The Italian Exploitation Explosion Post!!!!!!!!!!*

Braen’s Machine – Underground. 1971.
Braen’s Machine - Temi Ritmici e Dinamici. 1973. “Underground” is simply an amazing find. Take one part instrumental film/library/exploito ala Blue Phantom, The Bigroup and Ugly Custard and complete that with atmospheres that rival the earliest Krautrock scene ala early Guru Guru. Absolutely phenomenal fuzz guitar throughout, with loads of studio effects. Quite a bit of high quality drumming can be found here as well. First track of nine is a bit of a let down, having an almost 60’s “Batman” feel to it, but it greatly improves from there. The sound on “Temi Ritmici e Dinamici” is a lot more hokey, with goofy electronics and ancient organ. There’s also some nice flute passages, but the fuzz is gone here. Would make a good 2 on 1 CD, as “Underground” is a must. These impossibly rare albums will set you back close to $1K each, so a legit CD issue is definitely due.

The Psycheground Group - Psycheground. 1970. Yet another all instrumental psych rock album from Italy similar to others like Blue Phantom, The Underground Set and Fourth Sensation. This one is a little more developed than most in the genre, as the songs take longer to evolve (only 5 in total). The slower pace allows more time for quality instrumental soloing (primarily guitar). Not as edgy as the Braen’s Machine “Underground” album above, but probably better than the bands listed above. More akin to what Roland Kovac was doing in Germany during this time. No CD exists.

Fourth Sensation – s/t. 1970. This album is more typical of the instrumental psych/blues/jazz tinged library film/TV music, with roller rink organ and half Les Paul era electric leads/half psychedelic fuzz. The kind of music that would be used in the “party sequence” of an old “Streets of San Francisco” episode. All good fun, though again nothing extraordinary like the Braen’s Machine “Underground” album. No CD unfortunately.

* - yea – I did that on purpose…