Semiramis – Dedicato A Frazz
The last time we took a peek at the Italian Trident label, it was Dedalus’s excellent LP entitled Materiale Per Tre Esecutori e Nastro Magnetico. That label — one of the more avant-garde Italian imprints — is also responsible for issuing the self-titled Deadlus record, two Biglietto Per L’Inferno records, and a somewhat obscure (seems ironic considering how obscure Trident itself is…) eponymous record by Opus Avantra, Donelle Del Monaco. Honestly, between the two Dedalus albums, the two Biglietto records, and Semiramis, Trident might be able to claim some of the heaviest of heavy hitters in the Italian prog world. Cramps only really had the Area records, Bla Bla had the early Battiato records, and Magma had Alphataurus and New Trolls. A lot of the Italian prog “Holy Grails” were recorded for major labels. RCA, Philips, EMI, Polydor and Columbia can all claim at least one rarity. Even Museo Rosenbach (Ricordi) and J.E.T. (Durium) were released on labels that were in existence for decades with rosters full of Italian pop vocalists.
So, who were Semiramis?
A five-piece from Rome made up of teenagers reportedly formed in 1970. Three of ’em were related: Maurizio Zarrillo (keyboards) and his cousins Marcello Reddavide (bass) and Memmo Pulvano (drums). At just fifteen years of age, they were joined by Michele Zarrillo (16, Muarizio’s brother) and Giampiero Artegiani (keyboards). Paolo Faenza eventually replaced Pulvano. They chose the name Semiramis after the queen of Babylon. The group played at Rome historical Villa Pamphili festival in 1972, and the following year Dedicato A Frazz was released.
One of my favorite reviews of the record comes from Tom Hayes, who wrote of Dedicato…:
Organ, synthesizer, vibes, electric/acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and a vocalist. And with that Semiramis was able to create an album unlike any other before or since. Combining elements of Italian folk, circus, hard rock, Baroque church music, jazz, classical, and a good dose of insanity, Dedicato A Frazz pounds every sense, challenges every synapse in a flurry of ideas. After literally hundreds of listens, I still hear a different album each time. There is no weak link, no attempt at copying others works, no tries at banal commercialism. Just uninhibited reckless abandon of the imagination combined with musical expertise and each member is a master of his instrument. Most tracks have a few hundred ideas and change moods faster than a bipolar woman left in the cold. Acoustic moments are quickly offset by heavy electric ones. Quiet moments of solitude are blasted away by militaristic might. It’s never enough to have one striking contrast. No, Semiramis pile it on from every angle. Synths go awry, voices scream, guitars go a hundred miles a second, drums jettison you across the room. How could a group compose so many ideas? There are literally 15 albums on this! It’s hard to pick one song, but “Distro una Porta di Carta” has to be the clincher. Starting unintrusively with a nice Moog sequence and guitar melody, the vocals are impassioned but not extraordinarily so. Then the music stops. A little acoustic strumming, voices, and a more violent return to the opening movement. But it’s faster this go ’round. Then an insane break – guitars, drums, and bass in step but at a very odd meter, keyboards rotating overhead. Then another wild break with layered keys and the previous guitar trio performing metronomic acrobatics. From here the guitar solos on top with chromatic scales at a blistering rate. Then the organ plays an odd sequence with heavy guitars following along. All this leads to the climax: Swishing acoustic guitar going speaker to speaker and swirling organ that leads to a dramatic and melancholic ending. Whew! One track. Imagine seven like this. For the dedicated listener the rewards are endless. One of the greatest albums ever and the pure embodiment of everything that made the Italian prog movement so special.
In a special genre, this is truly one of the most-special recordings.
Semiramis
Dedicato A Frazz
(Trident, 1973)
MediaFire DL Link
01. La Bottega Del Rigattiere
02. Luna Park [MP3]
03. Uno Zoo Di Vetro
04. Per Un Strada Affolata
05. Dietro Una Porta Di Carta
06. Frazz
07. Clown
