I Corvi
Un Ragazzo Di Strada

A remarkable album, a milestone of Italian beat and psychedelia: a record to recommend, at least as a historical testament as they are considered by many to be the first Italian garage band to achieve major success.

I Corvi arrived at recording sessions by winning the Davoli trophy, which was organized by the leading electric musical instrument company of the time: after the final in Parma, they had the opportunity to release a 45 rpm single.

Displaying a sinister and doomed look as a symbol, I Corvi, wrapped in large black cloaks, in 1966 sang their first single, Un ragazzo di strada and expressed a set of values different from the rest of the peaceandlove beat.
Their look, like the band's music, is used as strong signs of social distinction and opposition, and for this reason, they are immediately placed among the "bad guys" of the beat, alongside the Rolling Stones, who had a significant influence on them, and Equipe 84, opposed to the good Beatles-Rokes.

Angelo Ravasini's voice is hoarse and throat-cut, far from the customs of the period; this is also their extreme way of provoking.
This is the first album of I Corvi, in the era Fabrizio Levati, Italo Ferrari, Claudio Benassi, Angelo Ravasini; and it's also a collection of their 45 rpm hits. They even had a real crow on the bass named "Alfredo," who then died one day forgotten in the van with the instruments; their sounds are very distorted, sometimes acidic or churchlike, their lyrics almost ruthless, the atmosphere of their songs is generally dark and depressive, and for this reason, they seem very distant from the summer of love of the radiant late 60s: they are almost the forerunners of those dark atmospheres of early 70s rock.

Among the songs, the unforgettable anthem Ragazzo di Strada- spaghetti cover of Ain't miracle worker by the Brogues-, the little garage-pre punk-psychedelic gem Sospesa ad un filo, with fuzzone guitar prominent, which is the cover of I had too much to dream by the Electric Prunes.
The big fuzz-guitar riff opens Datemi una lacrima per piangere which is nonetheless closer in choruses to the Rokes' songs of the period, although the lyrics are obviously always quite sad.
Of religious atmosphere is the bitter confession-type beat mass- of Si prega sempre quando è tardi, where the original grit returns in the refrain: equally dark is C'è un uomo che piange almost cathartic and full of bitter reflections that foreshadow the end of the economic boom dream and the hippie bumdom and not, which will spread in the coming years...
Harsh and raw compared to Equipe 84’s version is the cover of Bang bang which back then dominated juke boxes around half the world, and with which Cher probably lived off royalties, roof-rhinoplasty, for decades.
Also standing out is the unlikely and delightful tex-mex Romagna of Che notte ragazzi!, soundtrack of the 1968 film of the same name with Philippe Leroy and Marisa Mell -by the way, if anyone has a copy, contact me, please- full of hope and love is the very sweet Luce, also with prominent Farfisa organ.
Voglio finirla and Colori are two beautiful covers of Donovan's songs, while the apocalyptic Quando quell'uomo ritornerà, reflects in tone and content Noi non ci saremo by the Nomads released the same year: finally, the album closes with the melancholic and alluring Che strano effetto, cover of This Strange Effect, a track by the Kinks. A note: among the authors is a young Franco Califano on several songs.

This record is highly sought after by collectors in its original version, that is, with a red background, while the one you see is a late 70s reissue. The Corvi's 45s are rated and sold even abroad.

Valerio Rivoli