The Italian Beat

Caterina Caselli

In Italy The fab Sixties were above all Beat Music and related (folk beat, garage beat, beat 'nero' and protest song), different aspects of a music that many people love too, maybe too much. It goes endured said that the Beat was not our discovery; It came from England on the wake of the Beatlesmania and the Merseybeat: simple songs, classic rhythms in four, love words and however educated, but was enough that one to break off monotony of the Italian song and the leadership of 'Sanremo singers'. Beat was Italian music of the '60, made of joy and revolution, outlandish fashion hippie and pacifist, little bits of lysergic culture and some other. It was above all the large revenge of the young people, than through those ingenuous small protest songs and rebellion asserted their small but stirring freedom, the possibility to exit in road tans to you to throw, long hair, bell pants, lockets and decorations of their own grandfather, and to scream their dissaproval for a society already then badly educated. The months between 1966 and 1968 were the longest Italian season of the flowers, days of memorable songs and memories assign to you to remain to along in the imaginary of the Beat. It was the season of EQUIPE 84, NOMADI, ROKES, RIBELLI, CORVI, NEW DADA, of the 'Girls of the Piper' PATTY PRAVO and CATERINA CASELLI, and of all constellation Beats a small of great grim, little talent and insufficient fortune trades them, worthy but to strike with equal guitars with the great legends basements of the English and American scene. In those days came out some among the maximum Italian artists, LUCIO BATTISTI, FRANCISCO GUCCINI, LUCIO DALLA, in order to cite of some, and for everyone thousand promises died.

Beat Garage - a hybrid style, deriving from the American garage punk or from the bad quality of the Italian amplifiers that distorted every instrument was connected; the so-called garage style takes the harmonies of rock beat and it draft them with massive doses of wah-wah and fuzzbox, with devastating effects for the ears of the astounded listeners of that time. All disowned or nearly the representatives of this kind, pass to you like fast meteors in skies of the Beat of the '60 and recover to you from the neo beat Italian of the years subsequently '80. CHEWING GUM, true vandals of the seven notes, I RAGAZZI DEL SOLE, princes of the acid sound, HUGU TUGU, ANIME, JAGUARS.

Le Stelle...

Psychedelic Progressive - in the hidden folds more of Italian music, underground in the most guessed translation than underground, hides two formations of greatest interest: LE STELLE DI MARIO SCHIFANO and CHETRO & CO, true legends of psychedelic music basement. Another band to cite is the MANI PESANTI, authors of a splendid single with brave and experimental tones, a Un Dio Al Neon / A Proposito Dell'Amore (Memories 1968). In topic of progressive we must also remember the phenomenon of the so-called Beat Masses, than for some time it has had resonance international. And if the American Electric Prunes are consider the most famous exponents of this genre, it need to evidence as in Italy some band have quite anticipated those historical vicissitudes. We speak as an example about BARRITAS, BRAINS and BUMPERS that entirety have realized the Messa Dei Giovani (Ariel 1966) or of the ALLELUIA, responsible of an album of mystical beat inspiration, Litanie Della Madonna (To Folk Sonata For The Virgin Mary- Det 1967).

Martò

Folk Beat - FRANCISCO GUCCINI, GIAN PIERETTI, MAURO LUSINI, RIKI MAIOCCHI, ROBY CRISPI, JONATHAN & MICHELLE, MARTO' (from Bologna), something of the first period of LUCIO BATTISTI, RICKY GIANCO and LUCIO DALLA is the exponents more in sight than a kind that was inspired naturally to the Dylan song, to the topics of the protest. In within folk rock we have to remember the FUNAMBOLI with splendid La Protesta / Il Mondo Siamo Noi (Saint Martin 1966) and Immagini / Soli Sulla Terra, while towards sounds more closely folk beat the GIRASOLI orient themselves, authors of a succeeding album I Girasoli (ARC 1969) and of the hit single Voglio Girare Il Mondo / Guarda Nel Sole (ARC 1967). Between folk and Mersey sound we find again instead the IMPACT, with the two splendid 7' Chi Lo Sa / Voi Che Ridete (SGD 1966) e Una Chitarra è Già Qualcosa / Non Spinga (SGD 1967). And then the ROYALS with two beautiful singles of folk rock: Una Porta Chiusa / La Nostra Vita (EMI 1966) e Mrs. Robinson / Le Stelle Del Cielo (EMI 1968).

Rock'N'Roll and other - Perhaps for the R&R, except Adriano Celentano, we have to remember LITTLE TONY only, an artist always faithful to the myth of Elvis Presley but that it never does not have of the all convinced rock people more demanding . We remember some of its greater hits: Cuore Matto / Gente Che Mi Parla Di Te (Durium 1967), Tutti Frutti, 24.000 Baci, Riderà, La Spada Nel Cuore,…

The Oriundi - if the 'British Invasion' in the United States was commanded from band constituted from young people from the blue eyes, with long but clean hair, shaved and dressed in Beatles style, in Italy arrived the 'dregs' of the beat: long-haired beatniks with leather jackets and boots in 'Teddy Boys' style, blue uniforms that seemed carnival dresses, angry looks, toughs with the cream heart, electric guitars workers playing loud.

Rokes

In truth the Italian people were more lucky: if the Americans made overdose of silly trivialities, to the Italians remained the remainders, but among those there was something of bond. the first band of the Beat wave in Italy was the ROKES, the day 8 May 1963: tall men who caused the vertigos, shambling to seem quite artificial, long hair and fit jeans, they were above all 'the true uniform' of the Beat, the uniform we always dreamed to have. They made history, they had money, they created a Beat phenomenology but above all the ROKES made a three aces without previous: C'è Una Strana Espressione Nei Tuoi Occhi / Ci Vedremo Domani (ARC 1965), E' La Pioggia Che Va / Finché C'è Musica... (ARC 1966) and Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi / Piangi Con Me (ARC 1966). They never learned well the Italian language but we knew Italian enough because that funny accent that seemed false turned the ROKES into a legend. And then the others: great rock bands ruined by the silly climate of Sanremo festival and by the Italian melodic song (PRIMITIVES), small tough men who played the part of the young angry men (BAD BOYS) and wanderers of European scene (RENEGADES), everyone with their great hit single in index. There were easy listening bands (MOTOWNS) and very easy listening (CASUALS), English emigrants of second and third division (SCOTCH, BIGS, SOPWORTH CAMEL), extracommunitarian (PATRICK SAMSON), former boxers singers (ROCKY ROBERTS), Italians of large fantasy (RICKY SHAYNE) and quite Swiss men with expression and character (NIGHTBIRDS). Everyone had something to say and everyone found their small America not too far from home. Infact Italy was virgin earth, in music thousand miles far from UK and USA, tied to the international rock establishment by tenuous spin and far echoes but above all hungry of rock'n'roll and of all music came to Italy with the brand mark 'made in USA' or from Carnaby Street.