THE REVELATIONS

“The Revelations” arrives back on record store shelves in this remastered version - a must-have for all Library Music lovers and record collectors.

The story of “The Revelations” is part of a fruitful and unique period of Italian Discography. A moment of great creativity and innovation, when the boundaries between music, cinema and television were uncertain. A story of great orchestras, film directors and inspired composers which were endlessly producing in a country getting back on its feet after the Second World War. “The Revelations”, released in 1970, is a gem that emerged from this period. A record amongst many that although relatively unknown, remains highly sought after by record collectors world over. Adventurous is probably the most appropriate word to describe those fantastic years that we fondly remember for famous film scores and the birth of the Italian pop scene.

Help!, the Rome based record label which released “The Revelations”, was the first music business run by the young producer Gianni dell’Orso. When reminiscing he makes fun of himself: “Probably I called my first label Help! because I was young and in need of help!”. Hailing from an academic music background, Dell’Orso had the chance to collaborate with maestros such as Piero Piccioni, Luis Bacalov, Ennio Morricone and the recently deceased Armando Trovajoli. At the same time, he worked at RAI (Italian state television) as assistant to the famous maestro Bruno Canfora. Canfora himself was an icon of the period and known for composing Pop hits such as “Brava” for Mina, and “Fortissimo” for Rita Pavone, as well as his own virtuosity as a director and arranger of TV orchestras. Those were times in which a combination of talent, creativity and technical expertise resulted in incredibly prolific music production.

Help! was focused on Progressive Rock, an admirable phenomenon but a novelty within the Italian music scene. The label released the first album from the band “Quella Vecchia Locanda” - historically one of the most important Italian groups, after their huge success at the Pop festival of Villa Pamphili in Rome; remembered by many as “The Italian Woodstock”. The catalogue was also enriched by licensing records from German artists such as The Rattles or Soulful Dynamics with hits like “Mademoiselle Ninette”.

RCA Italy, a true giant in the music industry at the time, believed in the commercial value of this musical genre and undertook distribution of Help!. RCA wasn’t only a pionering label who discovered and launched Italian pop stars like Rita Pavone, Gianni Morandi, Gino Paoli, Lucio Dalla, but was also a great platform with studios at the cutting edge of recording technology where experienced session men worked on Pop hits and film scores. “The Revelations” LP was recorded at these studios. Gianni Dell’Orso remembers how expensive it was to produce a record in those days: “Studio rental fees were really high and we were working at a fast pace”. RCA Studios gave birth to the season of great Italian songwriters: Rino Gaetano, Francesco De Gregori and Antonello Venditti to name but a few. Conceived by Dell’Orso, appearing here under his alter ego Proluton, and his brother Giacomo, “The Revelations” LP was produced as Library Music for television and manufactured in a very limited number of copies. It was a peculiar recording within the label context, with musical intuitions that sparked great interest in this release which in turn has made it both valuable and highly collectable. The LP blends diverse inspirations and heterogeneous moods, since its aim was to offer many options to television producers.

Giacomo Dell’Orso, musician, composer and orchestra director, signed most of the tracks under the moniker Oscar Lindok. His music takes the listener into a journey through cinematic atmospheres and funk influences with a beat background – a world of moving melodies and strong grooves. Giacomo’s life is an example of dedicating one’s existence to music for we can’t avoid the underlying connection of his private life, music and cinema without also remembering his marriage to Edda Sabbatini - better known as Edda Dell’Orso, Ennio Morricone’s favourite singer. The musicians featured on this record are great session men with glorious careers: Silvano Chimenti, Giovanni Tommaso, Enzo Restuccia and Mario Scotti - all famous for their work on film scores and as featured musicians who enjoyed great Italian Pop success as well.