Artist
I ROMANS
Claudio Natili (guitar, vocals)
Ignazio Polizzy Carbonelli (keyboards, vocals)
Alfredo Dentale (bass)
Gianni Mennuni (drums)
A marginal inclusion here, I Romans had some popularity with some successful singles in the 70's, but their only interesting release for the prog fans is their debut album from 1970.
The group had a very long career which started in Rome in 1959
with a four-piece line-up founded by pianist/singer Ignazio Polizzy Carbonelli, that after some months expanded with the inclusion of guitarist Claudio Natili. The two of them led the band until the 80's, then Romans were reformed around 2006 by Claudio Natili and Daniele Aloisio (a member since 1975).
After many singles produced since 1961, their first LP only appeared in 1970, on
the small Style label. The album is a good period work, well balanced between
rock songs and more poppy tunes. It's strange to notice that no less than 10 of
the 12 songs on the album were also released on singles by their record
label.
The starting Gente qui gente lą (the longest track at 4:14, the others
are all around 3 minutes long) is probably the closest track to the Italian progressive style,
containing a nice long organ-led instrumental part, and even the following Nel
fondo del bicchiere has interesting instrumental parts. Some of the
tracks, like Lollypop are more in a bubblegum-pop direction and best
suited for single release.
The sound of the group is closer to other Italian bands
of the late 60's-early 70's era, like Il Mucchio, I
Boom, Fabio Celi e gli Infermieri, early New
Trolls or Le Orme.
I Romans released other albums during the seventies (the second and third on
Polaris, the same label that issued the Numi and Teoremi
LP's), and disbanded in the early 80s, but their first album remains the closest
they ever released to a prog sound.
| LP (1970-1974) | |||
| Gente qui gente lą | Style (STLP 405) | 1970 | single laminated cover |
| Caro amore mio | Polaris (BP 714) | 1973 | gatefold cover |
| Quando una donna | Polaris (BP 715) | 1974 | single cover |
SINGLES (with picture sleeve - 1970-1974) |
|||
| Lucy Lucy Processo a George Brown |
Miura (PON-NP 40110) | 1970 | |
| Lollypop Nel fondo di un bicchiere |
Style (STMS 733) | 1970 | both tracks from Gente qui gente lą |
| Le scarpe mi portano da te Ore 20,40 |
Style (STMS 734) | 1970 | both tracks from Gente qui gente lą |
| Apri gli occhi 6/2023 |
Style (STMS 735) | 1970 | both tracks from Gente qui gente lą |
| Gente qui gente lą L'ora giusta |
Style (STMS 737) | 1970 | both tracks from Gente qui gente lą |
| Io, la primavera e tu Te ne vai |
Style (STMS 738) | 1970 | both tracks from Gente qui gente lą |
| Gente qui gente lą Sole sole mare mare |
Style (STMS 741) | 1971 | Side A from Gente qui gente lą |
| Mamma mia non piangere Voglia di mare |
Polaris (FK 7) | 1971 | Side B from Caro amore mio |
| Anyway Fingevo di dormire |
Polaris (FK 8) | 1972 | both tracks from Caro amore mio |
| Mille nuvole Sono io che torno |
Polaris (FK 20) | 1972 | Side B from Caro amore mio |
| Sono io che torno Caro amore mio |
Polaris (FK 21) | 1973 | both tracks from Caro amore mio |
| Il mattino dell'amore Valentino e Valentina |
Polaris (FK 22) | 1974 | both tracks from Quando una donna |
| Quando una donna Un momento di pił |
Polaris (FK 23) | 1974 | both tracks from Quando una donna |
First album is rather rare, and it appears from time to time on international high level dealers' lists at very high prices. It came in a laminated single cover
Most of their later production is cheap and easy to find in Italy, especially the singles. The year of release of the second album, Caro amore mio, is stated as 1972 even in the group's website, but the date on the vinyl is 1973.
No counterfeits exist of these nor foreign issues.
 |
|
Gente qui gente lą - LP |
 |
|
Caro amore mio - LP |
 |
|
Quando una donna.... - LP |
 |
| Lucy Lucy - 7" single |
 |
| Le scarpe mi portano da te - 7" single |
Thanks to Giacomo Beatrici and Massimo Viviani for pictures and information included in this page
