Etna
1975
Etna
01. Beneath The Geyser (3:56)
02. South East Wind (6:10)
03. Across The Indian Ocean (5:36)
04. French Picadores (4:26)
05. Golden Idol (8:59)
06. Sentimental Lewdness (6:42)
07. Barbarian Serenade (5:14)
Carlo Pennisi / guitar, mandolin
Antonio Marangolo / keyboards, clarinet
Elio Volpini / bass, double bass
Agostino Marangolo / drums, percussion
As the psych-derived Flea On The Honey became Flea for their second excellent guitary album, the group changed again their name while keeping their line-up intact, and became the great jazz-rock Etna, whose sole album was released almost three years after Topi O Uomi and again on a different label, this time Catoca, who wrote their logo so big on the front & back cover artwork that one could think it would be the album's name.
The resulting jazz-rock is more in the line of the first Nova album than in the more Canterbury- ian/Nucleus-ian styles of Area or Perigeo to remain the Italian realm. But it's not to say that Etna doesn't get experimental or descriptive about their music as Across The Indian Ocean takes ac while to get on board, but the "dawn" part (intro) is very much early Vitous-era Weather Report, while the funkier middle section reminds of the Johnson-era WR. Overall the standard prog quartet tasks are better shared, even if the guitars still dominates the music, but not quite as authoritarian as when the group was still called Flea, as McL or Coryell would dominate their respective MO anf EH groups. Indeed Marangolo's electric piano is very present and he even pushes a bit of a clarinet in the second part of French picadors, once guitarist Pennisi went acoustic. The 9-mins Golden Idol is a highlight, constrasting with the smoother Lewdness or the closing Barbarian Serenade (both played on the acoustic piano), the latter sporting some Tarantella guitars.
Overall a pretty good (at times excellent) jazz-rock album that comes from the peninsula and it's a bit of shame that they never managed a second album as either Flea or Etna. Anyway, if their debut was a bit naïve and rough, Topi and this last shot are both much worth owning.
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Here is another underrated Italian prog band that will interest collectors of Italian progressive rock. ETNA's music falls somewhere between mid-70s prog-fusion and Italian soundtrack music(ala jazz-funk Ennio Morricone). I bought this CD many years ago around the same time that I was discovering major Italian jazz-fusion bands like AREA and ARTI E MISTIERI. At the time, I thought that ETNA were okay and good enough to keep, basically. Well, recently I gave them a few spins and absolutely loved what I heard. ETNA differs a bit from other fusion bands in that they weren't into playing at hyper-speeds. They were all gifted musicians, but they only used faster tempos as a release (building tension and releasing) rather than a basis for their careers. Many sections remind me of 70s Italian soundtrack music, yet the music is slightly more complicated. GOBLIN's "Roller" would be a perfect comparison. But ETNA's sound fits well with music that came out between 1973-74 (there is no year-of-release on the CD label). Overall, I really recommend this CD to fans of AREA, ARTI E MISTIERI, GOBLIN, and mid-seventies Ennio MORRICONE. Don't expect anything mind-blowing, but ETNA are well-worth discovering.