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Rating: I have a "mod" friend who, instead of Italian Prog and tricolor Hardcore, prefers Beat and Oi! from the boot. How it is possible not to appreciate the most ingenious ensembles of Italian music (Prog and Hardcore, precisely) is a mystery. What struck me, however, was the journey made with one of the recommended bands: Gli Astrali.
Defining them as unknown would be an understatement! The band, in fact, hasn't produced even a single album and has made do with singles and covers of foreign songs (a very common practice among Beat bands of the '60s-'70s).
However, the label Destination X has decided to resurrect the sparse repertoire of these Torinese, offering us a record presenting a band divided between Beat, Psychedelia (a lot) and hints of that Prog era that shortly would have made the boot great.
The recording of the tracks is not pristine, and even the conversion from analog to digital did not do justice to those little songs soaked in druggy and hippie moods. Regardless, excuse me but this phrase is a sort of interjection for me, today we can listen to one of the most heartfelt and sincere testimonies of the period.
It opens with "Noi Non Siamo Come Voi", a cover of "You Are a Better Man Than I", with lyrics so naive in their pacifism that they will elicit more than a smile from you. Not bad, however. The structure and atmosphere change with "Viaggio Allucinogeno", a lively and slightly Doors-like psych ride.
"Credi", which seems to echo the air of some other famous Anglo-American song of the era, takes us back to the more rocking side. "Una Notte Al Bar" and "Ultimo Viaggio Astrale" are the usual tracks created to expand human consciousness.
Not an indispensable work nor a production worthy of the material contained therein. Despite this, a fun and carefree record able to make us (re)discover the prehistory of Italian rock. And the band? I know almost nothing about its members. From the little I've read, however, they were certainly not rockstars or aspiring ones! Quite the opposite.
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