BATTIATO Pollution LP Orig 70s ITA Prog TOP RARE

$

161

BATTIATO Pollution Lp

TOP RARE 70s Italian Progressive Rock album!!

+ inner sleeve with lyrics

gatefold laminated cover

released on BLA BLA RECORDS cat. BBXL 10002 year 1973

An internationally known artist, Franco Battiato has been everything in his long career, from beat singer to avantgarde performer, producer, contemporary music composer. 
His beginnings lay in the mid 60's, with many singles released with no particular success, the first two under his real name of Francesco. He had left the native Sicily (he was born in Jonia, near Catania in 1945) moving to Milan around 1965.

In 1970 after his collaboration with Osage Tribe (that he quit before their only album Arrowhead) he had a record deal with Bla Bla, releasing his first solo album in 1972.
Fetus, housed in a outrageous cover (reproducing a foetus) was definitely a prog album, but a very original one, with a minimalist sound mainly based on the use of a VCS3 synth, unusual lyrics, complex arrangements. Two tracks, Energia and Una cellula were also released as single.

Second album Pollution followed the same route, but the sound was a bit richer with a larger use of traditional rock instruments. A good concert activity led to Battiato being very popular as an alternative artist and Pollution even reached the Top Ten Italian chart.
These two albums are considered their best (and most musically accessible) from prog fans.

With third album, Sulle corde di Aries, the sound shifted toward a more avantgarde style, as in the long suite Sequenze e frequenze, but Aria e rivoluzione remains one of his best tracks from the first period.

Fourth album Clic was mainly instrumental, with just a single vocal track, No U turn, and it also had an English release on the prestigious Island label, though this album contains tracks originally included in Sulle corde di Aries and the Italian issue of Clic. His first solo album had also been recorded in an English version, entitled Foetus, but this was never released at the time and only appeared on CD recently.

With 1975's M.lle le gladiator we're in full avantgarde music, the album even contains a long church organ solo performance and is a very difficult listen. After the Bla Bla's demise the following releases up to 1978 were all in the same direction, with long instrumental piano or synth performances closer to contemporary music than to progressive.

1979 saw the first radical turn, with the new wave-inspired album L'era del cinghiale bianco that began a fruitful collaboration with violinist Giusto Pio. The album was a big hit and later works followed the same style, with very good arrangements and highly inspired and original lyrics. In the 2000's Battiato is still one of the leading figures in Italian music.

All the Bla Bla albums are much collectible and have become increasingly more expensive during the years, but they're still not impossible to find.

Some copies of Fetus (like some Bla Bla singles) had a yellow Billboard sticker. Allegedly some promotional copies came on blue vinyl and contained an info folder.
Two different versions of the Fetus, cover exist, the only difference being a small writing "Reparto Tipolitografico CBS-SUGAR" on back, just under the Messaggerie Musicali distribution credit.
The first two albums had laminated cover, Sulle corde di Aries had a standard gatefold cover, but some copies were made with a rather glossy cardboard that almost gives the effect of a laminated cover. Clic included a black & white lyric booklet.

Pollution has on the label the year 1973, but, according to many sources the album was issued at the end of 1972.

Clic was also the first Battiato album to gain an international release, with an uncommon English issue on Island (ILPS 9323) that included three tracks from the Italian version of the same album and one (Aria e rivoluzione, renamed Revolution in the air) from Sulle corde di Aries, in different recordings. The English version had a similar gatefold cover as the Italian one, but didn't include the booklet.

Also some of the 80's releases had international issues, for example in Spain with translated lyrics.

Since the late 70's Ricordi reissued the Bla Bla albums in the Orizzonte mid-price series; the first four albums, already included in the Feedback double album, were split in two separate compilations, mixing Fetus and Pollution excerpts in the first one (called 1972, on Ricordi/Orizzonte ORL 8127) and Sulle corde di Aries and Clic in the second one (re-titled 1974, on Ricordi/Orizzonte ORL 8128). Both the compilations had rather unoriginal plain coloured single covers and green/white Ricordi labels and are still easy to find.

No counterfeits exist nor foreign issues of Bla Bla production.

The 1972 single with the unreleased tracks La convenzione and Paranoia was issued in two versions, the common one has a green label, another one is on orange label, both have a gatefold cover. The recordings of La convenzione are different, while Paranoia is over one minute longer on the orange label single.
These alternative recordings from the orange label single can be found on the La convenzione CD compilation which also contains tracks by Osage Tribe and Juri Camisasca.

condition: Cover Ex - (-) sticker on edge / Sleeve: Ex - (sticker) / Record Ex (-)

Shipping & Handling :

see the official italian postal service prices for registered mail in euros:

where ZONA 1 is Europe,

ZONA 2 is USA, Canada, Sud America and JAPAN,

ZONA 3 is OCEANIA

price for 1 Lp would be the one in red (between 0,350 kg and 1 kg)

prices taken by offical Postal service site: http://www.poste.it/postali/raccomandata/prezzi_estero.shtml

PAYPAL PREFERRED!

ITALY: Paypal, Vaglia postale, Bonifico Bancario, Bollettino di c/c postale, EuroCash in reg. letter (your risk)

EUROPE: Paypal, Bank Transfer, Euro Cash in reg. letter (your risk)

USA and MOST OF OTHER COUNTRIES: PAYPAL ONLY

WE SHIP FROM ITALY! 

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