When compiling information for the upcoming "A Fistful Of Spaghetti" Italian rock etc. encyclopedia, I came up this article on Stormy Six by truncating and revising the Rock In Opposition article from Audion #39 that I wrote back in 1997...
Stormy Six
Formed in Milan in 1966, the ten year history leading up to the distinctive Stormy Six sound is a strange one. Nothing is known about the original line-up, except that one Bruno Lauzi is credited as the original leader. Back in those days they covers of The Small Faces and Credence Clearwater Revival songs. After this a shift in style occurred when new members Claudio Rocchi and Franco Fabbri joined the band.
On their 1969 debut album LE IDEE DI OGGI PER LA MUSICA DI DOMANI (The Ideas Of Today Are The Music Of Tomorrow) they'd moved away from normal pop music, to a more psychedelic mixture with folky diversions and even a weird freak-out number. This phase was short-lived however, and they changed again after Claudio Rocchi left. The second album L'UNITÀ was a folky and sedate collection of songs, whereas GUARDA GIÙ DALLA PIANURA was done as a contract filler and comprised of well-known protest songs.
After this Stormy Six started playing at the "L'Unita" festival of the Italian Communist Party and then went on to help establish l'Orchestra, and also expand their horizons. Since 1969, the nucleus of Stormy Six had revolved around Franco Fabbri (vocals, guitar, etc.), Luca Piscicelli (guitar, bass, etc.) and Antonio Zanuso (drums), together with a fourth member, expanding to a six piece with Carlo De Martini (violin, mandolin, vocals), Umberto Fiori (vocals, guitars, harmonica) and Tommaso Leddi (mandolin, violin, etc.) circa 1975. This led to a metamorphosis and a new original sound as heard in its first stage of development on UN BIGLIETTO DEL TRAM (A Ticket for the Tram), which mixed folk and progressive rock with lots of other genres, now fronted the unique singing of Umberto Fiori. A slight blip in their development style wise was the instrumental album CLICHÉ, featuring their music to two theatre productions "1789" and "Titus Andronicus". For this they sought the aid of jazz musicians: Guido Mazzon (trombone) and Tony Rusconi (drums) coming up with a magical album that's become an island unto itself.
L'APPRENDISTA (The Apprentice) could be seen as the definitive Stormy Six, released at the time Rock In Opposition was established (see RIO in the Clichés & terminology section). It saw a change in line-up too, with ex-Capricorno members: Salvatore Garau (drums) and Pino Martini (bass). The change isn't what you'd expect (Capricorno were a jazz-fusion band) but a complex refinement, introducing electric instruments to flesh-out the sound, and bringing in a more rock-based footing. On MACCHINA MACCHERONICA (Maccheronica Machine) Stormy Six had now become Seven. Carlo De Martini had left, and in came Georgie Born (cello) ex-Henry Cow, and Leonardo Schiavone (clarinet, tenor sax) ex-Maxophone, with Umberto now concentrating solely on lead vocals. Maccheronica is basically a made up gibberish language used in theatre, and there are a few pieces on the album that demonstrate this art. In all it's a whirlwind ride of innovation throughout.
After this AL VOLO (On The Fly) saw a move to progressive rock. Three members also collaborated with Cassiber (Chris Cutler, Heiner Goebbels and Alfred Harth) as Cassix. Then, in 1983 the band split up. There have been a number of reformations since, notably the excellent concert documented on UN CONCERTO from 1993.
Well, I think that sums it up in a nutshell!
Stormy Six CDs for sale at the Ultima Thule Discogs shop
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