The other progressive rock band on RiFi, the label most known for bringing Circus 2000 to the world. Odissea is generally considered a second or third tier Italian progressive work, but I disagree. All the elements of classic Italo-prog are at play here, minus some of the more overt instrumental gymnastics of their peers. The song structures and atmosphere all point to the classic 1973 sound. The gruff and husky vocals recall Jumbo, and I find them highly appealing and very much of their era. I'm not prone to use terms like underrated, but I think this is one case that does apply. The implication is that Odissea are a "soft prog rock" band, but this is by no means a lame singer-songwriter album, and there are plenty of heavy progressive rock moments to be found.
LP: 1973 RiFi
CD: 2011 Belle Antique
This was one of the very first albums I bought on CD without owning the LP first - and according to my database I've owned it since 1990. I like the scan from RYM (shown here), because it is indeed true that almost all original copies suffer from lamination "crinkling".
2012 update: Finally obtained an original, one that I very much wanted to own.
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