To-Day's Sound (Vinyl)

*This is NOT a comic! But you can listen to it while you read comics!

By Piero Umiliani. Published by Blind Faith. 

2 Vinyl LP Records, 2024 (originally released 1973)

A1 Open Space
A2 Green Valley
A3 Caretera Panamericana
A4 Goodmorning Sun
A5 To-Day's Sound
A6 Free Dimension
B1 Truck Driver
B2 Blue Lagoon
B3 Wanderer
B4 Lady Magnolia
B5 Pretty
C1 Railroad
C2 Country Town
C3 Bus Stop
C4 Cotton Road
C5 Nocturne
D1 Exploration
D2 Tropical River
D3 Coast To Coast
D4 Safari Club
D5 Music On The Road

The sound of today. A very strong statement. Yet, fifty years later, it remains undisputed. Today’s sound is Piero Umiliani's manifesto, his will to demonstrate to the world that he always has his finger on the pulsating vein of the world, ready to embrace the heartbeat of the future. In the summer of 1973, Piero Umiliani, in his futuristic recording studio in Rome, much like Miles Davis for his 'Bitches Brew,' gathered an extraordinary collective of musicians, both old and new guard to measure themselves against some of his compositions. Besides strongly emphasizing the backbeat, what stands out the most is the timbre provided by his 'electronic instruments,' as he liked to call them. Minimoog, Arp 2600, Fender Rhodes, EMS Vcs3, Clavinet, Lowrey organ, Space Echo, self-built envelope filters—machines impossible to see all together in an Italian recording studio at the time and made available to the musicians. The line-up is stellar; under the name 'Sound Workshoppers,' the 'Wrecking Crew all'Amatriciana' is hidden an impossible mix where Marc 4, Gres and Perigeo are blended, along with a brass section of veterans and pioneers of Italian jazz, all members of the RAI Symphonic Rhythm Orchestra. Comparing the recordings from the original scores, one can also understand the space left by Piero Umiliani for his musicians. They are free to move, to contribute solutions, to enrich the maestro's music. The perfectly preserved original masters, once transferred at the maximum possible sampling frequency, allowed for the recovery of many lost frequencies, restoring brilliance and the remarkable low end expertly captured in recording by engineer Claudio Budassi. Today’s sound was extremely difficult to control and fully render with the mastering technology of that time. Paradoxically, Today's sound could not sound as I have managed to make it sound today: urgent, majestic, more alive than ever.