Prog Italia

In the early 1970s Progressive Rock music from Italy became very popular both here in The UK and in The USA. The most popular of these bands was PFM who started to release albums in English as well as Italian. Some fans, such as myself, investigated further and discovered a lot more music played by many more bands.

I have picked a few songs here which should give you a good idea of what the genre is all about.

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Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (Translation: Award-winning Marconi Bakery) is an is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 and which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group recorded five albums with English lyrics between 1973 and 1977. During this period they entered both the British and American charts. They also had several successful European and American tours, playing at the popular Reading Festival in England and on a very popular national television program in the United States. PFM introduced new sounds, such as the synthesiser, to the Italian musical world. They were also among the first to combine symphonic classical and traditional Italian musical influences in a rock music context. Such innovations and their longevity have earned PFM a place among the most important bands in the Progressive rock genre. I have included a couple of their pieces here. They are the epitome of what Progressive Rock is all about.

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Museo Rosenbach is an Italian progressive rock band whose album Zarathustra, in spite of the limited success it scored in the 1970s, is today considered a cornerstone of the genre. Influenced by Pink Floyd and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso (among others), Museo Rosenbach released their first and most well-known album Zarathustra in April 1973. The songs on Zarathustra displayed the influence of classical music and the heavy keyboard passages (synthesiser, mellotron and Hammond organ) typical of other Italian progressive rock groups of the time and of progressive rock in general. Vocalist Stefano Galifi’s distinctive voice and keyboard player Pit Corradi added originality to the band sound but the band provoked controversy for their supposed right-wing inclinations stemming from the image of Mussolini found in the collage on the album cover, and the Nietzsche-inspired lyrics. The song here is the title track and is a suite of 5 pieces.

“Zarathustra”

“Zarathustra: L’Ultimo Uomo”
“Zarathustra: Il Re di Ieri”
“Zarathustra: Al di Là del Bene e del Male”
“Zarathustra: Superuomo”
“Zarathustra: Il Tempio delle Clessidre”

The song titles translate into The Last Man, The King of Yesterday, Beyond Good and Evil, Übermensch and The Temple of Hourglasses. The album is generally regarded as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.

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La Maschera di Cera is a band formed as a side project of Finisterre bassist Fabio Zuffanti. This track is the opening track on their latest (at time of writing) album “Le Porte del Domani” (The Gates Of Tomorrow) which interestingly was also released as a version with English lyrics at the same time. I much prefer the Italian songs. The album(s) date from 2013.

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Karmamoi is an Italian progressive rock band led by drummer Daniele Giovannoni and guitarist Alex Massari. They are joined on stage by singer Sara Rinaldi and bass player Alessandro Cefalì.

Mothers Dirge is a song on “The Day is Done”, a concept album released in 2018 which contains eight brand new songs. The concept revolves around the Grenfell Tower disaster which happened in London on 14th June 2017. The album explores the alienation and pain of two brothers who left their homeland hoping to find a better life in Europe, only to find death in the Grenfell Fire. It is a true story. The album is a very moving listen and the band play amazing sets.

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Le Orme (“The Footprints”) is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, near Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s. They are one of few Italian rock bands to have success outside their own country, having played concerts across North America and Europe, and releasing an album in English at the height of their success.

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Premiata Forneria Marconi – River Of Life