Forneria Marconi and Le Orme, played symphonic rock heavily influenced by classical music, against the backdrop of the Italian canzone tradition.
Bands like New Trolls, Alphataurus and Biglietto per l'Inferno had a harder edge, but still with traits of the symphonic tradition.
[edit] More experimental bands
Franco Battiato's 1970s output showed influences from electronic music. While his first albums can be called symphonic or progressive rock, his work became increasingly inaccessible, incorporating musique concrète and serial music. The willingness to experiment culminated in L'Egitto prima delle sabbie in 1978, where one chord is repeated throughout each LP side. After this, he turned more commercial, eventually earning huge national success.
In the latter half of the decade, several bands more directed towards contemporary music or RIO emerged, such as Picchio dal Pozzo, Opus Avantra and Stormy Six.
[edit] Newer bands
Bands such as Finisterre, La Maschera di Cera, Deus Ex Machina, DFA, Germinale and Mary Newsletter have made an impact since the progressive scene experienced a slight revival in the 1990s.
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Before 1971
English progressive rock bands such as Genesis were popular in Italy. In 1970, releases by Italian bands, however, still favoured American-style psychedelic rock, such as The Trip, Osanna, Le Orme and Il Balletto di Bronzo.
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso had already refined their progressive rock sound, as is evident from their recently released Live record recorded this year, but they didn't release anything until 1972.
[edit] 1971
In this year, New Trolls released the seminal Concerto Grosso per i New Trolls, a collaboration with Luis Enriquez Bacalov. It was a mix of canzoni, rock and classical music, and helped put symphonic rock on the map in Italy. Other notable releases were I Giganti's concept album Terra in Bocca, Buon Vecchio Charlie's self-titled symphonic rock album, and Le Orme's organ-based album Collage.
[edit] 1972
In 1972, a creative explosion suddenly occurred, with PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Il Balletto di Bronzo and more releasing their most acclaimed work.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Italian Prog Website
- Asbjornsen, D. E., Secret Gardens of the Mind: A Comprehensive Guide to the Golden Era of Progressive Rock (1968-1980), ISBN 978-1899855124, ISBN 1899855122.
- Gnosis Website
