The Backwards are one
of the best
kept secrets of the '80s Italian underground. They were from Genoa, a large
city but not close to the major centers of underground music in Italy at the
time such as Torino, Florence and
Rome. The band was the brainchild
of a young medical student by the
name of Pierpaolo Rizzo. The sound
was a combination of Syd Barrett
fronting Pink Floyd, the Electric Prunes
and the Church all at the same time.
In other words, catchy songs with
tremolo-laden fuzz guitars and trippy
vocals.
Eerie Thoughts Collection Pt 3 was
their first album released in 1990,
which makes up the first 16 tracks of
this CD. Their first demo tape, released
in 1989, a year before their first LP,
was known as Real Life Permanent
Dream and included songs originally
recorded by some of their idols such
as the Creation, the Byrds, Chocolate
Watchband and Robyn Hitchcock.
They make up tracks 17-26, and are a
great mix of originals and cover tunes
by the above mentioned bands. The
final four tracks are taken from their
1992 Delerium Records cassette album
Or So It Seems, and their unreleased
1993 LP The Ocean Inside.
Backwards
'Mindscrewer' Lp recorded at Magic Frog Studio (Brescia) from 18 th April to 4 th May 1988. Released by Tramite, a small indie-label from Brescia run by Jean Luc
Stote and Guido Biagi, the album contains a handful of inspired and
brilliant songs. It's a record of acid and visionary psychedelia, full
of dreamy and sometimes dynamic sonic solutions with the three musicians
taking turns at the microphone, thus enriching its musical spectrum.
The whole Sixties universe is explored in this incredible journey of a
thousand colors: from the light and shade of Tulips Of Harlem to the
imaginative energy that flows in She's Crumblin'Down; from the
garage-psychedelic mixture of Dumb Generation to the rock'n'roll driving
of You Shock My Heart through the kaleidoscope of lysergic numbers such
as It Gets Wasted and Fire Illusion .
In between there are three great covers: Nazz's Wildwood Blooze, Kim
Fowley's Bubblegum , and the Frantics' Her And Her Mountain.
Liars
No Strange is an Italian rock group influenced by psychedelic music that
combined elements of rock and cosmic music. It was formed in Turin in
1980 by Salvatore Ursus D'Urso and Alberto Ezzu.
At the beginning they play a kind of comedy Punk and they are called
NoStrani, but soon they turn to a psych sound and release a demo called
'Rainbow' in 1983 and another one in 1984 called 'Lisergic tomahawk'
attached to the Roller Coaster 's fanzine.
At this point the band start their collaboration with Giulio Tedeschi, boss of the Toast Records.
In 1985 No Strange release with his label, their great debut album
simply called 'No Strange' (known as 'Trasparenze e Suoni' as well).
Their sound is something absolutely original and they take part in the
Neo psychedelic Italian scene whose interest was in the sound but also
in the air-cut and clothes of British and American bands of 60s and 70s.
No Strange benchmarks included the first Pink Floyd, Brainticket, Soft
Machine and Third Ear Band but mainly the early works of Tangerine
Dream, Ash Ra Tempel and Popol Vuh, with whom they shared a common
musical and spiritual quest.
One year later they release a single "White bird"/"Fiori risplendenti"
and then in 1987 they record their second album 'L'Universo' and in the
meantime they give a song for the historical compilation 'Eighties
Colours' made by Electric Eye Records and are involved in a double Lp
compilation called 'Oracolo' recording an entire live side!
Away from any kind of 'revival' they prefer to create a new original
sound even inspired from the late 60s and the early 70s. This will be
confirmed again from their third album 'Flora di romi' released in 1991.
No Strange start to work on this album from 1988 with a different line
up made from Laura Tommasi (winds), Paolo Avataneo (bass guitar), Sandro
Becchis (guitar), Pino Molinari (keyboards), Lucio Molinari
(percussions) and Ursus (vocals). Artistic production and arranging will
be made by Alberto Ezzu.
In 1992 the band has a long break, except for a mini album released in
1998 called 'Medusa' and played from Ursus,Tony D'Urso (Ursus brother's)
and Fabio Maffia at the keyboards... Until 2008, when Ursus and Alberto
Ezzu decide to reform No Strange along with Pino Molinari, Lucio
Molinari, Tony D'Urso and Paolo Avataneo. That's a mix of the many line
ups the band got in the 80s. Later Rosalba Guastella join them as
choralist.
And finally, nowadays, they record this a fresh and dreamy sound, moody original new album!
No Strange
