Week of April 29, 2001
LP:
Gleemen (1970) CGD - FGS 5073
45s:
Lady Madonna/Tutto Risplende In Te (1968) RiFi - RFN NP 16271
Shilaila Dea Dell' Amore/Un' Amica (1971) CGD - CGD 119
Maurizio Cassinelli - drums, vocals
'Bambi' P.N. Fossati - guitar, vocals
Angelo Traverso - bass
Lio Marchi - keyboards
Gleemen was formed in 1968 in Genoa. Like almost all groups from that period, they debuted with a cover song,
'Lady Madonna', a very good Italian rendition of this famous Beatles track. Between 1968 and 1970, the group performed live, acquiring the necessary experience in order to record their first album, released in 1970.
It was a very good effort showcasing the quartet's abilities, and although the predominant musical style of the record was rock, the songs offered a lot of contrast and variation. The musical ideas ran a gamut, from classical to effervescent, dynamic hard rock, and from acoustic to bluesy arrangements. This album was dominated by Bambi Fossati's guitar, although there was still room enough for some quirky organ additions. Following this release, the quartet changed its name to
Garybaldi, keeping the same line-up.
Taken from "The Return of Italian Pop" by Paolo Barotto (Vinyl Magic VM201, 8016158220124)
Vinyl Magic/BTF web site: www.btf.it