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Rating: Driven by their leader, the wild Hendrixian guitarist Bambi Fossati, the Genoese band Gleemen changed their name to Garybaldi and shifted towards a progressive rock with hard-blues hues, which distinctly set them apart from other Italian prog bands.
Their debut album, "Nuda," from 1972, features an eye-catching cover, one of the most beautiful in Italian rock, created by the talented cartoonist Guido Crepax, who also drew the comics inside the booklet, with dialogues that reference the song lyrics.
Fossati also tries to vocally adapt to the Genius of Jimi, with results that are not very satisfactory yet passable, as in the opening rock track Maya Denuda; however, with the guitar, he is marvelous: he creates a personal hard-blues by modulating everything on incredibly Hendrixian sounds, and for this reason, all tracks deserve a listen. Overall, their music is distant from the rest of the dominant prog groups in Italy at the time, with stronger influences from hard, blues, and beat, which are particularly enjoyable in the instrumental passages.
To be honest, this is not complex music, nor is there a notable compositional vein, but the peculiarities of this album will be a welcome discovery for those looking to explore our country in a harder key.
GARYBALDI – NUDA (CGD – 1972)
Track list
1. Maya Desnuda (6:08)
2. Decomposizione, Preludio E Pace (1:55)
3. 26 Febbraio 1700 (7:20)
4. L'Ultima Graziosa (5:22)
5. Moretto Da Brescia:
- a. Goffredo (6:15)
- b. Il Giardino Del Re (9:16)
- c. Dolce Come Sei Tu (5:19)
Line-up
Bambi Fossatti – guitars, vocals
Angelo Traverso - bass
Maurizio Cassinelli – drums, percussion, vocals
Lio Marchi - keyboards
Tracklist and Videos
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Other reviews
By Naif_90
Listening is not recommended. It is absolutely obligatory!
Garybaldi provides a well-defined interpretation of the local progressive personality, not merely a derivative genre from across the Channel.
