Gleemen
Gleemen

In 1966, the Gleemen formed in Genoa, one of the very first Italian prog-bands, quickly gaining recognition thanks to a more than decent cover of the Beatles' "Lady Madonna".

At the time, covering songs from famous groups, mostly Anglo-Saxon, was a must for Italian bands. It took years of concerts across Italy for the band to refine their sound and reach the recording of a somewhat original record for the era: in 1970, the self-titled "Gleemen" was released. The line-up consisted of Bambi Fossati on vocals and guitars, Maurizio Cassinelli on drums and vocals, Angelo Traverso on bass, and Lio Marchi on keyboards and organ. The main achievement of the four was being among the first in Italy to initiate a certain prog discourse, transitioning from so-called classical moments to hard-rock and acoustic and blues arrangements, following in the footsteps of Nice and Moody Blues while maintaining a certain originality.

While Fossati's wild and Hendrixian guitar takes the lead, Marchi on the organ is no less impressive, and the woven textures have nothing to envy of other complexes, especially Italian ones. The sometimes naive lyrics harken back to a beat period nearing its end ("Now I see fields without flowers and butterflies without polka dots” - “Who are you, man, if you look at my clothes but don’t look inside me” – “Horns here horns there try a little to imagine roads of a thousand years ago” – “Cornflowers without worn-out flowers my blue jeans” – “You too, little girl, take a butterfly and fly away”), anticipating the arrival of the more earnest prog period.

Indeed, shortly thereafter the group would change its name to “Garybaldi,” keeping the same line-up, and shifting towards more progressive sounds.