Little known in the world until a few years ago, “Dedicato a…” is among the most wanted and expensive Italian album nowadays. The 1999 Akarma reissue has finally given to many collectors the chance to hear an album that was only known by its fame.

Supported by the pop artist Mario Schifano (who was not a musician, by the way), in the same way that Andy Warhol acted with Velvet Underground, this band from Rome (though Crescentini and Marini were from Veneto and Cerra from Alessandria) was created in 1967 and released their first and only album the same year. Bass player Crescentini, had briefly played before in the last incarnation of New Dada, a very popular garage-beat group.

Housed in an incredible gatefold cover, painted by Schifano himself, the album contains a side-long improvised track on side 1, with the long title of “Le ultime parole di Brandimarte, dall’Orlando Furioso, ospite Peter Hartman e fine (da ascoltare con TV accesa senza volume)”, a surreal title just like the track itself. Closer to avantgarde or contemporary music performances than to rock, the stunning track gives a good idea of what the group’s music and live concerts were about. Side 2 is more conventional, with five short tracks with psych influences.