Artist
LOCANDA DELLE FATE
Leonardo Sasso (vocals)
Ezio Vevey (guitar, vocals)
Alberto Gaviglio (guitar, flute, vocals)
Michele Conta (keyboards)
Oscar Mazzoglio (keyboards)
Luciano Boero (bass)
Giorgio Gardino (drums)
WIth a rich twin guitar and twin keyboards line-up and an excellent musicianship, Locanda delle Fate from Asti went totally unnoticed at the time their only LP came out on Polydor, arriving too late for the declining Italian prog movement.
It's a pity, because their rich, symphonic blend of progressive rock is well inspired and original, despite the obvious influences by the romantic side of English prog bands. Forse le lucciole non si amano pił has lately become an example of the Italian classical-oriented prog, with the nice interplay between the multiple keyboards, dreamy atmospheres and good vocal parts, like in the long title-track, Profumo di colla bianca or the closing Vendesi saggezza.
The Live CD, recorded in 1977 and released in
1993, can interest the group fans, though it only contains an unreleased track, La
giostra, the other six cuts coming from the LP.
It has a good bootleg-like recording quality.
Disappointed by the lack of interest, the band released two more commercial singles in 1978, with the line-up reduced to a five-piece, and in 1980 under the name La Locanda, before disbanding.
The group reunited in 1996 with five of the seven original members (less singer Sasso and keyboard player Conta), and they released a new album in 1999, Homo homini lupus, an 11-track work, good but more oriented towards a classy pop and very far from the dreamy sound of their great album.
Guitarist Ezio Vevey took part in 2002 in the
rock-opera La rete di Ulisse with the group Genoma, that also included
Nik Comoglio (keyboards), Cyrus Scognamiglio (bass) and Steve Abrate (drums).
The other guitarist Alberto Gaviglio issued a solo single in 1981, Cosa resterà/Vacci piano (Fonit Cetra SP 1754). He passed away in 2021.
In 2006 the group reunited again to work on a new album, closer to the style
of their 1977 LP, but nothing came out of those sessions and they disbanded soon.
Only in 2010 the name Locanda delle Fate has been finally revived for some concerts, with a line-up comprising the original members Leonardo Sasso, Oscar Mazzoglio, Luciano Boero and Giorgio Gardino along with guitarist Massimo Brignolo and keyboardist Maurizio Muha.
2012 saw the release of a CD entitled The missing fireflies, containing some new studio recordings of old tracks along with an excerpt from a 1977 concert, and an LP called Live in Bloom, recorded during the 2010 reunion. Another album including new tracks along with some old unreleased recordings is Lucciole per sempre, issued in 2018.
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| Forse le lucciole non si amano pił | Polydor (2448 055) | 1977 | gatefold cover with inner |
| BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM LP166) | 2014 | reissue with gatefold cover and inner - clear blue or black vinyl - later reissued with green or red vinyl | |
| Polydor/De Agostini (2448 055) | 2020 | gatefold cover with inner and 8-page insert - no.71 in the De Agostini "Prog Rock Italiano" series | |
| Polydor (5290737) | 2021 | volume 2 in the Universal "Prog Rock Italia" series - gatefold cover with inner - issued on blue (99 copies) or standard black vinyl (899 copies) | |
| Live in Bloom | AMS/BTF (AMS 46LP) | 2012 | gatefold cover - exists on both black or orange vinyl |
| The missing fireflies | Altrock/Fading (FAD-001LP) | 2013 | already issued on CD in 2012 - gatefold cover |
| Homo homini lupus | AMS/BTF (AMS 81LP) | 2014 | first vinyl issue of the 1999 CD |
| Lucciole per sempre | AMS/BTF (AMS 143LP) | 2018 | gatefold cover - taken from a 1977 TV special + two new unreleased bonus tracks |
CD |
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| Forse le lucciole non si amano pił | Polydor (519 389-2) | 1992 | reissue of 1977 album - now deleted |
| Polydor (523 688-2) | 1994 | as above with 1 bonus track | |
| Universal (0602527122038) | 2009 | new reissue with 2 bonus tracks and mini-LP single cover, issued as part of the box set Progressive Italia - Gli anni '70 vol.2 | |
| Live | Mellow (MMP 140) | 1993 | recordings from 1977 |
| Homo homini lupus | BTF/VM 2000 (VM CD 066) | 1999 | |
| AMS/BTF (AMS 241CD) | 2014 | reissue of the above with mini-LP cover | |
| The missing fireflies | Altrock/Fading (FAD-005) | 2012 | new studio recordings + 3 live tracks from 1977 |
| Bloom live | AMS/BTF (AMS 225CD) | 2013 | CD+DVD - 1000 copies with gatefold mini-LP cover in slipcase |
| Lucciole per sempre | AMS/BTF (AMS 295) | 2018 | large triple gatefold cover with CD, DVD and 64-page book - taken from a 1977 TV special + two new bonus tracks and four 1974 recordings, all unreleased |
VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATIONS |
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| 20 successi 20 K.O. (with Non chiudere a chiave le stelle) |
K-Tel (TI 107) | 1978 | 20-tracks low price compilation |
SINGLES (with picture sleeve) |
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| Non chiudere a chiave le
stelle Sogno di Estunno |
Polydor (2060 148) | 1977 | both tracks from Forse le lucciole non si amano pił |
| New York Nove lune |
Polydor (2060 169) | 1978 | both unreleased tracks |
| Annalisa Volare un po' pił in alto |
RiFi (RFN NP 16802) | 1980 | as La Locanda |
PROMOTIONAL AND JUKEBOX SINGLES (with blank cover) |
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| Vendesi saggezza Non chiudere a chiave le stelle Cercando un nuovo confine |
Polydor (AS 5001 502) | 1977 | 12" promotional three-track EP taken from Forse le lucciole non si amano più - some copies were distributed with the LP cover |
| Annalisa | RiFi (RJB NP 98198) | 1980 | as La Locanda - jukebox single, backed with The Veterans/There ain't no age for rock'n'roll |
Forse le lucciole non si amano pił is a very
rare album though one of the latest Italian prog releases. Despite good press
reviews at the time it probably sold very little, becoming an expensive
collector's item since quite a few years. Original copies had a gatefold cover
and a lyric inner sleeve.
A very rare three-track 12" single was taken from the album for promotional
diffusion.
The album has also been released in Japan (on Polydor, with two different
catalogue numbers, 18MM0584 and 23MM0148) and Korea (Si-Wan SRML 0010) with the
same gatefold cover as the original, but with no inner.
Also from Japan, a mini-LP compilation called Italian rock single compilation
(Polydor/Edison DMI 23134) released in 1987, included both sides of the 1978
single New York along with Balletto di Bronzo
and Latte e Miele singles tracks unreleased on
LP.
No counterfeits or other foreign issues exist.
The album has been newly reissued by Universal in 2009 as part of the 6CD box set Progressive Italia - Gli anni '70 vol.2 (no. 0602527122021). It includes two bonus tracks, New York and Nove lune from their 1978 single.
In the group's line-up, Ezio Vevey was listed on the original album as flutist. The flute was actually played by Alberto Gaviglio, as demonstrated by many official sources and a TV special that Rai dedicated to the band at the time.
The first Italian vinyl reissue ever made is from 2014 on BTF, with the same cover design as the original and clear blue or standard black vinyl.
The 2010 concert at Bloom in Mezzago was issued on vinyl in 2012 in edited form and again in 2013 in a CD+DVD edition which contains the integral recording. This edition, with a different cover to the LP, was issued in a limited pressing of 1000 copies with an oversized gatefold cover in a protective slipcase.
The 2018 album, Lucciole per sempre, includes the tracks from a 1977 TV special that were previously unreleased on record, along with two new recordings. It has been issued by AMS on vinyl with gatefold cover, and in a deluxe CD+DVD version that also contains a 64-page book.
The album also came out in a limited 50 copies box set only sold through BTF site, including CD, DVD, white vinyl LP and a signed poster. The set had the catalogue number AMS 05 BOX.
The story of Locanda delle Fate was told by the group’s bass player Luciano Boero in his 2017 book Prati di lucciole per sempre.
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Forse le lucciole non si amano più - LP |
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Live in Bloom - LP |
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Lucciole per sempre - LP |
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Non chiudere a chiave le stelle - 7" single |
New York - 7" single |
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Vendesi saggezza - 12" promo EP - label |
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La Locanda / Annalisa - 7" single |
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Live - CD |
Homo homini lupus - CD |
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The missing fireflies - CD |
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Click on the pictures to enlarge
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| Promotional picture, around 1977 |
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| Live at
Progvention 2010 Bloom, Mezzago, 6-nov-2010 Photos by Eugenio Crippa |
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| Progressivamente 2011 Roma, Casa del Jazz, 7-sep-2011 Photos by Alessandro Bronchi |
Thanks to Jari Haavisto, Giuliano Semprucci, Alessandro Cefis, Salvatore Di Ronza, for some pictures and information. Also thanks to Eugenio Crippa and Alessandro Bronchi for the use of their live pictures.
