More Romolo Grano Soundtracks:1974 Civiltá Sepolte; 1974 Ho Incontrato Un'Ombra; 1974 L'Edera

 

Information here again. On the strength of Kilimanjaro I decided to search around to see if there are any other big surprises.  The library music is sometimes quite improvised, abstract, and atonal, eg Musica Elettronica while the soundtracks are generally orchestral classical music, eg Mme. Bovary.

In the mid-seventies though there is a string of more fusiony and / or Morricone-like material which are these 3.

From Civilta, minimal info on discogs, with Paolo Renosto, Genitura:

From L'Edera (Title translates as "The Ivy - Original Soundtrack Of Scripted TV"), Fiume di Mare, with the Morricone wordless vocals:

While Suoni Antichi features Stravinsky polytonal chords in the strings:

Ha Incontrato from the same year has some fusion elements, note it's also 'Taken from the 1974 italian television movie in four episodes directed by Daniele D'Anza.'  See, for ex., Working in the City, with its lovely Herbie Hancock groove:

Big Amongst Sheep: 1982 Terminal Velocity, 1985 Hearts on Fire 7"

 

Discogs page here.  I see that prior to this 1982 release there was a cassette with many of the tracks that later appeared on the LP. Hugely rare that one.

Terminal Velocity has a bit of Quasar Light - Experience This feel to it, which is mightily endearing for myself, in other words, the nutty space / science / aliens / radioactivity lyrical references plus a late 1970s hard rock + synths, Rush-like feel.  It's a lot more interesting than it appears on paper, with the addition of flute here and there, odd chord changes, and the dated scifi subjects ('Astral Goldhawks,' 'Flying to the Future,' 'Radioactive Daffodils').

Anarchy in the Skies, with its oddball musical 'quote' from Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra (famous for its use in 2001 of course):

Out of this World is definitely exactly that, in a case of meta-reference or artistic autology:

Love that twirling arpeggio synth sound behind the chorus lines, and the background reverbed guitar chords.  Note the later sax solo.

Also reminds me a lot of my old Canadian favo(u)rite, Machines have Landed, though it's much less proggy than the old EP Artificial Intelligence it's similar in sound and feel.  Love the science-based lyrics.  In 1983 a live cassette was released too, sold only to fans I presume.

I also found a 1985 single called Hearts on Fire, which definitively steps fully into the 1980s synth new wave style. Sadly they also abandoned the crazy subject matters, like what happened to UK Comus. 

The title track tells you everything you need to know:

Back to Reynold Philipsek with Black and Blue 1985 [vinyl rip]

 

A lot has culturally, musically changed of course in the 5 years that passed since Reynold's brilliant 1980 masterwork Short Stories (which I still can't auditorily believe) and needless to say we are eras, ages away from the 1974 Sailor fusion work.  We are in the sweaty thick of the crazy dancing jumpy digital new wave 1980s of course, with the dreaded drum machines and staccato synth chords, deeply advanced into the (plastic) years of Duran Duran.  Music moved so fast back then, not like today, when hip hop is not only still popular, but unchanged from those very same 1980s, 40 years ago.  Nonetheless, despite the majority commercial throwaway pop and blues numbers, there are great gems in here.  Information can be found here.

The sheer brilliance of his presumably solo acoustic guitar work, Blues for L.G., just blows me away:

Child's Play with a lovely drumless synth performance seems surprisingly out of place, but side b also closes with an all-synth composition:

The title track is definitely worth the price of admission here, with its magnificent dark sound and unbelievably virtuoso guitarwork, really harking back to the minor-key guitar fusion of a Mahavishnu long since passed and critically derided:

Listening to it closely, for sure this track alone was well worth the hunt for this very rare LP.

Crusade - Small and Blue, 1974 [temporary link only]

 

Classic mid-seventies prog with a lot of ordinary ssw and simple acoustic songs, along the lines of older Kayak, Focus, etc.  However, enough unusual or original chord arrangements & creatively oddball ideas to keep us focused and interested, for sure.  Sufficient for focus and concentration to avoid the fast forward button for at least half the length of this collection, depending on the level of acquired ADHD you might have developed in this wonderful age of smart phones and 6-second video clips.  There's vocals both male and female, hammond organ, and classical importations like fugues as you'd expect.  Also, sounding lovely and well-recorded, to boot.  I note this is not databased in discogs, surprisingly.

It's important to note, it was recorded back in 1974 but not released until more recently-- specifically 2000, if you want to call that recent (which my kids would argue with).

The first and title track:

Merilyn in Reverse:

A nice voluminous quantity of music to listen to, as well.

Addendum: the Netherlands artist behind the album Philhelmon, discogged here, with later releases.

Christian Gaubert, Part 3: 1979 Last Exit; 2013 Ligne Sud Trio (Gaubert, Ceccarelli, Jannick Top)

 

Obviously by this late in the decade year, he has moved from ssw to funk, a bit of fusion, minimal disco thankfully, but quite commercial-oriented.  There are nonetheless good tracks and enjoyable ideas to listen to.  Reminds me a lot of the later Ceccarelli albums posted back here.

Sweet and Fool Like A Child:

The 2013 album is instrumental fusion of the kind that's typical of this later period, but I included it again due to the presence of those other musical luminaries. It's databased here.  Note how eminently capable Gaubert is on the solo piano for a song called Mare Nostrum: