Steeplejack
No One's Land

The Steeplejack are a historic Italian neo-psychedelic group led by the brilliant guitarist Maurizio Curadi, a sort of little Syd Barrett. The Steeplejack were among the most inspired bands of that irreproducible season that, riding the wave of what was happening in the United States and Sweden, flourished in Italy between 1985 and 1990, bringing back the '60s sounds in a period until then characterized by the new wave of Litfiba and Diaframma. It was a very composite scene that included, as shown in the beautiful book by Roberto Calabrò “Eighties Colors” dedicated to that period, numerous bands that spanned from the rougher garage-punk revival of groups like Seeds and 13th Floor Elevators to the more creative American and English psychedelia. It was without a doubt one of the most vital and spontaneous rock epoques born in our country. Fortunately, a few years ago, Goodfellas reissued their first fantastic albums, namely “Serena Maboose” (1987) and “Pow Wow” (1988) in a double CD.

The Steeplejack hailed from Pisa, a city that proved fundamental in the development of our local psychedelic scene. In Pisa, the seminal Useless Boys were formed, a band that included among its members Maurizio Curadi and Daniele Caputo, who would later be seen in the legendary Birdmen of Alkatraz, and bassist Alessandro Ansani who would form the Liars. The Useless Boys, before disbanding, recorded a somewhat rough but striking demo, a worthy homage to the rawest and darkest garage music. The Birdmen of Alkatraz were, on the other hand, the most important band of the Italian neo-psychedelic saga, authors of a mini LP (“Glidin’ off”) which today is considered a milestone of the genre, a true “summa” of certain American acid sounds.

Dissensions within the group, however, led Curadi to leave and form Steeplejack, his personal project that would gift the cosmos two stratospheric albums, small masterpieces of genuine illuminated psychedelia. “Serena Maboose” and “Pow Wow” are records from which a timeless music emerges, a child of certain '60s sounds but which in any case lives a life of its own.

Jewels like the mystical “Hot Summer Again” and the acid “Falling Leaves and Autumn Thrills”, tracks from the first LP “Serena Maboose”, where the spirit of the 13th Floor Elevators lives on, have lost nothing of their magic and their "lysergic" feeling over time.

Meanwhile, the corrosive “cover” of “If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day” by Robert Johnson reveals the love for Delta blues reinterpreted in a psychotic key. Noteworthy are also the explosive and tribal “I Was Born in a Jungle” and the liquid “The Sky is Full of Shadows”.

“Pow Wow” is undoubtedly confirmed as their "must": just “No-One’s Land” alone would be enough to guarantee Curadi a small place in the history of psychedelic music with an acid guitar that evokes the spirit of the great John Cipollina of the Quicksilver Messenger Service. But the whole record is on astral levels with a particular mention for the long and evocative stellar ride of “Say Green and Say Yellow” and the dreamlike delirium of “Under a Thunder of Stars” where echoes of the early Pink Floyd are heard.

Epic and engaging is then “Indian Cannonball”, which takes the listener’s mind back to the ancient mysterious rites of the Native Americans, while in “And you Walked Away” folk influences echo.

The second CD of this deserving reissue is stunning, the real gem that all the initiated awaited: it is possible to listen to the legendary unreleased tape “High Shakin Trees” where the splendid “Long Evening Shadow” shines. It is an astral demo of the highest level, even superior to their already remarkable official recordings, where alternative but more convincing versions stand out due to their greater “psychedelic” feeling, of their tracks. Another unmissable gem is an intense “cover” of “Opel” by Syd Barrett.

The disc closes with an excerpt from a concert held in Genoa where the full creativity of the Steeplejack stands out, capable of live producing highly pictorial and spatial music.

A CD that all lovers of quality music should have. It would be desirable that, in addition to the Steeplejack - fortunately still active as evidenced by the recent and excellent “Dream Market Radio” (2014) - other nuggets from the period like the Birdmen of Alkatraz and No Strange were reissued.