Acqua Fragile "Acqua Fragile" 1973****

This is a rare example of an Italian prog band singing in English - maybe just because they could. It hadn't occurred to me before, but Anglophony wasn't as widespread in the early 70's as it is now. It wouldn't be easy to find someone who can write and sing in English. Probably that's why when the top Italian prog band PFM tried to tap into the American market they turned to Acqua Fragile's singer Bernardo Lanzetti with whom they made 3 records between '75-'78. His voice sounds like a cross between Peter Gabriel and Roger Chapman and his English is clear and without an accent. The two bands were already closely linked as they shared the same manager, record label and producers. Acqua Fragile were lighter and less experimental though, exchanging jazz and classical influences for folk and west coast psychedelia. Nevertheless, opener "Morning Comes" is an Italian prog classic. It starts as a soft ballad but soon gets louder and proggier, with intricate guitar solos and organ passages. "Comic Strips" is faster and more playful. Some reviewers have pointed similarities to Gentle Giant, and I tend to agree. "Science Fiction Suite" is a folk number with acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies reminiscent of CSN&Y or acoustic Jefferson Airplane. "Song From A Picture" is a pleasant acid folk ballad while "Education Story" is harder and proggier, with a theatrical vocal style. "Going Out" is once more a simple acoustic song with nice harmonies and "Three Hands Man" a fascinatingly complex yet entirely listenable composition similar in style to early Genesis. The English lyrics, vocal harmonies and lack of symphonic elements set this apart from most RPI (rock progressivo italiano) bands, but it still makes for a good introduction to that scene as it is very charming and musically less challenging than, say, Area or PFM.

***** for Morning Comes

**** for Comic Strips, Song From A Picture, Three Hands Man

*** for  Science Fiction Suite, Education Story, Going Out