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Hieros Gamos
Of all the recent Italian prog comebacks, Pholas Dactylus' return is certainly the most unexpected. Exactly, Pholas Dactylus, the authors of the unreachable masterpiece "Concerto delle menti" (1973). Forty-five years later, "Hieros Gamos" ('sacred wedding' in Greek language) marks one of the most resounding rebirths for a band that everyone believed to be lost forever. The album, divided into two parts - one that bears the album title and consists of a long suite, and a second entitled "Ognuno d…
s/t
*2023 stock* "Released nearly 25 years ago in a very limited pressing, Folk Studio A's debut has quickly become one of the most rare and sought after LPs coming from Italy. We are aware that many collectible rarities can be musically very thin, but this is not the case with this stunning masterpiece. Following in the footsteps of the British folk-prog revival, they delivered a shiny little gem that can easily be put on the same level as giants like Mellow Candle, Tudor Lodge, Fairport Convention…
Limite Acque Sicure
Progressive Italian Synphonic Rock - A journey throu' mediterranean cultures.
Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso
*500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl* Legendary Italian progressive rock band Banco del Mutuo Soccorso released its first LP in 1971 on the label Dischi Ricordi. The lineup included Vittorio Nocenzi (keyboards), Gianni Nocenzi (piano), Francesco Di Giacomo (vocals), Renato d'Angelo (bass), the newly arrived Pierluigi Calderoni (drums), and guitarist Marcello Todara, who would soon be replaced by Rodolfo Maltese. Although plagued by poor sound quality (something frequent with Itali…
Darwin!
*500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl* The perfect mixture between complex and beauty. The best of Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, a superb album. Incredible instrumental richness, lots of variations, very expressive voice, long epic tracks and beautiful short songs, all in the same bag. This stuff is the pearl of the great Banco's trilogy (the first three albums they edited), and deserves a privileged place in a serious prog discoteque. One of the Italian monsters, highly recommended! (…
Storia Di Un Minuto
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Remastered edition, Yellow vinyl * This is another absolutely essential Italian progressive gem from the '70's. "Storia Di Un Minuto" contains some of Premiata Forneria Marconi's finest moments and stands alone as perhaps their most notable release ever. This masterpiece is full of great songs and musicianship with some of the most memorable songs of the '70's.
Per Un Amico
* 500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl* This is PFM's brilliant follow-up to Storia di un Minuto, and both albums are considered progressive rock classics, for good reason. The diversity, complexity, and integrity of the music here is as fine as anything produced during the early '70s from other prog rock giants such as Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. The lyrics are in Italian and, while used sparingly, make a valuable contribution to the session's integrity. The music is constantl…
Caution Radiation Area
Temporary nicer price * 500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl * Area's second album takes its cues from the most serious side of early-'70s British progressive rock, particularly Soft Machine and King Crimson. There's a high-voltage, at times furious energy to the quasi-jazz-rock fusion, with keyboards showing some influence from Miles Davis fusion records, and the guitars wheeling off lines with a busy anxiety. Despite some sinister progressions and overlays of electronic squiggles…
Crac!
Temporary nicer price 700 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl * “Crac!” is Area’s third album, released in 1974 and one of the strongest in their revolutionary canon of political artfulness. The previous album had received some mixed opinions after the explosive debut; Crac! is a departure in style from both of those two records—in a way, more compact and sleek if that is possible to think of with Area. In that aspect, this is the most “accessible” version of the band, and not surpri…
L'Internazionale
* Clear Vinyl * Nice and quality reissue of shis Area's 7" was distributed in the left-winged movement/circuit, as the money from sales financed the legal costs of the trial against the Italian writer and anarchist Giovanni Marini, caught up in Italy's Strategy of Tension and unjustly convicted of the murder. The B-side, Citazione Da George L. Jackson is a strong denunciation against the inhumane conditions of prisoners and inspired by Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson, a com…
L'Abbattimento Dello Zeppelin
* Yellow Vinyl * A great Area 7", quality replica of their L'Abbattimento Dello Zeppelin first single. Kick-ass free-form music recorded in the glorious year of 1973 in Milan, Italy. Blow-out with blasting sax solos played by Victor Edouard Busnello, and a kicking Demetrio Stratos on these two extraordinary tracks
Dedicato A Frazz
**LP reissue, on red coloured vinyl!** it's an established fact that in Italy during the period between 1971-1974, a music movement existed where bands would challenge each other to see who could be the most imaginative, who could create the album for the ages. They were all painters and sculptors, just as in Renaissance Italy. Dedicato A Frazz is Michaelangelo's 'David'. At one point in time, utter genius struck five men and the masterpiece has been laid down for future generations to discover…
L'uomo
**Clear green vinyl. LP in the original triple-gatefold** Osanna ( from Naples) are generally regarded as one of the best and most innovative bands to come out of the entire Italian '70s progressive scene. Their groudbreaking debut, L'Uomo the debut of one of the greatest bands in the Italian prog field, Osanna. Formed in 1971 by the members of I Volti di Pietra and Città Frontale their debut was L'uomo, released in a memorable triple gatefold cover, already containing their distinctive elements…
Palepoli
* Deluxe LP reissue on 180 gr. Clear Red vinyl * Third album, and Osanna best one, "Palepoli", from 1973 sees the band at their peak. The album only contains three long tracks and is housed in a nice gatefold whose inner picture is based on the band live stage background. 18 minutes of sheer heavy progdom is 'Oro Caldo', a raw jambalaya of moody atmosphere, experimental samplings, greasy garage dirt, and some flat out classic symphonic prog with a great-sounding mellotron - and other unique and…
What Me Worry?
Temporary nicer price * 500 copies, 180 gr. Orange vinyl * Electric Frankenstein was the solo project of the multi instrumentalist Paolo Tofani who is best known for his work with the band Area. Tofani plays all the instruments by himself on this lone Electric Frankenstein album. The result is a highly satisfying mix of psychedelia and progressive rock, a guitar extravaganza with long spacey guitar solos by Tofani and all the instruments played by himself, the album will appeal to acid-psych lo…
Cenerentola E Il Pane Quotidiano
* First ever vinyl repress. Limited to 500 copies, 140 gr. Yellow Vinyl. Replica of the original, gatefold cover and printed inner * Definitely the best album of this Brazilian-born, Italian rock guitarist and songwriter, who skillfully blended excellent Italian rock of the mid-70's with some exotic Brazilian influences. Alberto Camerini was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and he stayed there until the age of eleven, when he relocated to Milan. There he soon became involved in rock music, first teami…
Picchio Dal Pozzo
2022 Repress. "One of the most original, impressive and highly respected of all the experimental groups to have come out of Italy in the 1970s." - Chris Cutler. "Picchio dal Pozzo can be considered as the definitive 'Canterbury' inspired band, coming from Italy's 1970s progressive rock scene. Their 1976 debut album shows an incredibly rich sound texture, made out of some peculiar musical ingredients. Oblique tunes and liquid harmonies, airy flutes, crispy horns, loads of electric piano, fuzz bas…
Amarena
* First ever vinyl repress. Limited to 500 copies, 180 gr. Red Vinyl * Lucio Fabbri is probably best known for his tenure as violinist with PFM in their post-Passpartù period, and with Claudio Rocchi, and also for some of the work he's done with Demetrio Stratos. As a violinist, Fabbri has an extraordinary fluid and adaptable style, centered somewhere between jazz and folk-rock. His only solo album Amarena (originally released on Cramps) from 1978 comes off as a bit of a mixed bag with differen…
Io Sono Nato Libero - Legacy Edition
** Limited edition green vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition** A new Legacy edition of "Io sono nato libero", historic third album by Banco del Mutuo soccorso, one of the most famous and important italian progressive rock bands.
"Banco del Mutuo Soccorso's third LP, Io Sono Nato Libero, was released only a few months after the impressive Darwin!, and featured the same lineup (brothers Vittorio and Gianni Nocenzi on keyboards, Rodolfo Maltese on guitar, Pierluigi Calderoni on drums, Renato d'Angelo on…
La Banda Del Sole (LP)
500 numbered copies Remastered from the original tapes. Orange Vinyl 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. -…