Franco Battiato - Clic. 1974 Italy

Clic is the 4th album from Franco Battiato, and continues to see him experimenting further afield. Battiato's albums to this point were rather odd in themselves. I find it hard to describe his music, and partially that's because I haven't taken the proper time to digest them. But the other reason is his music is somewhat disorienting. It's not really what one would call "weird" (for those of us who listen to these type of albums on a regular basis of course, not the general public). The best word for Battiato's music at this stage of the game is "alien". It's not exactly memorable in the traditional sense, but it does have sensory impact.

And Clic is just oozing with otherworldly atmosphere. It's primitive really, calling on the early classical electronic genre such as Battiato's idol Karlheinz Stockhausen. But it's not academic. The field tapes alone are really quite eerie. Some albums where I get this same vibe are Pierrot Lunaire's Gudrun, Algarnas Tradgard, and Picchio dal Pozzo's debut. And even Jumbo's Vietato... primarily because Battiato guests on that album and brings his trusty VCS3 along, the instrument responsible for much of the mystery. Overall a superb album when in the right mood. Bring an open mind - and maybe your space helmet too.

Personal collection
CD: 1998 Ricordi/BMG

My first introduction to Clic, like for many people, was the UK LP version on Island. Turns out that's a completely different album! More on that for another day (I still have that exact LP). According to my database, I first bought this CD in 2002, and that was my introduction to the proper release. I don't think I've heard it since, and I had no recollection of the contents within. Let's see if this deep dive will stick for the next listen. Hopefully not 17 years later...

The CD itself is a bare bones "straight" reissue. I thought I heard traces of vinyl sound as well.