Acqua Fragile was an

italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band, active from 1971 to 1975. The band was established in the city of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

. , leader and vocalist of the band, is best known for his work with

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

and has played in many other progressive rock acts, including neoprogressive band Mangala Vallis.

History

The first lineup of the band, named "Gli Immortali" ("The Immortals") comprised (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

), Gino Campanini (

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

), Piero Canavera (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

), Maurizio Mori ( keyboards) and Franz Dondi (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

). Of those, Dondi was the most established musician, as he had formerly played in another small band, "I Moschettieri" ("The Musketeers") which had released a single and opened for

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. At the beginning of the 1970s, Gli Immortali were noticed by members of the PFM (one of most successful italian rock bands of the times), and PFM's manager Franco Mamone adopted Lanzetti's group as well, which had by then changed its name to "Acqua Fragile". With Mamone's help, Acqua Fragile were hired to open for progressive rock prominent acts such as

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

Uriah Heep Uriah Heep may refer to: * Uriah Heep (character), a character in the Charles Dickens novel ''David Copperfield'' *Uriah Heep (band), a British rock band active since 1969 *''Uriah Heep Live ''Uriah Heep Live'' is a double live album by Britis ...

and

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

. In 1973 the band released a first, for independent record label

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

. This debut work was clearly inspired by British progressive rock bands

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

and

, and had English lyrics, something quite unusual for Italian bands at the time, even more so since the album was not released outside of Italy. Even Lanzetti's voice sounded very much like that of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

. The next album ' (1974) was released in both Italy and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, a move that was intended to leverage from PFM's recent success overseas. At about the same time the new keyboardist

Joe Vescovi Joe Vescovi (1 January 1949 – 28 November 2014) was an Italian progressive rock keyboard player, considered as one of the prominent musicians of the 1970s Italian progressive rock scene, best known for his work in bands The Trip and Dik Dik. ...

(formerly with The Trip) moved in. Shortly thereafter Lanzetti, leader and vocalist of the band, left to join PFM for their next album '' Chocolate Kings''. The band replaced Lanzetti with Roby Facini (former member of Top 4 and

Dik Dik Dik Dik is an Italian beat-pop-rock band, named after the antelope Dik-dik, formed in the 1960s and still in activity. They were most popular in the late 1960s, when they released a string of hit singles with the contribution of renowned lyric-wr ...

), but this did not revive the success of Acqua Fragile. The band eventually split in 1975. After the breakup, Acqua Fragile members pursued independent projects. Lanzetti has had a relatively successful solo career and later joined neoprogressive group Mangala Vallis. Dondi and Canavera played in several groups (including a Beatles

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style ...

). Dondi has recently founded a new project, called "Acqua Fragile Project", as a revival act in honor of Acqua Fragile.

Discography

Albums

* ' (

1973; republished on CD by BMG in 1991 and 2003) * ' ( DJM 1974, republished on LP and CD by Contempo in 1991 and on CD by BMG in 2003) * '' Live in Emilia'' (''live'',

Prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

1994) * '' A New Chant'' ( Cherry Red 2017)

Notes

External links

Acqua Fragile Project official siteFranz Dondi official site
{{Authority control Italian progressive rock groups Rocket Records artists DJM Records artists