New Trolls – Concerto Grosso Per I New Trolls

This album is a great comeback for italian rock dinosaurs New Trolls and a milestone in the path of the band history 1971-75 when they experimented with the adaption of classic tunes in progressive rock.
not only a debut for L.E.Bacalov to bring his arrangments into rock music (present here only side 1), but also the start for a lot of italian bands to experiment with the adaption of classic tunes into (prog)rock, like Rovescio Della Medaglia & Osanna.
this was one of the first italian rock records with a 85924 IT catalogue sticker on sleeves rear (Ariola distribution 1971 in by import).

Although this prog dbeut classic from New Trolls working with Luis Enriquez Bacalov is credited on the rear cover as being: Colonna Sonora Originale del film "La Vittima Designata" - that's Original Soundtrack to the film "The Designated Victim" it is not really true. The compositions that make up side one do all feature in the film, but all in very different arrangements. Most notably 2° Tempo: Adagio (Shadows) that opens the film (credited there as "My Shadow In The Dark" - look it up on YouTube) is performed by New Trolls, with different strings and lead vocals by the actor Thomas Milian! Also in the film New Trolls are seen and heard busking an acoustic version of the same song. Great album and great film (a wonderful Hitchcock meets Argento type Giallo) maybe someday an actual soundtrack album will be released?

All' interno della copertina apribile possiamo leggere le seguenti note:

"L'idea del concerto che vi presentiamo, un Concerto grosso alla maniera barocca, in cui le parti solistiche fossero svolte da un complesso underground, l'ha avuta Luis Enriquez Bacalov e si dimostrò subito esaltante. Si è lavorato molto, tra Roma e Milano, tra gli studi Ortophonic e quelli Fonit Cetra. A risentirlo adesso questo blocco di musica, sembra che tutto sia stato fluido,tranquillo e liscio come registrare una canzonetta di consumo: no, non è stato così facile. Un grazie a Luis Bacalov ed ai "New Trolls", per essere arrivati in fondo con chiarezza di idee e di musica. Il concerto si divide in tre tempi: Allegro, dove si contrappongono immediatamente due temi rispettivamente settecentesco e underground con un lieve sapore volutamente kitsch; si sviluppa un discorso di soli con qualche spazio per l'improvvisazione; segue poi il "Tutti" finale, dove si fondono le due sonorità antitetiche. Il secondo tempo, Adagio, di nobilissimo impianto musicale, presenta verso la metà le famose voci dei "New Trolls", impegnate in un testo inglese, di cui l'ultima riga è tratta dall'Amleto di Shakespeare: “to die / to sleep / maybe to dream” (che in italiano si può tradurre “morire, dormire, forse sognare”). Notevoli i soli di chitarra, che, confusi tra gli archi, tendono e drammatizzano il discorso nobile e maestoso del tema. La chitarra trova sonorità da violoncello, effetto ottenuto dopo decine di tentativi. Il terzo tempo, Andante con moto, parte con una lunga cadenza di violino, che innerva tutto il tessuto musicale del movimento, una specie di moto perpetuo virtuosistico. Le parole di Shakespeare, riprese su un altro tema musicale verso il finale da voci contrappuntate, chiudono il concerto. A mo' di coda la canzone "Shadows": tratta dal tema dell' Adagio, è dedicata da noi alla memoria del musicista pop che forse amiamo di più: Jimi Hendrix. L'elaborazione dei "New Trolls" è una parafrasi dello stile d'esecuzione di Jimi. La musica ha fatto da colonna sonora per il film "La vittima designata" - Euro International Films.

In English language for everyone

Within the opening cover we can read the following note:

"The idea of the concert that we present, a Concerto grosso Baroque manner, in which the solo parts were performed by a group underground, Luis Enriquez Bacalov had and proved immediately successful. We have worked great, between Rome and Milan, among the Ortophonic and those studies Fonit Cetra. To hear it now this block of music, it seems that everything was quiet and smooth fluid how to record a canzonetta: no, it wasn't so easy. Thanks to Luis Bacalov and the "New Trolls", arriving at the bottom with clarity of ideas and music. The concerto is divided into three movements: Allegro, where they immediately contrasted two eighteenth-century themes respectively and underground with a mild flavor deliberately kitsch; develops a discourse of solos with some space for improvisation; then follows the "All" final, where melt the two antithetical sonorities. The second half, Adagio, noble musical system, presents at about the half the famous voices of the "New Trolls", engaged in an English text, of which the last line is from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "to die/to sleep/maybe to dream" (which in Italian translates “morire, dormire, forse sognare”). Notable guitar solos, which confused between the arches, tend and dramatize the majestic and noble theme. The guitar find cello sound effect obtained after dozens of attempts. The third time, Andante con moto, starts with a long violin cadenza, which innervates all the musical fabric of the movement, a sort of moto perpetuo virtuosic. The words of Shakespeare, reprises on another musical theme to the final entries by voices counter-pointed, close the concert. A queue the song "Shadows": from the theme of the Adagio, is dedicated by us to the memory of pop musician that maybe we love the most: Jimi Hendrix. The development of "New Trolls" is a paraphrase of the style of performing Jimi. The music has been the soundtrack for the film "The designated victim" - Euro International Films.

I am certain New Trolls realized the beat pop of Senza Orario Senza Bandiera was pretty much a dead end. Same for what Le Orme was doing with Ad Gloriam. It's strange both New Trolls and Le Orme released a compilation album of early singles before returning with a new change in direction, in the case of Le Orme it was L'Aurora Della Orme, and New Trolls with their self-entitled released, both in 1970. 1971's Concerto Grosso per 1 was actually a film soundtrack, with collaborations with Luis Enriquez Bacalov (something Osanna would do a year later with Milano Calibro 9). What you have is a four movement suite with orchestra and rock. Everything from rocking, Jethro Tull-like stuff with Vittorio De Scalzi providing flute to ballads, all of this sung in English, and unusual for an Italian band, you can't notice the accent (which makes it a bit ironic the thick accents on their next album, Searching for a Land). They even go into Hendrix territory in the last movement, apparently Nico Di Palo was big on Hendrix (he preferred heavy rock, which is pretty obvious with their next two releases). Then the album is topped off with a side-length jam. The drum solo is a bit unnecessary, even in 1971 (I wasn't alive in 1971, but well informed on the music scene of the late '60s and early '70s), I felt drum solos had been done to death (we can thank songs like "Toad", "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida", and "Moby Dick" for giving too many drummers bad ideas, although I do enjoy those songs, don't get me wrong, but there's only so much you can do with a drum solo, at least be creative if you must, but most just seem to be showing off, as the drummer of New Trolls was doing here). One other parallel to Le Orme is Concerto Grosso per 1, as Collage had for Le Orme, helped launch the Italian prog scene. Drum solo aside, this is a nice historical album to own for those into the Italian prog scene.