| # | Artist | Song (click to play) | Album | Year | CD label |
| 1 | Semiramis | La bottega del rigattire | Dedicatto a Frazz | 1973 | Vinyl Magic |
| Quite simply, this is perhaps the most essential Italian prog album. Like Wylie at Bananamoon says "If you don't like this you probably like Wham". This is one of those album that I wish I could have been listening to for the past 25 years, instead of just in the last year. I'll let the music do the rest of the talking, though. The rest of the album is as good as this song, if not better. The music is very dynamic with incredible musicianship. Semiramis only made this one album, unfortunately. | |||||
| 2 | Quella Vecchia Locanda | Villa Doria Pamphili | Il Tempo Della Gioia | 1974 | RCA / BMG |
| A large part of the Italian prog scene is the very successful use of classical elements melded with rock music. This album is loaded with strings, acoustic piano, harpsicord, cello, flute, as well as all the typical rock instrumentation. Comparable to Il Rovescio Della Medaglia's _Contaminazione_, and early PFM. This album is loaded with beautiful melodies that you may find yourself humming to yourself for the rest of the day, unless, of course, you like Wham. | |||||
| 3 | Alphataurus | Dopo l'uragano | Alphataurus | 1973 | Vinyl Magic |
| Alphataurus only released this one album during the 70's. Mellow Records has released an album called _Dietro L'Uragano_, which is instrumental tracks from a never finished 2nd album. This is an exciting varied album. Perhaps similar to Banco and Balletto di Bronzo. This is also considered an essential piece of a burgeoning Italian progressive rock collection. | |||||
| 4 | Arti + Mestieri | Corrosione & Positivo/Negativo | Tilt | 1974 | Cramps / Artis |
| Fiery fusion that reminds of Jean-Luc Ponty's early solo albums, or Mahavishnu Orchestra. The lightning fast drumming brings to mind Billy Cobham or Alphonse Mouzon. Violin plays a pivotal role in the melodic development of the songs. | |||||
| 5 | Franco Battiato | Da Oriente ad Occidente | Sulle Corde di Aries | 1973 | bla bla / Artis |
| This album is a bit of sophisticated psychedelic/folk/prog. I have not heard the 3 albums which are considered his best - _Fetus_, _Pollution_, & _Clic_, which are all from 1972-1974. Reportedly, he went into more of a classical direction than rock after 1975. The music on this album is probably more comparable to spacey Krautrock than to other popular Italian bands of the time. | |||||
| 6 | Banco del Mutuo Soccorso | R.I.P. | Banco del Mutuo Soccorso | 1972 | Dischi Ricordi |
| Banco is like a cross between Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Luciano Pavarotti, or something like that. This is truly rock music with the grandiosity of classical music and operatic vocals. This is a highly original groundbreaking album for the Italian scene. | |||||