Italy and Prog: An Ideal Environment, Part 1

For Italy month, I looked over my collection for good review material. Out of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Italian Prog albums, I only own 4. This shows that I’m quite a newcomer. However, it’s of note that I enjoy all 4 of them quite a bit. Today I’ll go into a two part study of what made Italy such a fertile place for prog, and do something of a research project into some bands I’ve just not gotten around to hearing yet.

As I’m sure we all know, Italy has defined western music perhaps more than any other region. Much of the terminology, instruments, and forms common to the West have an origin in the conservatories and concert halls of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan amongst other cities. Obviously, young Italians have nationalistic pride, which leads to incorporation of this tradition into the prog of Italy. Out of all the prog scenes, Italian Prog (Rock Progressivo) has the most classical influence, and less of the electronic experiments and jazz-like textures. Opera seems a particularly big influence, as Italian prog has a great emphasis on storytelling. Also, an abundance of acoustic guitar can be found in this music. This stems from the Italian folk tradition. Of course, there are some Jazz Fusion and Hard Prog bands from Italy, but in general, Italy’s musical past drives the direction of its progressive work.

“No overview of RPI would be complete without mentioning the use of the Italian language, by many considered one of the most musical languages in the world. It could be safely stated that the use of Italian is inherent to the soul of RPI, a critical component to the full appreciation of the subgenre. In fact, even if some key RPI albums were translated into English in an attempt to gain international recognition, most of them fail to impress.”[1] When the Italians attempt to sing in English, we often run into blocky phrases such as “You would sell your soul to Devil, Dorian Gray”[2]. While this can often be looked over, the nature of the Italian Prog being so heavily linked to Italian History lends the music to best delivery when in Italian. Even when you can’t understand the language, you can still enjoy how it can work with the instruments.

Much like the Anglophone world, the political climate of Italy led to great opportunities for a progressive rock scene to come to fruit. The nation’s great economic boom of the 1960’s led to more affluence, and highly educated people are the ones that make prog. Additionally, liberalism continued to grow over a traditionally conservative country. With lots of organized crime and anarchy, the stress and socio-political climate was right for creative was to protest.

It took approximately two years for Prog Rock to travel from the United Kingdom to Italy, but by 1971, the art had spread. Not even highly reactionary forces like the Catholic Church or Communist party prevented Prog from gaining strong footing in the Italian culture. Very similarly to the United States, high amounts of government inefficacy and lots of crime inspired young, restless teens and twenty somethings to use art as a way to change society. This led to the same transitions as can be seen in the US and England where non-prog bands decided to take that route. Psychedelic and Avant Garde influences started to import themselves first, followed by the progressive ones. Genesis, who had trouble gaining popularity in England at first, were beloved in Italy early on. The “Disco effect” took hold, where nearly every artist released some progressive work.

To be continued later this Month!

[1] http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=28 , “Rock Progressivo Italiano Definition
[2] Cherry Five, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”