★AMS
Concerto delle menti
There isn't probably a single fan of Italian Progressive Rock in the world that has never heard of Pholas Dactylus and their only opus (not just a simple 'record', in fact) "Concerto delle menti" (Concert of the minds), originally published in 1973. Pholas Dactylus have left, with Concerto delle Menti, a unique example of avantgarde prog containing only spoken lyrics that can be appealing to the most adventurous listeners even because the musical background is intense and mesmerising; the album …
Sconcerto 1978
Yet another 'out of time' band from the glorious golden season of Italian progressive rock, Il Baricentro - a name that does not coincidentally reveals the musicians' origins (Bari/center, Puglia) - were founded in the mid-'70s by brothers Francesco and Vanni Boccuzzi, out from the ashes of Festa Mobile.The debut "Sconcerto" saw the light in 1976: a beautiful instrumental jazz-rock LP, in which keyboards dominate over every other instrument. Despite the season of punk, new wave and disco music s…
Le Ricordanze - The Complete Recordings 1973-2015
Less known to the Italian prog fans than many other far more acclaimed colleagues, the Piedmontese band Dedalus are among the most daring acts - and hence, progressive in the truest sense of the word - of the '70s, especially during the first half of the decade, the one that saw them releasing their first two LP's "Dedalus" and "Materiale per tre esecutori e nastro magnetico". While the first album was mainly based on jazz-rock coordinates, similar in style to Perigeo, the following work marked …
Suspiria - 40th anniversary box
** 300 copies only, sold out at source ** Goblin, Dario Argento, Suspiria. Never as in this case any possible noun or adjective is superfluous, in an effort to describe with words what can be simply addressed to, in the end, with just a single essential term: Masterpiece. Even more than with the previous "Profondo Rosso" (1975), it is with "Suspiria" (1977) that the legendary bound between the Argento and Goblin reached its peak, to a level that has never been reached before to date.Four d…
Notturno
Goblin's name is very popular since the year of "Profondo Rosso" (1975), but even those who know them in depth "Notturno" remains an almost completely unknown chapter within their vast discography. The production the music was composed for was edited in two versions, a theatrical one released in 1983 and a television one in seven episodes that was broadcasted only three years later.Led at the time by Fabio Pignatelli (bass), Maurizio Guarini (keyboards) and Antonio Marangolo (saxophone), w…
Guai a voi! / Invocazione (7” + poster )
A genuine mystery of the prog scene - and not only - from Italy for almost forty years, Lydia e gli Hellua Xenium just released a couple 7-inch records, that went completely unnoticed at the time (1972-73) and represent today authentic and rare collectible items, listed for hundreds of Euros each. Only recently the names of the musicians involved have been revealed, together with the story of the group (hailing from Busto Arsizio, a town in the province of Varese in Northern Italy), even …
Perchè Si Uccidono
"Perché si uccidono" by Reale Impero Britannico surely is the rarest record of the Goblin universe, together with Cherry Five of course. Released in a very small batch of copies in January 1976, as the soundtrack of an obscure movie called "Perché si uccidono" though it was recorded some time before, when the members of Goblin still called themselves Cherry Five, as the band still featured Cherry Five singer Tony Tartarini (who sings in the excellent "My damned shit") and drummer Walter Martino.…
Inferno
* Limited edition on 180gr. crystal clear vinyl * "Inferno" is a 1980 film by Dario Argento, generally considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman director. At that particular time, the artistic partnership established with Goblin, who wrote the soundtracks for "Profondo Rosso" and "Suspiria", had essentially crumbled, while in the UK Emerson, Lake & Palmer had just disbanded; Argento was therefore able to make a dream come true: to collaborate with an artist from the English prog-rock scene…
Ipotesi
Another great italian avantgarde progressive rarity from 1972! Complex and excellent album, with classic moments, jazz-rock influences in the Canterbury vein, acoustic parts, sudden rhythm changes and complex arrangements, in a few words everything we love from vintage italian prog! "Part of the charm of the Italian progressive rock is undoubtedly due to its inner presence of many bands who were able to release just a single LP, often overshadowed by the 'big' names: therefore, the album and i…
Non si sevizia un paperino
Directed by Lucio Fulci in the Spring/Summer of 1972 on the lonely Apulian hills in the province of Bari, and released in theaters during the Fall of that same year, "Non si sevizia un paperino" (Don't torture a duckling) is among the most significant and representative works of the Italian genre cinema! The cast also includes Tomas Milian, Florinda Bolkan and Barbara Bouchet, an exceptional and unique triad, as is the work in question.At the corners of another virtual trio of '60-70s sou…
Shock
Also known under the erroneous title "Schock", this LP is the soundtrack of Mario Bava's eponymous film, also his last one before his death, which sadly occurred three years later in 1980. "Shock" was therefore released in 1977, while the Italian horror cinema was at its peak, led to international success by Dario Argento with "Deep Red" and "Suspiria".With Goblin at work with Argento, the choice for the music of "Shock" fell on Libra, in some ways 'related' to Goblin anyway, thanks to drummer W…
Gli Intoccabili
“Gli Intoccabili” (The untouchables) is a slightly unknown movie that belongs to a very crowded group of international productions made between the ’60s and the ’70s. Some became ‘instant classics’, while many others remained unknown for years, only to be rediscovered recently and pronounced a cult movie. Such as this film directed by Giuliano Montaldo in the US and screened for the first time on April 1969. The cast is stellar, with a young Peter ‘Lieutenant Columbo’ Falk, John Cassavete…
Il diavolo nel cervello
"Il Diavolo nel Cervello" (Devil in the brain) is a film directed in 1971 by Sergio Sollima and screened at the beginning of the following year; it's a psychological thriller in which tension is determined by the characters' psyche more than their actions, and is therefore an atypical product, that was offered to an audience who at the time were mostly into the 'Dario Argento suspence', made of serial killers, ferocious murders and a pinch of erotism.After three movies in the 'spaghetti w…
Once Upon A Time In The West
2020 repress, clear vinyl + poster. After the "Dollar Trilogy", Sergio Leone was given a new offer on another western movie that he could not refuse. Following his own rules again, and working on the film story with Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento, he directed the monumental "Once upon a time in the West", featuring the American actors Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson among others.Each character is strongly stereotyped here, a fact emphasized by the motion picture soundtrack, once again del…
A Fistful of Dollars / Per un Pugno di Dollari
**2020 repress. Red vinyl + poster** Year 1964. Almost out of nowhere, the little-known and regarded director Sergio Leone transposes into a western key a film by Akira Kurosawa, and by putting together all the right pieces, adding a bit of intuition, lays down new rules for the 'spaghetti western' genre, giving way to an endless series of imitations."A Fistful of Dollars" would not have the same impact without the inimitable music written by Ennio Morricone, who had curiously been an old elemen…
Profondo Rosso
Black Vinyl edition. Incredible reissue of Profondo Rosso, one of the absolute cult movie soundtracks of all times, in its 35th anniversary! This reissue is a faithful reproduction of the very first pressing of 1975 (being made in the same pressing plant of those years). A unique product for this truly legendary masterpiece! Recorded in 1975, the score finds the band at the height of their creativity and features the incredible lineup of Simonetti, Morante, Pignatelli & Martino. Bass & drums are…
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly/Il Buono, Il Brutto E Il Cattivo
LP 180gr black vinyl, 2020 repress. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is neither more nor less than the perfect soundtrack to the most wonderful of western movies, the third and final act of the "Dollar Trilogy" directed by Sergio Leone. A film not only rated among the best of the genre, but universally considered among the most successful in the history of cinema. Ennio Morricone, a higher caliber composer to whom each musician usually relates with the simple title of 'Master', has here been abl…
Phenomena
"Phenomena", a film by Dario Argento from 1985, is today an international cult classic of horror cinema, born once again from the Italian director’s incredible imagination. The original soundtrack was a mix of songs from the duo Simonetti-Pignatelli, made specifically for the film, together with others already published by Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Andi Sex Gang and Bill Wyman.A fragmentary score, that in this reissue edited by AMS Records makes sense now, as it focuses solely on the production si…
Il gatto a nove code
"Il gatto a nove code" (The cat o 'nine tails), filmed in 1971, is the second film by Dario Argento, a horror thriller still distant from his horror works for which he will later become famous on an international level. The collaboration with the composer and conductor Ennio Morricone, already known for his work on Sergio Leone’s western movies, is here renewed after the success of "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage", and will continue with the third installment of the 'zoological trilogy', "Fou…
Dedicato A ...
Psychedelia, avant-garde, improvisation, underground. 'Dedicato A...' (Dedicated to) is without a single doubt a unique record, and it's really surprising to know that its authors were Italian, from Rome, and that it was released in 1967, the same year of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Sgt. Pepper's! Mario Schifano was not a musician but a visionary exponent of Pop Art, a sort of Italian Andy Warhol, who wanted to integrate his work with a group, providing the psychedelics visuals in support…