1972 Albums

Rather than rest his fate on Vincent Crane's whim, vocalist Pete French took an offer to join Cactus after a US tour in early 1972. Undeterred, Crane called a very recently ex-Colosseum Chris Farlowe to join Atomic Rooster. The new band previewed material from the album on a particularly excellent set for the BBC in June, recorded at the Paris Theatre. The resulting Made in England album is again a strong effort, and one quite unique in the timeline. Here Crane ups the mixture of soul, something almost unheard of in progressive circles.

The Osanna story begins in Naples, with the band Città Frontale. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Lino Vairetti, drummer Massimo Guarino, bassist Lello Brandi and guitarist Danilo Rustici. When keyboardist Gianni Leone left for Il Balletto di Bronzo in 1971, they added Elio D'Anna on sax and flute, and changed their name to Osanna. The band earned quite a reputation as a live act, being one of the first to wear costumes on stage and integrate theatre. In addition to playing the major Italian festivals, they opened for Genesis on one of their earliest tours of Italy...