★Sony
La Valle Dei Templi
** Limited edition red vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition ** Perigeo were founded in Rome in 1971: five professional musicians, all of them already largely active in the jazz and rock circuits of those years, who gathered in the studio to wisely blend together the two aforementioned music genres: this is probably the first example of jazz-rock music in Italy, admittedly influenced by Miles Davis and that legendary “Bitches Brew” that just two years earlier had shocked the jazz scene worldwide.Purist…
Gioia e Rivoluzione
Temporary nicer price * 500 numbered copies, 180 gr. Red vinyl, numbered edition * Gioia e Rivoluzione is the third compilation of the Jazz fusion band Area. This album concentrates exclusively on the albums released on the Cramps label. Just like the first compilation "Anto/Logicamente", this album contains "Citazione da George L. Jackson", the non-LP b-side of "L'internazionale". "L'Internazionale" appears as well, but instead of the studio version released on the single (which has only re-app…
Anto/Logicamente
* 500 numbered copies, 180 gr. Red vinyl, numbered edition * Anto/Logicamente is the first compilation of the Jazz fusion band Area and was released in 1977. As the title suggests, the track selection focuses more on the tracks that were "hidden, ignored by the critics and many others", as told on the booklet. "Anto/Logicamente" is a play on words based on "antologia" (compilation, in this case), "anto" (not) and "logicamente" (with sense). Noticeably, this album contains "Citazione da George L.…
Franco Battiato
Temporary nicer price * * 45th Anniversary Edition, 180 gr. Red Vinyl * *Franco Battiato also known as "Za" was the first album for Ricordi, and the Franco Battiato's conceptualism becomes very rigorous and authoritative. It is made of two long tracks, Za, in the author's own words "Apparently poor. Almost completely made up of one chord. Deliberately percussive (the right pedal is never used), it divides and subtracts resonances, with a technique of release. It needs a listening that I would de…
Gente Distratta (LP)
**45th Anniversary Edition, red vinyl, 500 copies numbered** During the 1970s, Italy was one of the most exciting and fascinating musical contexts in Europe, birthing seminal projects and artists like Franco Battiato, Aktuala, Lino 'Capra ' Vaccina, Giusto Pio, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Futuro Antico, and so many more. Defining the scene was an ethos that rigorously pursued creative freedom and experimentation, with its artists fluidly moving between popular music - rock, prog, jazz, etc. - and more…
Suddance
High quality vinyl reissue with remastered sound. Osanna are considered one of the best bands to emerge from the fertile Italian prog scene of the 1970s known not only for their excellent blend of various musical genres but equally for the live performances that made them stand out from the pack from the getgo. This band from Napoli formed all the way back in 1970 and was known for changing things up radically on each album with the 1973 magnum opus "Palepoli" still considered one of the greates…
Pollution
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Remastered, colored vinyl * Pollution from 1972 is the captivating follow-up to Fetus. Like its predecessor, the album features Baroque textures, motorik rhythms, weird tape effects and Franco Battiato’s perfectly oblique vocals, with a minimalist sound mainly based on the use of a VCS3 synth, unusual lyrics, complex arrangements: upon hearing Pollution, Frank Zappa joyfully proclaimed it “genius.” While Battiato’s core group of collaborators remains largely the s…
Non E' Poi Cosi' Lontano
* 45th Anniversary. 180g pressing, Coloured vinyl, numbered edition of 600 copies * A heavy-hitting, full-on jazz-rock progressive record from this Italian group – and probably their most underrated effort of the early years! Perigeo is in great form throughout, with a talent for time and chord changes that displays many years spent woodshedding solos from their biggest influences. Claudio Fasoli's reeds are nice and choppy, and work very well with Tony Sidney's strident guitar parts. Frando D'…
Event '76
Wonderfully varied Free Improv, with a nice balance of different elements to keep it interesting (and not overly self-indulgent). One of those elements is Demetrio Stratos' voice, which is put to good use as a wild instrument (complete with duck quacking). It's rare for a band, that features Steve Lacy and Paul Lytton, to pull off free improv so completely convincingly when it is not within their normal milieu, but this performance is a testament to their musicianship and their listening skills.…
Andre sulla luna
* Edition of 500, remastered * The mastermind behind the sublime Italian cosmic rock group Pierrot Lunaire, Arturo Stalteri's work both within Pierrot Lunaire and here on his solo debut (1979) occupies a perch in that rarified strata of Italian kosmiche godhead that also includes Franco Battiato, Franco Leprino, St. Tropez, Luciano Cilio and a mere handful of others. Absent the contributions that Gaio Chiocchio or vocalist Jacqueline Darby brought to bear in Pierrot Lunaire, keyboardist Stalteri…
Are(A)zione
* High quality vinyl reissue with remastered sound. Gatefold, sticker. 45th anniversary edition.* The 4th album from the band that I consider to be possibly the finest Italian progressive rock band of the 1970's, & certainly a band in the top tier of all early 1970's progressive bands worldwide! Area combined jazz/rock/stolen ethnic music (mostly from Eastern Europe and the Middle East)/the avant garde and more. Superb playing from all (vocals/organ, guitar, electric piano/synths, bass & drums).…
Einstein on the Beach
Composer Philip Glass and director Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, launched its creators to international success when it was first produced in Avignon, France, in 1976, with subsequent performances in Europe and in New York at the Metropolitan Opera. It is still recognized as one of their greatest masterpieces. Now, nearly four decades after it was first performed and 20 years since its last production, Ein…