The concluding page of our Itaprog Classics: The ’70s review of worthwhile listening among the classic artrock record artifacts – and it is inevitable that it should be given over to Italian popular music in general. And due to a need for comprehensiveness, it can only take cognizance of music that lies unequivocally outside the Itaprog movement. Unfortunately my basic acquaintance with the popular music of the time has distinct limitations. In general, I am unsure of most things that fall into a singer-songwriter category. I understand that Il mio canto libero from 1972 is regarded as the high-point of Lucio Battisti’s album output. Battisti set about establishing his persona as singer-songwriter in 1969 (though he actually had a lyricist, Mogol). His backing musicians formed the power rock trio Formula Tre, who were the first artists to be signed to the Numero Uno label, which he created as an entirely independent subsidiary of RCA. Il mio canto libero has a message that is earthy without pandering to the masses. The next year witnessed Il nostro caro angelo, already Battisti’s seventh album. That one rocks strangely and I find it more gratifying. There are also some who will tell you that Anima Latina of 1974 is the apogee or at least last hurrah of Battisti’s purple patch.

From 1973 there is an album by Ivano Alberto Fossati and Oscar Prudente entitled Poco prima dell’aurora (“Shortly Before The Dawn”). Ivano Fossati was a member of the band Delirium prior to 1972, and his distinctive voice can be heard on their hits “Canto Di Osanna” and “Jesahel”. After he left, Delirium set about creating its pair of progressive 70s masterpieces, but it must still be conceded that their Dolce Acqua of 1971 was where Fossati masterminded one of the most interesting and accomplished proto-prog LPs of the Italian scene. Later he made quite a name for himself, whereas Prudente was a percussionist and plays only a cameo role in subsequent developments. At the time in question, however, it seems that Prudente was Fossati’s equal or greater partner in terms of composition and arrangement. Poco prima dell’aurora appeared on the Fonit label, in the vanguard of the progs. It can be recommended to anyone who is into rock, prog, or the historic 70s. Despite falling outside the prog category and into pop it is one of the finest records of these years, and it has a number of remarkable qualities. It is unobtrusive, consistently pleasant, spirited and optimistic, well-composed throughout, and full of subtle arrangements.

This page is arranged in such a manner that each year of the vanguard Itaprog movement is represented by a single item from the greater firmament of Italian popular music. It was therefore necessary to rummage hastily for an item of that discription dating from 1974. What I managed to come up with was Primavera by Caterina Caselli. It is not that bad a choice, because once you give it a proper spin you fall easily enough into liking it. Primavera is an effort to be completely ‘hip’ to 70s music, on the part of one who was a 60s beat star at the pop end of the spectrum. This music is avowedly pop: it falls principally into an “adult pop” category. Mixed chorus, strings, acoustic guitar, rhythm section: you can’t get away from them. Yet while relying on a traditional format and an idiom constructed essentially of clichés, the compositions show an intelligent sense of exploration. From the little that I have been able to discover, this was an album conceived as an album. It was not simply put together to surround hit singles, nor to provide a source of possible hits. In fact, it relies on the lushness of the conventional adult pop orchestration to generate a veritable tapestry of relaxing song structures. A minor classic.

One artist who always derived a lot of benefit from great arrangements was Fabrizio De André, a name to be conjured with among singer-songwriters. The deep voice, the finger-picked acoustic guitar and the folksy message most often participate in a subtle tapestry, turning potential boredom into a meditative and occasionally profound experience. In Volume 8 he joins forces with Francesco De Gregori, another luminary among the folksier singer-songwriters, though not of quite such archetypal status. The two voices are very similar and cannot always be distinguished with the greatest ease, with Fabrizio perhaps a little less bass than normal and Francesco a little less plaintive. This album from 1975 finds the songwriting duties shared between the two, with a Leonard Cohen cover thrown in for good measure. During the ’70s Francesco De Gregori entered several interesting one-off collaborations, and musically they seem happier than his solo efforts, though not so probing. For Fabrizio De Andre, whose personality stamps the record, this is just one more fine outing. Yet the collaboration is felicitous, especially from the standpoint of the arrangements.

Ivan Graziani was a rocker who appeared quite early on the scene but would remain a wallflower in relation to the Itaprog movement. Though leader of the successful beat-era band Anonima Sound, Graziani would never actually head his own progressive act. He did perform session work, primarily on bass, for two of the successor formations, namely Anonima Sound Ltd. and Hunka Munka, each of which released a minor prog classic in 1972. Then he went solo and was signed to Lucio Battisti’s Numero Uno label. Afterwards he had a varied career and won many loyal fans but died prematurely on New Year’s Day 1997, not many months before Battisti (and just two years before De Andre). On the Numero Uno label there is an extended series of Graziani LPs, and Ballata per quattro stagioni, which came out in 1976, is not necessarily the best. You would have to say that it is basically in the singer-songwriter mode with an international rock sensibility. Especially in the instrumentation one may discover the individualism of contemporaneous Itaprog artifacts. Both the songs and the vocals may seem a little insipid at times, but the overall product is noteworthy for its integrity.

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