Apoteosi - s/t. 1975 Italy

Apoteosi is a family affair, three-fifth's of the group lead by the Ida family based in Calabria (the toe in Italy's boot). And the label was run by the father, who had signed up many local folk artists. What we have here is the Italian progressive rock version of the Free Design. And the keyboardist is no older than 14, running on another 1970s tradition of: Youth. Semiramis featured a 16 year old mastermind as did MIA of Argentina with their 15 year old whiz-kid. Hey, Mozart was 5 when he got started, so why not right?

Apoteosi is classic turn-on-a-dime Italian progressive rock in the Semiramis / Jumbo tradition with Jenny Sorrenti / Saint Just like vocals. Hard to dislike this one if a fan of the genre. Finishes with a space rock number straight from the Sensations' Fix playbook. Finding this private press must have been nirvana for collectors worldwide back in the day. Thank goodness for the Mellow CD, so the rest of us could hear it too! Brilliant really.

CD: 1993 Mellow

An extremely rare album, where original copies have sold for over $2000. Like many, I had never even heard of this album until Mauro released it in 1993.