Blue Phantom - Distortions (1971/2008 AMS/BTF - Italy - Remaster)
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Artist: Blue Phantom
Album: Distortions
Released: 1971/2008
Source: AMS/BTF (AMS 136CD)
Genre: Ital - Psych/prog
Distortions AMS/BTF (AMS 136CD)
2008 reissue of the 1971 album with two extra tracks from the Uncle Jim single - mini-LP gatefold cover
Fuzz/Psych/electro masterpiece
An entirely instrumental album that shows some influences from late 60's psych sounds.
Blue Phantom “Distortions” (AMS) All instrumental heavy psych/proto prog exploitation album out of Italy in ’71 – also released in the UK with a different cover in ’72. Blue Phantom was a studio band (or maybe they were a real band playing under a fake name – they shred) playing the compositions of “H. Tikal,” who was in reality Italian film composer Armando Sciascia, who normally worked in a vein similar to later period Nino Rota or maybe someone like Piero Umiliani, but here is taking off from Iron Butterfly, the Stooges, Sabbath, in a not at all subtle way - sometimes the templates are very thinly disguised. Occasionally the material moves in a more keyboard based Italian film direction, but even then the drums are pushing it into the heavy rock zone, & the keys are distorted enough that if you didn’t know Sciascia had composed this, you probably wouldn’t make the connection, especially since this type of thing falls in line with the still relatively nascent & not yet solidified prog realm of the time. “Distortions” is apt enough as a title – the guitars are heavily fuzzed, as are the occasional keys, as mentioned. Occasionally this moves into a stranger, less obvious territory – the closer “Psycho-Nebulous” gets into a creepy, almost proto-Devo thing. This is definitely one of those exploitation records which soars way above its supposed station in life to a much higher place. And this is an entirely different take on prog than what was soon to be the normal Italian m.o. of Vivaldi rock – “Distortions” is basically Trogladytic at heart, despite low level composerly moves. An unlikely convergence producing fantastic results – pure pleasure, front to back.
A popular album among european psych and prog collectors, Distortions was in fact released in Italy in 1971, along with a single, by a group of unknown studio musicians and later released in other european countries, among which England.
The first legitimate reissue with its original artwork for what is mostly considered the best instrumental psych record coming out of Italy. Entirely instrumental, Distortions was released in Italy in 1971, along with a single, and later released in other European countries. With today's plethora of electronic gadgets, distortion of sound is by now common practice, but in the '60s, especially when one considers that MOOG was still an experiment, and digital still a long way off, Blue Phantom's sound was not only revolutionary, it was almost anathema. The titles of this collection, however, clearly indicate the group knew what they were saying and correctly guessed there were lots of fans out there who understood and loved what they heard.
Track List:
1. Diodo
2. Metamorphosis
3. Microchaos
4. Compression
5. Equilibrium
6. Dipnoi
7. Distillation
8. Violence
9. Equivalence
10. Psycho Nebulous
11. Uncle Jim/Diodo
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