Alberto Radius
Radius

His first solo album, among the rarest in Italian prog even if not particularly representative of the genre, was released in 1972 when the Formula Tre was still active, and it is a kind of jam session with important musicians of the era, including Franz Di Cioccio of Premiata Forneria Marconi and Demetrio Stratos and Giulio Capiozzo of Area along with Gianni Dall'Aglio Vince Tempera who later played with Radius in Volo. The album was produced by Lucio Battisti under the mysterious name of Lo Abracek.

This work consists of six almost entirely instrumental tracks where Alberto Radius's excellent guitar climbs paths that were rather unknown to the average Italian audience at the time, long improvisations with jazzy hues and a vaguely Hendrix-like sound.

Rock 1 is a single distorted guitar phrase, interspersed with pauses mainly to let the strings rest, while more classic in its hard rock pace is Prima E Dopo La Scatola where Radius's rather hoarse voice is well supported by the bass and drums duo, such as Pappa and Ciccia. The long and orientalist Area is one of those tracks where one expects it to eventually burst into something different, more rhythmic, yet it tends to repeat endlessly among guitar arabesques and the continuously repetitive rhythm section typical of the live performances of the time, where long jam sessions were improvised to rest the voice.

Already with Formula 3, Alberto Radius had titled a track with his name (Rapsodia di Radius), but here he simply calls the piece Radius, abandoning desires for various rhapsodies.

A song with an epic beginning where the Fender Stratocaster literally ignites between Alberto's fingers, rich in rhythm changes and solos, the rhythm part is completely absent and the guitar skill greatly recalls the Blackmore purplish style of Space Truckin' in the Made In Japan version.

Il Mio Cane Si Chiama Zenone, as the title suggests, is a cheerful piece with a near rock 'n' roll start with classical inserts almost like Roll Over Beethoven, although in some parts it strongly recalls Funì Culì Funà Culà. Then the guitar chases itself between the right and left speakers almost to test our stereo system. The dragging finale makes me understand why I have always considered Radius the greatest Italian guitarist.

Demetrio Stratos's voice in the bluesy To The Moon I'm Going makes this work sought after by collectors, but I fear it is the least successful piece of the work among repetitive improvisations and a rhythm section that leaves no mark.

In short, a work that resembles an evening with somewhat tipsy friends much more than an album, where someone even hides their real name.

Nevertheless, a work that may interest Italian prog enthusiasts even if it adds nothing to other more renowned works.

In later years, Radius will also experience mainstream success with the track Il Ghetto from the beautiful Carta Straccia, where he will abandon progressive to devote more to author rock.