La famiglia degli Ortega: self-titled (Carosello, 1973)

A wonderful, west-coast sounding progressive folk album, simple, light and optimist. The atmosphere is rather dreamy than lysergic: the songs are open to many influences (busker blues, jazz, classical music, medioeval stuff) but preserve a linear and concise structure, while the mood is gentle, pure and positive without ever sounding freaked out.

The music is based mainly on acoustic guitars, elegant piano passages and alternated male/female vocals, but there's a very strong "choral" element which adds a collective, if not subtly epic, dimension. Rainy synth carpets, percussions and some narrative intermissions contribute creating a framework for the songs - an imaginary insular setting which surprisingly doesn't weigh down the whole album.
Though the songs have a distinct utopian shade, they are never really politically concerned. They rather seem a bit disillusioned, maybe unconsciously: the choice of talking about fantasized worlds would suggest a renounciation to direct engagement in the real world.

Some infos about the band can be found on the site italianprog.
Many thanks to the female vocals blog, where the album was posted first.


Tracklist:

1. Arcipelago
2. John Barleycorn: John Barleycorn/Due aquile
3. Guida la mia lancia
4. Merryon
5. Una vecchia corriera chiamata "Happy Way"
   
6. Inversione dei fattori
7. Sogno Parigi
8. Awamalaia

Downaload (160 kbps)

Braen's Machine: Temi ritmici e dinamici (Liuto LRS, 1973)

Braen's Machine were sound library composers Pietro Umiliani and Alessandro Alessandroni under the monikers "Braen" and "Gisteri". "Sound libraries" were collections of musical material intended for film, television or radio commercials: the composers tried to make the music express some specific sensations and published archives of tracks with similar purposes, providing functional repositories of ready-made soundtrack music.
Being composed under no commission, the genre offered much artistic freedom and can be regarded in hindsight as a very suitable territory for almost unbounded eperimentation.

"Temi ritmici e dinamici" is the second and the last release of the Umiliani/Alessandroni combo. The two artists, among the most important in the field, focused here on jaunty, airy jazzy-proggy sketches conceived to give the idea of sport and movement. Based on keyboards, acoustic guitar and very groovy drumming, the music reminds vaguely of Goblin, without ever sounding eerie or sinister.
Post-rock band Stereolab surely learned much from the rhythm locks featured on similar albums.


Tracklist:

1. Movimento
2. Dinamica
3. Competizione
4. Attività all'aperto
5. Ritmica sportiva
6. Esercizi ginnici
7. Gara
8. Dilettanti
9. Rinuncia
10. Passeggiata
11. Allenamento
12. Aspetti grotteschi

Download (320 kbps)