Biglietto per L'Inferno

Artist: Biglietto Per L'Inferno
Label: Btf
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 766487245227
EAN: 0766487245227
ASIN: B00005M6A8

Release Date: 2006-02-09

Biglietto per L'Inferno

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Tracks:

Ansia
Confessione
Strana Regina
Nevare
L'Amico Suicida
Confessione (Strumentale)

Similar Items:

Fede Speranza Carita
Reale Accademia Di Musica
Palepoli
Dedicato a Frazz
Zarathustra

Album Description

Reissue of Italian progressive rock masterpiece originally released in 1974. Considered one of the best Italian prog albums of the 70's, combining hard rock with great keyboards & flute.

Album Details

New Repressing in a Deluxe Papersleeve of the Classic Debut Album by Biglietto Per L'inferno Dated 1973. This Album is Considered One of the Best Italian Prog Rock Works of the 70's.

Customer Reviews:

Heavy Italian Prog.......2007-01-01

This 1974 album is yet another decent example of Italian prog that was originally released on the Trident label (along with Semiramis and others). In general, this is fairly heavy stuff that mixes in quieter, PFM-like passages that offset the heavier moments nicely.

The musicians on this album include Fausto Branchini (bass guitar); Mauro Gnecchi (drums); Marco Mainetti (electric and acoustic guitars); Claudio Canali (lead vocals; flute) and two keyboardists in the Banco tradition including Giuseppe Banfi and Giuseppe Cossa. Although I am not sure who plays what, I did hear "churchy" sounding Hammond organ, piano, and synthesizers. The guys in the band are all very good musicians. The guitarist favors a heavily distorted tone (and on occasion, a cleaner tone) and the drumming is pretty thunderous - fortunately there are some spacey and haunting passages that feature acoustic instruments and synthesizers scattered here and there that take some of the edge off. All in all, I generally liked the range in dynamics. Like a lot of the Italian bands, the mastery of melody and harmony is extremely impressive and for such a heavy album, the melodies are everywhere. The classical flourishes on the keyboards are also very nice. The vocals (in Italian) are not bad and Claudio's approach works well with the material. Speaking of Claudio, his flute work is great and he gets a "dirty" overblown texture on the flute in the rare instances when he uses it. With the exception of L'Amico Suicida (14'23"), most of the tunes are in the 4-6'30" range.

This reissue by BTF is OK and the CD booklet features the lyrics along with photographs of the original LP center label. There is also a photo of the entire band and a bonus track released in 1974 (Confessione 3'30"). The bonus track does not sound much different from the version originally included on the album. Unfortunately, the sound quality of this CD is pretty poor and the drums sound extremely thin; there is absolutely no bottom end, which adds to the rawness of the album. However, this is super Italian prog and I am willing to overlook just about any flaw.

Biglietto per L' Inferno is highly recommended to those folks that like their prog on the heavier, wilder side along with stylistically similar bands such as Semiramis and Cervello.

Yet another gem of Italian prog.......2001-11-03

If you're at all as familiar with prog rock as me, you know that there are absolutely no shortage of Italian prog bands out there. PFM, Banco, Le Orme, New Trolls, Goblin, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Museo Rosenbach, Il Volo, Jumbo, Campo di Marte, L'Uovo di Colombo, Acqua Fragile, the list goes on, and Biglietto Per L'Inferno is prime example of what I'm talking about. This self-entitled album was originally released in 1974 on a small label called Trident, which also released Dedalus' self-entitled 1973 release, The Trip's Time of Change, and Semiramis' Dedicato a Frazz. Biglietto Per L'Inferno often gets hyped as one of the greatest Italian prog albums, but I wouldn't go that far. I'll tell you why: the worst problem is the really muddy sound quality on the CD reissue (at least the version I have, which is on Vinyl Magic). You really need to turn it up or get a good pair of headphones to be able to hear it all. I'm usually not critical of the sound quality of 20 to 30+ year old albums because I'm fully aware of the technical limitations of the time (something many people need to bear in mind when purchasing a CD reissue of some album from the 1970s), but the problems here are painfully obvious. But aside from that you get yourself a wonderful guitar and flute driven prog album. The best I can come up with is a cross between Osanna's Palepoli and of Il Balletto di Bronzo's YS, although not quite as intense those albums. Biglietto gets classified as heavy prog, and often it does, thanks to those heavy guitar riffs, but there is just as equal amount of more mellow, relaxed, atmospheric passages. Although the band had two keyboardists, the keyboards (synthesizer, Hammond organ, piano) never striked me as the more impressive part of the album. They seemed to use the keyboard more as part of the music than trying to show off their talents or demonstrate all the sounds their synthesizers can do, so if you want a keyboard wankfest, you won't find it here. The vocals are very pleasant and very non-intrusive to my ears (something you couldn't say of Banco's Franceso di Giacomo or especially Jumbo's Alvero Fella), so you'll have no problems. Not to mention the music of Biglietto is quite complex so it will satisfy those prog fans who think the likes of the Moody Blues and Barclay James Harvest just won't do. "L'Amico Suicida" is prime example of what I'm talking about. It's full of atmosphere, lots of complexities, varying moods, what more could you ask for? My other complaint is why they had to close the album with "Confessione (Strumentale)"? It sounded like all they did was copy the instrumental end of "Confessione" earier in the album and pasted it at the end. It would have worked better if the instrumental conclusion was a variation of the end part of "Confessione", but it didn't sound that way to me. Despite the flaws, I still very music recommend this album to all those who enjoy Osanna's Palepoli, and Il Balletto di Bronzo's YS, or Italian prog in general.

SIMPLY BRILLIANT!.......2001-08-25

Biglietto Per L'Inferno translated "Ticket to Hell", is widely regarded as a one of the best entries in the Italian prog catalog. I disagree. It ranks as a definitive recorded an ANY catalog. This release, the only legitimate release by the band during the Italian prog scene, is almost to good to be true. It is like a rollercoaster set to music. Heavenly, surreal , and emotional, it sedates you and gives the impression of the music crying in its own dark, melancholic beauty. Climbing higher, you can't deny the focus and depth of songwriting of these remarkable songs.Soft as a feather, the gentle flute, delicate guitar work, and emotional Italian vocals combine into one. Straight into the soul. Then the rollercoaster drops, and you're pummeling into even darker territory. This band KICKS, for a while, then stumbles back into melodic beauty. There are a few brighter moments, one in particular that is firmly rooted in traditional Italian music. Instrumentation is lush: fuzzed guitars, flute, 2 keyboardists (primly playing distorted organs) moog, guitar overdubs. Remarkable keyborad textures I have not heard anywhere else. Excellent vocalist who can fit the bill during any phase of the album, with projection, tone, and FEELING. An absolute treasure.The only drawback is that the soundquality of the disk is not too good. Original production is probably not to blame, but this CD version has some tape hiss, which is more noticable on the quieter moments. With music this good, you quickly forget about the hiss.You're too busy enjoying this remarkable album, one of the most compelling offerings in the prog genre.

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