AA.VV.
Body Section

Published in 1983 (by the label "Electric Eye"), the compilation "Body Section" emerged at a time when the new Italian rock, after years spent underground, was coming back to the fore.

Divided into two sections, the "Blue Section", with softer atmospheres, and the "Red Section", more rock and experimental, the compilation marks a musical transition from post-punk to dark-wave, but with the first signs of what would become synth-pop. Among the groups featured, the only ones to leave a significant mark are Litfiba and Diaframma (also the only ones singing in Italian) and Kirlian Camera, to a lesser extent, while the remaining formations became cult bands for fans of the genre.

The "Blue Section" opens with Modo and their "Eyes in the Mirror", an elegant track dominated by piano and sax (with an excellent sax solo) and vocally alternating male and female voices. Dark electronic and almost claustrophobic for Monuments and their "Wonderful Woman", romantic and melancholic in "A Gift of Tears" by Jeunesse d’Ivoire, the only track with a completely female voice, featuring a splendid alternation between electronic drums and piano in the verses; towards the end, the sax makes a comeback. Frigidaire Tango and their "Vanity Fair" are the most "lively" in this section, thanks to a tight-knit rhythm section that never stops for an instant, over which the gothic keyboards can embellish at will: over everything, the dark voice of the singer. The first section is closed by Kirlian Camera with "Dreamtime Comes", ambient and rarefied.

The second section opens with the two most famous Florentine bands of the period: Litfiba and Diaframma. While the former offers that little gem "Transea", in my opinion the best track of their pre-Desaparecido production alongside "Versante Est", dominated by Maroccolo's obsessive bass and Aiazzi's keyboards, Fiumani's group, with "Specchi d'Acqua", still featuring Nicola Vannini on vocals, betray their love for Joy Division, with a dark and "wintry" track that will later be included in their masterpiece "Siberia". Next are Vox Rei with "Fear", the most direct track, post-punk at its most intense, very similar to Bauhaus in the atmosphere created. "Dopo Hiedegger" by Die Form is a frenetic jam in which the sax, sharp guitar, and pounding drums merge to form a truly dissonant soundscape, reminiscent (but it's just an impression) of "Interstellar Overdrive" by Floyd. This historic compilation closes with "Danke Mami!" by Rinf, featuring hallucinated vocals and free-wheeling sax against an obsessive electronic drum background.

A compilation of excellent artistic value and immense historical value. What more are you looking for?

SCORE = 8