Celeste - Flashes From Archives Of Oblivion
SKU
33-MMP 554
Celeste recorded a stone classic 1976 symphonic release that is a very beautiful & brilliant pastoral masterpiece featuring lots of acoustic guitar, fronted by flute & mellotron, as well as more overtly rock sounding parts, but even at their most rock based, strongly acoustic!
This is a collection of tests, outtakes, tryouts, rehearsals, etc etc.
It will never replace their original release, but this is well worth having and hearing if you like that sound.
“The main reason for the publication of the album that comes out today is due to the discovery in recent times of conspicuous archival material which in our opinion is worthy of being known by all those who appreciate not only CELESTE but in general the Italian Progressive Rock of the years 70. Alternative versions of pieces already published, others never previously published, studio tests that testify to the genesis and development of a specific theme; in short, material not only for fans and inveterate collectors of CELESTE. Songs that testify the various stages of the band's history, from a decidedly symphonic initial approach to the attempt, common to many Italian groups of the time, to approach a jazz / rock with Mediterranean origin through experiments of soundtracks and soundtracks without distracting the attention from a certain cultured vanguard that was already well present in IL SISTEMA, Anno Domini 1968.”
"This new project is intended for all those who have not had the opportunity to get hold of the quadruple box set" CELESTE 1969/1977 The Complete Recordings ", which contained the recordings of the first compositions of CELESTE" Principe di un Giorno".
I refer to the songs sung in English by Nikki Berenice Burton, who was supposed to be the lead vocalist of the original lineup. It went differently. The singer then became me. But that's another story. The songs are: Far White Halo, Prince Of One Day, Ancient Fables, the Merchant, the Eftus plus the instrumental Fireflies in the Night. In this edition, however, there are authentic novelties, goodies never presented before. For example there is "Sinai", a composition that was originally supposed to become part of the CELESTE repertoire and which appeared only in a special edition of "Principe di un Giorno" reissued in Japan in 2010 in the Italian Rock series Series. Then I thought of those who could not buy the version of "Il Risveglio del Principe" printed in 2019 only in Japan and containing the bonus track "Jade Sea". You will find this here. And then again. Those who bought only on vinyl always " Il Risveglio del Principe" did not have the bonus track of the Italian version. Here there is therefore " Porpora e Giacinto ". And it's not over.
I thought of offering another creative side of CELESTE. In fact, in the midst of the preparation of "Prince of a Day" we were asked to write descriptive compositions to comment on the images of documentary filmmakers. In the archive I kept these colors of CELESTE, and here are some examples. Compositions that seem distant from the Spirit of CELESTE but that in reality are nothing but another face of the band's creative nuances. And again. "Nora". A song that I wrote to insert it first in "Prince of a Day" and then in what should have been the second official album of the band. But unfortunately he remained there. Unexpressed. The way I thought about inserting it and proposing it is rather unusual. In fact, you can listen to it in a version played during a rehearsal session. And then it's still not over. There is also a rather long track drawn from another rehearsal session where you can feel CELESTE at work. The passage in question is "Settottavi", which those who know CELESTE II will have already heard complete, however, as a not entirely definitive passage. I remember here that "Il Risveglio del Principe" is to be considered the true and only second album of the Prince's saga. We will hear the voices of us musicians intent on improving a passage, a situation and looking for new ideas and new ideas and solutions. Among other things, this "Settottavi" is different from how it will be recorded in the version on "Celeste II". And then last but not least a curtain to the most unknown We must know that in 1974 we were asked to present a song, yes a real song, for the Sanremo Song Festival of that year. The interpreters were supposed to be the New Trolls. I am going to explain better how this unusual opportunity had come about. In fact, in the days when we worked in Vittorio De Scalzi's studios, one day Leonardo Lagorio was playing his own composition on the piano that had nothing to do with CELESTE's repertoire. It was by chance that Vittorio De Scalzi passed by at that moment who asked what it was. He was told that it was a simple fragment of an idea, however well-structured enough as there was already a very captivating song and refrain. But it was just a song. Not much was given to the thing since we were focused on "Principe di un Giorno" for which we considered the episode ended. But after a short time Vittorio De Scalzi returned, so to speak, to the office asking us if we had developed that idea. At which we understood that there was real interest. So we decided to fund our creativity and I began to think of a text suitable for the atmosphere that the music suggested. In fact, shortly thereafter we were told that once that song was completed, which in the meantime, taking up a verse of the text I had written, had become "Looking at the bottom of us", there would be a real chance to present it to the examining jury of the next Sanremo festival. And this happened. Various specimens were made and an instrumental version was presented to the commission. In fact, if I remember correctly, they had to be only auditions without voices to better evaluate their melodies. At the first listening session, "Looking at the bottom of us" was the judge's favorite. So number one. We felt really happy even if only as an author. HEAVENLY was present at that juncture and a part of us lived a new and stimulating experience there. It didn't go well afterwards, since, I don't want to go into detail, it went differently in the following days. For more or less inexplicable reasons our "Looking at the bottom of us" from the first place in the preferences of the judges slipped to 32nd place, second among the pieces considered to be in reserve. So in the event that at least two of those who preceded us had given up, our song could have re-entered the race. But this did not happen. And so our first experience with the Sanremo Italian Song Festival was also the last. And it all stopped there. This is the general framework of the next project that arises between "Il Risveglio del Principe" and the imminent, as it were (early 2021), next CELESTE 3 for now still untitled but already far ahead in writing already almost completely completed. But I would like to take all the months that separate us from the end of this 2020 to chisel every detail since I would like to offer you and all your friends and supporters a worthy follow-up to the history of CELESTE."-Ciro Perrino