Artist

CAPSICUM RED

Bruno "Red" Canzian (guitar, vocals)
Mauro Bolzan (keyboards)
Paolo Steffan (bass, vocals, piano)
Roberto Balocco (drums)

Many Italian music fans only know Capsicum Red by name because their singer and guitarist Red Canzian had a very successful career (until now!) with pop band Pooh, and this four-piece from Treviso didn't catch so much interest in their short career. 

The name Capsicum Red was chosen by the producer Pino Massara when he discovered Canzian, singer and guitarist with I Prototipi, and took him to his newly-born label Bla Bla in 1970. To attract the press interest, Capsicum Red were presented as a foreign band, this helped the success of their two singles.
The first single, Ocean, was recorded by Canzian with studio musicians, and was a huge hit in Italy, even because it was used as main theme in a TV show, ...e ti dirò chi sei. Another single, Tarzan, came soon later, recorded in London with the musicians of the group Stone the Crows, but it wasn't as successful as the previous one.
Both singles contained commercial songs very far from the album sound, and were lately included in the rare Tarzan label sampler, issued by Bla Bla in 1972.

To support Canzian in the live concerts some musicians from the Treviso area were chosen: the first line-up included Bolzan, drummer Paul Podda and bass player Valter Gasparini, soon replaced by Steffan. Once again the label's strategies tried to attract interest arond the group: they said that was born to an Italian father in England, that he started playing in that country and that the group had been formed in London where the musicians had met and had their first concerts.

In 1972, with newcomer Roberto Balocco, from Panna Fredda, the group strongly moved with the Appunti per un'idea fissa LP towards progressive music with classical influences.
Side 1 contains the long Beethoven-derived Patetica suite, an interesting instrumental piece of classical prog with keyboards to the fore. Side 2 contains three vocal songs that in some cases seem to be weaker.

The band came to its end in 1973, with Red Canzian briefly joining Osage Tribe and later Pooh, and Paolo Steffan forming country-inspired duo Genova & Steffan with an album release in 1975.

Not easy to find, the Capsicum Red album has a nice laminated gatefold cover and a lyric inner as most of the Bla Bla releases. Non-laminated covers are also reported to exist, this is probably a slightly later pressing, as it happened with similar records. The first vinyl reissue came out in 2008. No foreign vinyl issues or counterfeits exist.

The two officially released singles also have gatefold covers. 
The very rare single In una sera was issued in 1972 in a limited promotional pressing. Both tracks had already been published on a 1970 single by Migrants (Bla Bla BBR 1304) and both records contain the same recordings!

Two CD reissues exist of Appunti per un'idea fissa, a first one by Artis and a later one on Vinyl Magic with a better sound quality and four bonus tracks from their singles. The latter, originally issued in 1995 with standard jewel case, was reissued in 2014 with a gatefold mini-LP cover.

The first single Ocean was also released in Greece by DPA (cat.no.5203) with company sleeve and in France on Philips (6115 001) with an art sleeve.
Many italian magazines' in 1971 described Red Canzian as born in London to an English mother, but the musician was actually born near Treviso from Italian parents.

Thanks to Alos and Valerio D'Angelo for information and pictures