New Trolls- Atomic System (Magma) orig. ITL '73 Prog LP

$

89

N.T. ATOMIC SYSTEM released their first album in 1973, a splendid album very rich in the vein of classic Ital-Prog culture with Vittorio De Scalzi himself playing flute and keyboards along with guitar... The music on this album is fully of beautiful melodies and dramatic instrumentation. On this album they have added the female vocals of Anna e Giulietta whose voice sounds great along with De Scalzi's. This album contains the bands rendition of Mussorgsky's "A night on Bare Mountain" (Una notte sul Monte Calvo),... a short but great instrumental track, sounding a bit evil and creepy. One of the standout aspects of this album for me is the great keyboard playing of Renato Rosset (piano, Hammond organ, moog, mellotron and electric piano). This album has it all.lots of sound dynamics, the special 70's Italian passion with great theme dynamics and great instrumentation. My personal favourite is track 6 "Quando L'Erba Vestiva La Terra" which carries a strong PROCOL HARUM feel with dense yet lush symphonic organ and keyboards as well as a beautiful melody. The last song "Butterfly" is surprisingly sung in English and sounds like Ian ANDERSON (JETHRO TULLl) with a heavy MOODY BLUES feel to this last track. For me this is definitely not only the best NEW TROLLS album but also would have to rank IMHO as one of the very best albums from the 70's Ital-Prog scene. An essential Ital-prog album deserving to be in your collection !



Released at a time when Vittorio de Scalzi was not sure if he was able to use the NEW TROLLS name, so the original LP was released simply as N.T. ATOMIC SYSTEM. What happened was, shortly after the release of UT at the closing weeks of 1972, there was a split in the band. Vittorio de Scalzi wanted the band to go the prog rock route, which Nico di Palo wanted the band to go the hard rock direction. So NEW TROLLS broke up, and di Palo went to form a group that was to be called IBIS (they had an album released in 1973 with a big question mark on the cover, which the name eludes me at the point). During legal battles over NEW TROLLS and IBIS, de Scalzi formed a new band called N.T. ATOMIC SYSTEM with him on keyboards and vocals, Giorgio D'Adamo on bass, Renato Rosset on keyboards, Giorgio Baiocco on sax and Eminent, Tullio D'Episcopo on drums, and Ramasandiran Somusundaran on percussion. This helped de Scazli pursue the prog rock direction he wanted. And also he launched the Magma label, in which this band, as well as ALPHATAURUS, LATTE E MIELLE, the totally obcure but wonderful "Pholas Dactylus", and even Ramasandiran Somusundaran all recorded for.

Many people regard N.T. ATOMIC SYSTYEM as one of the greatest Italian prog rock albums, but I am not one of them. I rate this album up there with SEMIRAMIS' "Dedicato a Frazz", and IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO's "YS", as being overrated and a bit overhyped, but still worth having. Without a doubt the two best songs on this album, "La Nuova Predica di Padra O'Brein" and "Ibernazione", five stars all the way for those songs, they can rival many of the Italian greats such as BANCO or MUSEO ROSENBACH. I've also really grown to like "Ho Visto Poi", which reminds me of PFM. But there are some pieces I think drag on, bogging down the album a bit. One is "Tornare a Credere", which sounds is more pop-oriented, except for the middle part, which is much more prog, and a killer passage. "Butterfly", the only piece sung in English, finds the band moving away from prog rock and to West Coast folk rock, late '60s style, almost having more in common with JEFFERSON AIRPLANE or IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY (minus the violin) than NEW TROLLS, SEMIRAMIS, MUSEO ROSENBACH, etc. The problem I have is with the crap lyrics, telling the story of a kid getting lost in the woods catching butterflies. Basically this kind of music should've been left for the California bands of the late '60s, not an Italian prog band of 1973. Again, this is still a worthwhile album, but doesn't quite live up to the status of "Greatest Italian Prog Album" to me.

(progarchives.com)

Magma Records (Italy/1973) MAGL 18003

A1. La nuova predica di padre O'Brien (6:43)
A2. Ho visto poi (7:31)
A3. Tornere a credere (8:35)

B1. Ibernazione (5:48)
B2. Quando l'erbe vestiva la terra (7:16)
B3. Butterfly (4:41)

Line up:

Viittorio De Scalzi- guitar, flute, Arp synth, spinetta, vocals
Giorgio D'Adamo- bass
Renato Rossert- piano, Hammond organ, Moog, Mellotron, electric piano
Giorgio Baiocco- tenor sax, flute, Eminent string emsemble
Tullio D'Episcopo- drums
Ramasandiran Somusundaran- percussions
Anna & Giulietta- chorus

LP in EX condition, jacket in VG+ (mildew staining, initials on back, bottom right.  No seam split or ring wear)

Will ship worldwide via USPS.  Postage determined by destination.



Welcome to my auction of rare (and not so rare) items.  Over the coming years, you'll find lots of LPs, CDs, magazines, and other items that I've been lugging around for the past 30+ years posted here for an appreciative future owner.  I'm getting too old these days to move this stuff around any longer, and to be quite honest about it, I can better utilize the space left with their vacancy.

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I've kept my items in the best shape possible over the years, with plastic sleeves over the jacket, and in many cases, I've replaced paper LP sleeves with high-quality rice sleeves.  If an LP included any sticker on the shrink-wrap, I usually cut it out and stuck it in with the LP sleeve.  I rarely took any inserts out of the jackets if they were included, so any additional item you may get with an LP won't have thumbtack holes or taped corners.

I've loved my music collection as if they were a part of me, and I think you'll see this should you win any item I sell.

I'm brutally honest in my grading.  I don't believe in "Mint" quality, however I will say that many of my LPs designated VG+ would likely be another seller's "Near Mint".  Over my years of ownership, I used a Keith Monks LP cleaner, cleaned albums with a 10% vodka/90% purified water solvent, and used an anti-static gun and mat, along with near-audiophile cartridges and tonearms.

Why are my LPs priced so low when another seller is charging a three-figure price for the same items?  Simple.  I believe in the spirit of the auction.  I may not make the money some have on the same item, but then I usually don't have to post an item 20 times before someone finally buys it at a collector's price.

My grading system:

EX: Vinyl is (nearly) perfect.  Only noise during play is from dust or dirt specks you didn't clean before playing.  Jacket is (nearly) perfect- almost like you took it out of the wrapper a few minutes ago.

VG+: Obviously played, but vinyl still has almost-new luster.  Some small scuffs or light scratches, not affecting or barely affecting play are evident.  Jacket has some small scuffs or light ringwear.  No seam splits, but edge/corner wear is evident.  Possible small sticker or man-made mark visible.

VG: These and below are almost always LPs I've bought from a used bin at some time during my collecting days.  Vinyl is well played, and background noise is becoming evident.  Occasional scratches may affect play, but no groove skipping.  Jacket may have a small notch/corner cut. Ring wear is evident, but does not affect cover notes.  Light corner bend or wrinkle in jacket surface.

VG-: This is usually the lowest grade I will sell without going into great descriptions.  A bit noisier than above.  Still no groove skip.  More scratches affecting play.  Jacket is definitely showing signs of wear.  Some seam splitting is evident.  Large sticker or factory imprint mars jacket cover or notes on back cover.  Bends or creases are more evident.  Man-made spotting/writing.  Overly-ambitious notch/corner cut or outright damage to cover.

G: I have maybe a handful of albums that fit this category.  You'll see detailed descriptions on any album like this.

Last thoughts:  Return bidders get postage discounts, based on a percentage of total postage.  I will combine orders, but please don't expect me to hold items or delay total payment longer than 2 weeks past the time of first winning bid.  A note to me over plans to bid on later listed items is always a good thing!  I usually mail out the weekend following the sale of an item due to my work schedule, but occasionally, I can mail out during the week.

Good luck and good bidding!