Way back in 2005 I wrote: "On Nuda, band leader and guitarist Bambi Fossati is pretty much a post-Hendrix child, with that early proto-progressive sound I find so appealing, especially in the organ work. And this thing really smokes on the last third of the album. Again, nothing at all like what we would normally associate with Italian progressive rock, but had this come out as a small press psych record from Detroit circa 1970, you’d have a completely different perspective. Scorpion (on Tower), Maximillian, The Purple Image and The Next Morning are more accurate barometers than Semiramis and Osanna. In this light, it seems almost remarkably progressive."
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In last night's listen, my first since then, I concur with the above. The Hendrix tracks are front loaded, with the opener being quite the banger. '26 Febbraio 1700' reminded me of Electric Sun's interpretation of Hendrix, though I doubt Roth would have known Fossati, but who knows. The final track on side 1 is where the band tilts towards progressive rock. And the final side long composition is completely prog rock focused with killer guitar, Hammond organ, and plenty of rhythmic changes - all hallmarks of the Italian scene. Excellent album.
Ownership: LP: 1972 CGD. Stunning triple fold out cover from comic strip artist Guido Crepax, with jungle animals protruding from every crevice. I picked this up online from an Italian dealer in 2001, and it was one of my top LP wants at the time. Not likely it will ever leave either.
CD: 2004 Strange Days. Purchased new upon release. Japanese paper sleeve edition that replicates the original in every way. I splurged for the box set as well which contains 5 CDs, and Nuda is the box art as well (best choice for sure). This package will also stay with me until the end I suspect.
The above CD replaced the Japanese jewel case release, which I picked up in 1994 and that was my introduction to the album. This wasn't part of my initial foray into Italian prog in the late 80s, even though I was aware of it from mail order dealers.
1994; 5//05; 11/20/22 (new entry)
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