Mauro Pagani
Mauro Pagani

If there is a precursor of world music in Italy (and not only), in my opinion, it does not necessarily have to be "Crueza De Ma" by De André (which, among other things, deserves credit for pioneering the genre in '81, at a time when it was unexpected). Instead, it should be this album, the debut work of the multi-instrumentalist Mauro Pagani, who had just left PFM back in 1977.
A work that is tremendously current in its sounds (the recovery of instruments and sounds from the Mediterranean area) and its approach (completely free in interpreting the "song structure" in an original and truly pioneering way).
Our artist, caught in the artistic bind of the Mussida-Di Cioccio duo, frees himself from the group to which he had contributed so much in terms of composition and performance, and throws himself headlong into this crazy and innovative project, calling on the best musical talents of late '70s Italy: the album features contributions from, among others, Demetrio Stratos, Patrizio Fariselli, Walter Calloni, Giulio Capiozzo, Franz Di Cioccio, Franco Mussida, Patrick Djivas (the former traveling companions), and the early Teresa De Sio.
The album is then a triumph of sonic, rhythmic, and cultural inventions, monstrously ahead of its time in addressing, for example, the themes of racial and cultural integration (listen to "Argento" with the splendid voice of De Sio or "Europa Minor"). The album has at least a couple of unforgettable masterpieces, and I refer to "L'albero di canto" with a stratospheric Stratos unleashed to weave sound textures reaching heights still unattainable to most today and the symphony of only guitars "Dove il blu comincia davvero," a true "auditory orgasm" for anyone who can pluck at least a C chord arpeggio.

In short, an album "frighteningly" ahead of its time that raised some perplexity in the late '70s Italian music scene but should be re-evaluated and listened to today to also realize the greatness of our musicians of the time, who had little to envy from the likes of ELP or Genesis & Co. I would really love to see this semi-forgotten masterpiece reissued on CD, with consequent remastering; certain tracks would gain in clarity and impact. Great Pagani, who had already glimpsed the light, which later illuminated the even greater Faber, giving us the artistic turning point we all know...