Osage Tribe - Arrow Head. 1972 Italy

Osage Tribe were an "early days" Italian prog band where they mixed late era psychedelia, hard rock, and progressive rock seamlessly. There was likely no attempt to be part of a scene, yet that scene existed inside Osage Tribe. Originally lead by none other than Franco Battiato, Osage Tribe were a trio at the time of recording. They're basically a hyperactive rhythm section with Nuova Idea's Marco Zoccheddu doing everything else. I really like his guitar style, which is generally fast and loose, with plenty of psychedelic soloing. He brought the same style to his next venture - the decidedly jazz influenced Duello Madre. I'm not real keen on the lengthy opener 'Hajenhanhowa'. It's a bit slow paced, and has a distinct "1960s American TV Western" variation of Native American music (see Ownership section for more). After this, the remaining 4 tracks are classic Italian prog styled numbers, and could be considered the missing link between Il Balletto di Bronzo's two albums, even if there's no relation. An excellent album overall, that gets better with each listen.

Ownership: LP: 2013 Vinyl Magic / Bla Bla. Gatefold. Acquired not long after release from an online retailer. This is the first time for me to hear it. Definitely taken from vinyl (still sounds great), but given the fact that originals are hyper rare, it's far better than nothing. The cover is stunningly beautiful even though it's completely inaccurate. The girl on the cover is - of course - no Native American. She's a sexy white girl in a skimpy costume - male fantasy overload essentially. It reminds me of the gift shops you'll see throughout the American southwest (certainly including here in Colorado) with paintings of what could be called "Caucasian Indians". I think the Cheech and Chong inspired centerpiece and back cover may offer some clues to how all this happened. There's a lyric inner sheet as well, with one side a mirror image (sort of useless). 

CD: 1994 Vinyl Magic. Standard jewel case. Features as bonus tracks their rare 1971 single. If the cover wasn't bad enough, the music here is nothing short of exploitive pop music. Apparently it was a hit in their native Italy at the time. It's not enough to keep the CD for (especially since those 2 tracks aren't very good really). Not sure why they didn't include them on the vinyl repressings, other than the quality of the music. 

BTW - if you want to hear authentic Native American music, I encourage you all to seek out the various Folkways albums dedicated to various tribes from the 1950s and 60s. These were field recordings of actual ceremonies from the time. They're extremely lo-fi, but 100% authentic.

1994; 2008; 1/26/22 (new entry)