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Picchio Dal Pozzo
A sort of open group, based around the nucleus of [a=Aldo De Scalzi] (younger brother of New Trolls' Vittorio), [a=Paolo Griguolo] and [a=Andrea Beccari] and with large use of external collaborators. Their first album was released by De Scalzi's label [l=Grog Records], one of just five releases on this collectible label, with help from various artists from Genova such as [a=Vittorio De Scalzi], [a=Ciro Perrino] and [a=Leonardo Lagorio] from [a=Celeste], [a=Renzo Cochis] from [a=J.E.T. (2)]. Often described like a sort of Italian Canterbury sound, their first album, [b][i]Picchio dal Pozzo[/b][/i] (1976), includes an original blend of different sounding, based on keyboards and horns, with surrealistic lyrics and vocal effects. Interesting and intriguing, the album is worth a listen, and is very far from everything else in the Italian prog field. Their four years break has been recently documented by the CD [b][i]Camere Zimmer Rooms[/b][/i] (2001), with very good quality recordings from the 1977-80 era, an interesting release with a very nice introducing track as "Il Presidente" with irreverent lyrics on the then President of Italy. Their second official album was made in 1980, this time on [l=L'Orchestra] label after their collaboration with Stormy Six and the Rock in Opposition movement. Another interesting album, still with complex rhythm changes and various influences, this also had a flexi single included. Many of the musicians involved in Picchio dal Pozzo have followed their career in the later years, and a new four-piece line-up, featuring De Scalzi, Griguolo, Lugo and Di Marco, has released a new album in 2004. Called [b][i]Pic_nic @ Valdapozzo[/b][/i] (2004) this contains some recordings from late 2002 based on some sampled unreleased vocal experiments by [a=Demetrio Stratos], who briefly assisted the band around 1979. An instrumental album for the most part (except for the Stratos experiments and a single vocal track), this is far from their older albums though it keeps a good quality. Some of the typical sound the group had created in the 1980's is still there, though the album is closer to jazz and relies much more than in the past on improvisation, the surreal lyrics of the earlier albums are sadly missing.