Artist
GLEEMEN / GARYBALDI /
BAMBIBANDA E MELODIE
GLEEMEN/GARYBALDI
1969-72
Pier Niccolò "Bambi" Fossati (guitar, vocals)
Lio Marchi (keyboards)
Angelo Traverso (bass)
Maurizio Cassinelli (drums)
1973
Marchi and Traverso quit, replaced by:
Sandro Serra (bass)
BAMBIBANDA E MELODIE
Pier Niccolò "Bambi" Fossati (guitar, vocals)
Roberto Ricci (bass)
Maurizio Cassinelli (drums)
Ramasandiran Somusundaram (percussion)
A band from Genova, Gleemen were formed around 1965 by Pier Niccolò "Bambi" Fossati, guitarist extraordinaire and Hendrix lover, and also included long time members Cassinelli and Traverso along with guitarist Marco Zoccheddu (later with Nuova Idea).
Their only album, issued in 1970, is a good rock album,
with strong 60's influences and some typical elements of later Garybaldi work:
the wild, Hendrix-inspired guitar playing of Bambi, the organ background and a
solid rhythm section.
Some bluesy tracks are present, like the longest track on
the LP Chi sei tu uomo, and the album has a very good average level, though by
no means a progressive work.
The same line-up changed name to Garybaldi in 1971, the only difference being a slighly more progressive oriented sound, keeping the same style as previous band, and the wild Hendrix-inspired guitar playing of Bambi Fossati above all.
They had a very interesting debut with the single Marta Helmuth in 1971, the back cover of it stating "from now on we're not
Gleemen, we're Garybaldi" to declare their change of style.
Nuda, a year later, is a much more mature album than Gleemen, with the long beautiful suite Moretto da Brescia taking
the whole of side two and the four tracks on side one also on a very good level.
A very important album, housed in one of the best covers of the era, designed by
cartoonist Guido Crepax.
The band had an intense live playing, supporting the likes of Uriah Heep, Van der Graaf and even Santana in their Italian tours, and theirs was a constant presence at the most important Italian pop festivals in the early 70's.
Second album, Astrolabio, released on Fonit label, is a lesser work than Nuda, with just two side-long tracks, Sette? (recorded live) and Madre di cose perdute, both tracks also issued on a promotional single in shortened form. The tracks contain long improvised parts that confirms the high level of Fossati's playing but seem less inspired and can't be compared with the first album. Keyboard player Lio Marchi is also present on the album though not a member of the band, that kept playing as a trio until the end of 1973.
In 1974 a new incarnation of Garybaldi was formed by Bambi Fossati along with old cohort Maurizio Cassinelli, bassist Roberto Ricci and indian percussionist Ramasandiran Somusundaram as Bambibanda & Melodie. Their only album has the usual leading role for Bambi's guitar, but the use of percussion gives a more latin-inspired feel that sometimes reminds Santana.
Percussionist Ramasandiran Somusundaram, previously active as session musician, also released an album and no less than four singles (in a more commercial funky style) between 1974 and 1976 on the Magma label.
Bambi Fossati kept playing under the name of Bambibanda for some years before reforming the old group in late 80's with a new line up including Marco Mazza (guitar) and Carlo Milan (bass) along with Maurizio Cassinelli, and they released an album, more song-oriented, in 1990, as Bambi Fossati & Garybaldi. A new album was then released in 2000, called La ragione e il torto.
In 2010, after the live appearance of Garybaldi at the ProgVention held at Bloom in Mezzago (without Fossati, replaced by Ricky Pelle), a CD/LP including unreleased tracks was issued, entitled Note perdute. The ProgVention concert recording was issued in 2011 as Live in Bloom.
The name Gleemen was revived in 2013 by Maurizio Cassinelli and Angelo Traverso for a new CD entitled Oltre...lontano, lontano, with help, among the others, from Bambi Fossati, Marco Zoccheddu (Nuova Idea), Martin Grice (Delirium). The album was also issued on vinyl in 2014.
Cassinelli assembled a new Gleemen line-up for another album in 2023, Dove vanno le stelle quando viene giorno?, with Marco Zoccheddu, Mauro Culotta, Gianpaolo Casu and Alessandro Paolini.
Bambi Fossati, leader of these two legendary groups in the Italian pop scene, absent from the scenes since many years due to health reasons, passed away after a long illness in June 2014.
The other musicians involved in the last concerts kept on as Garybaldi, with a new studio album, Storie di un'altra città, issued in 2016 and containing a track recorded with Bambi Fossati.
| GLEEMEN LP |
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| Gleemen | CGD (FGS 5073) | 1970 | gatefold laminated cover with inner opening |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM LP132) | 2009 | reissue of the 1970 album with glossy gatefold cover and black vinyl - reissued in 2022 with clear vinyl | |
| Oltre...lontano, lontano | Black Widow (BWR 164) | 2014 | glossy gatefold cover with two inserts - also available in a 100 copies limited orange vinyl edition with a photo booklet |
| Dove vanno le stelle quando viene giorno? | Black Widow (BWR 251) | 2023 | single cover with insert and booklet - also in a 66 numbered copies edition with blue vinyl, single cover with foldout window and DVD |
CD |
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| Gleemen | Mellow (MMP 168) | 1993 | reissue of 1970 album |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM 132CD) | 2008 | as above with mini LP gatefold cover and two bonus tracks from the Martha Helmuth single | |
| Oltre...lontano, lontano | Black Widow (BWR 164-2) | 2013 | new studio album |
| Dove vanno le stelle quando viene giorno? | Black Widow (BWR 251-2) | 2023 | includes 2 bonus tracks not on the LP |
SINGLES (with picture sleeve) |
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| Lady Madonna Tutto risplende in te |
RiFi (RFN-NP 16271) | 1968 | |
| Shilaila dea dell'amore Un'amica |
CGD (CGD 119) | 1971 | both tracks from the album |
PROMOTIONAL AND JUKEBOX SINGLES |
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| Vieni a Cavareno Da Paolino |
Polydor (1361/45) | 1967 | 100 copies only with cutout cover - promotional single released and distributed by the Royal Hotel Paolino in Cavareno TN |
| Shilaila dea dell'amore Bha-tha-hella |
CGD (CGD 909) | 1971 | black/silver label - both tracks from the album - probably a promo-only single with blank cover |
| GARYBALDI LP |
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| Nuda | CGD (FGL 5113) | 1972 | triple gatefold laminated cover |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM LP114) | 2007 | glossy triple gatefold cover; initially on white vinyl, later reissued with black, blue, yellow, green vinyl | |
| CGD/De Agostini (FGL 5113) | 2020 | triple gatefold cover and 8-page insert - no.79 in the De Agostini "Prog Rock Italiano" series | |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM LP114P) | 2020 | picture disc with glossy triple gatefold cover - limited 300 copies issue | |
| Astrolabio | Fonit (LPQ 09075) | 1973 | gatefold laminated cover |
| Fonit / Vinyl Magic (LPP 415) | 1991 | available as gatefold as above or single cover with inner | |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM LP116) | 2007 | new reissue with gatefold cover and red vinyl - newly reissued on blue vinyl in 2024 | |
| Bambi Fossati & Garybaldi | Artis (ARLP 009) | 1990 | single cover |
| Note perdute | AMS/BTF (AMS 41LP) | 2010 | compilation of unreleased tracks - triple gatefold cover with poster - also issued in a limited 100 copies pressing on multicolour vinyl with a second poster signed by Matteo Guarnaccia |
| Live in Bloom | AMS/BTF (AMS 51LP) | 2011 | live recordings from 2010 - gatefold cover - also issued in a limited 100 copies pressing on multicolour vinyl with a print signed by Pietro Spica |
| Storie di un’altra città | AMS/BTF (AMSLP 125) | 2016 | gatefold cover - yellow vinyl |
CD |
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| Astrolabio | Fonit Cetra (CDM 2036) | 1989 | reissue of 1973 album |
| Warner/Fonit (28187-2) | 1999 | as above | |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM 116CD) | 2006 | as above with mini LP gatefold cover | |
| Bambi Fossati & Garybaldi | Artis (ARCD 014) | 1990 | |
| Nuda | CGD (75262-2) | 1992 | reissue of 1972 album |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VMCD114) | 2006 | as above with mini triple gatefold cover - reissued in 2023 with slight differences in the cover | |
| Bambi comes alive | Mellow (MMP 174)) | 1993 | 1993 live recording |
| Blokko 45 | Musicando (MUS 020) | 1996 | |
| La ragione e il torto | Private pressing | 2000 | |
| Note perdute | AMS/BTF (AMS 179CD) | 2010 | CD+DVD - compilation of unreleased tracks - triple gatefold mini-LP cover |
| Live in Bloom | AMS/BTF (AMS 206CD) | 2012 | mini-LP gatefold cover |
| Storie di un’altra città | AMS/BTF (AMS 269CD) | 2016 | mini-LP gatefold cover |
VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATION ALBUMS |
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| Festival di successi n.2 (with Marta Helmuth) |
CGD (FG 5095) | 1971 | label sampler, also includes tracks by Marcella, I Camaleonti, Le Particelle and others |
SINGLES (with picture sleeve) |
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| Marta Helmuth Corri, corri, corri |
CGD (CGD 130) | 1971 | both unreleased tracks |
PROMOTIONAL AND JUKEBOX SINGLES (with blank cover) |
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| Sette? Madre di cose perdute |
Fonit (SPS 0430) | 1973 | excerpts from the second album - promo-only |
| BAMBIBANDA
E MELODIE LP |
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| Bambibanda e melodie | Fonit (LPQ 09085) | 1974 | single laminated cover |
| Fonit / Vinyl Magic (LPP 431) | 1991 | single non laminated cover | |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VMLP 137) | 2009 | as above | |
CD |
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| Bambibanda e melodie | Fonit Cetra (CDLP 431) | 1991 | reissue of 1974 album |
| Warner/Fonit (3984 28915 2) | 1999 | as above | |
Gleemen is a very rare in its original issue, and had a CD reissue by Mellow in 1993 and BTF in 2008. The latter also reissued it for the first time on vinyl in 2009.
It originally came with a gatefold laminated black cover with the record
inserted from the inside centre of the sleeve. The record still had the 60's
black/silver CGD label design.
In the Gleemen production the rarest item is surely the 1967 promo single issued
for the Royal Hotel Paolino in Cavareno. This was apparently released in 100
copies only and distributed to the hotel guests, and had a red cutout cover with
the Polydor logo and the hotel name.
Also on CGD, Nuda was released in a stunning triple gatefold laminated sleeve, one of the best covers of the Italian prog of the 70's, designed by Guido Crepax (father of the erotic cartoon character Valentina). It's a highly regarded album, though not among the most expensive ones, reissued for the first time on LP in 2007 by BTF on white vinyl and later in many other different versions.
Astrolabio was originally released on the Fonit LPQ series in a very dark looking gatefold laminated cover, and it's rarer than Nuda. It's been re-released in the Fonit / Vinyl Magic series in 1991 both in gatefold and single cover (in this case with an inner sleeve reproducing the inside part of the original gatefold), and again in 2007. The last reissue was released, along with the standard black vinyl version, in a limited 24 numbered copies pressing on yellow/black splattered vinyl.
Bambibanda e Melodie is also rare and again part of the Fonit LPQ series; it has been reissued in 1991 along with many other Fonit/Cetra rarities with the same single sleeve (but non-laminated in this case) as the original, and again in 2009.
No counterfeits or other vinyl issues exist.
Japanese CD's exist, on Strange Days (1008 and 1009), with mini-LP cover, of
both Nuda and Astrolabio.
The compilation of unreleased tracks Note perdute has been issued in 2010 by AMS in various versions:
-CD with triple gatefold mini-LP cover and bonus DVD;
-LP with triple gatefold cover and photographic poster;
-LP in limited 100 copies pressing on multicolour vinyl with an extra poster with drawings by Matteo Guarnaccia signed by the author, who also designed the album cover.
This last version has also been released in a limited 24 copies numbered edition, only sold by the author, in a box containing the LP, the CD and the DVD, all the inserts and one of the 24 original drawings that Matteo Guarnaccia made for this record.
The Live in Bloom album from 2011 was also released in a limited pressing along with the standard black vinyl version. This 100 copies edition came on multicolour vinyl and included a print with the same cover painting, signed by the author Pietro Spica.
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Gleemen - gatefold cover |
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Oltre...lontano, lontano - LP |
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Dove vanno le stelle quando viene giorno? - LP |
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Lady Madonna - 7" single cover |
Shilaila - 7" single cover |
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Nuda - triple gatefold cover |
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Nuda - inner gatefold |
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Astrolabio - gatefold cover |
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Astrolabio - inner gatefold |
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Note perdute - LP |
Live in Bloom - LP |
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Storie di un'altra città - LP |
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Marta Helmuth - 7" single LP |
Marta Helmuth - 7" single back cover |
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La ragione e il torto - CD cover |
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Bambibanda e melodie - LP |
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Click on the pictures to enlarge
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| Garybaldi Prog Exhibition 2011 - Rome 22-Oct-2011 |
Thanks to Laura Albergante and Pio De Bellis for some of the information included in this page
