'Roller'
by Goblin
(1976)
Formed in 1972 by founder members Claudio Simonetti(keyboards), Massimo Morante(guitar) and Fabio Pignatelli(bass) under the name Oliver, the fledgling group started life as a symphonic-styled outfit influenced by the music of British groups such as Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Gentle Giant and Yes. After an unsuccessful spell spent trying to find a recording deal in London the group eventually won a recording contract with the European label Cinevox Records, and, after returning home to their native Italy a self-titled debut album was released under the new name of Cherry Five. Featuring a fluid, fast-paced, keyboard-dominated sound 'Cherry Five' nevertheless failed to make much of an impact, and it wouldn't be until the group met up with composer Giorgio Gaslini that they would finally stumble across their big, career-defining break. Gaslini, a veteran Italian film music producer, had been hired by Dario Argento to provide the original score for the director's upcoming film 'Profondo Rosso'('Deep Red') a horror-tinged mystery starring English actor David Hemmings. However, impressed by Cherry Five's instrumental abilities, Argento decided to let the group write some of their own compositions and, subsequently, Gaslini was replaced by the inexperienced outfit at the last minute. After changing their name to Goblin(so as to differentiate their film work from their earlier Cherry Five material) both the film and the atmospheric soundtrack album 'Profondo Rosso' were released to huge critical and commercial acclaim. 'Profondo Rosso' would go on to become one of the most successful Italian horror films of the decade, turning Argento into a household name, whilst the album sold over one million copies worldwide, placing no.1 on the Italian charts and garnering Goblin an international profile that would see the group cultivate cult followings throughout Europe, the USA and Japan.
Following the success of their collaboration with Argento, Goblin would go on and enjoy possibly the most successful period of their career, starting with the release of their first full-length studio album 'Roller' in 1976. Much closer in spirit to the sound found on their Cherry Five material, 'Roller' would marry the group's atmospheric soundtrack style with highly-symphonic keyboards, funk-tinged bass-lines, screeching guitars and complex melodies, all within a slick and shiny progressive rock framework. An entirely instrumental affair, 'Roller' featured five tracks, all of which featured the original trio of Simonetti, Morante and Pignatelli augmented by Agostino Maragolo(drums) and Maurizio Guarini(keyboards), the new additions thickening out the already glutinous Goblin sound. Pieces such as the thunderous eleven-minute epic 'Goblin' showcased the group's trademark funk-prog sound, with Pignatelli's quicksilver guitar-playing, Simonetti's glistening keyboards and Morante's metronomical bass-lines brewing up a highly-original sound that seemed to combine elements of Yes and James Brown with the orchestral grandeur of their 'Profondo Rosso' work. This unique style is most evident on the funk-driven 'Snip Snap', a track driven along by Marangolo's groove-laden drumming that must surely be one of the few examples of danceable prog. A very popular piece amongst fans, 'Snip Snap' would soon find itself being re-recorded for inclusion on Goblin's next album, the soundtrack to Argento's seminal 1977 fantasy horror film 'Suspiria', though the newer version would unnecessarily bog down the clipped rhythm with the addition of some eerie sound effects.
'Goblin'(the track) and 'Snip Snap' aside, 'Roller' would also see Goblin explore Pink Floyd-ish soundscapes with the dripping-water effect-filled 'Aquaman', a surprisingly-emotive, slow-paced, dreamlike number featuring delicately-strummed acoustic guitars, bubbling synths and a sizzling Massimo Morante guitar solo denouement, and krautrock-tinged electronica on 'Dr Frankenstein', a truly odd number with a distorted keyboard melody and syncopated drum effects.
Mixing elements as disparate as funk, synth-pop, prog and psychedelic, 'Roller' is a truly odd yet utterly compelling release filled with strange little effects and coated with a slick, diamond-sharp sound that brings out every sonic syllable the highly-strung guitars and glistening keyboards have to offer. Lying somewhere between a jazz-funk odyssey, a late-sixties underground film soundtrack and 1980's synthesized rock, Goblin's first studio album is a glorious exercise in cinematic genre-blending and a remarkable piece of progressive rock. Those with a penchant for analogue keyboards, a love of horror and an ear for the symphonic should immediately seek out the sounds of Goblin.
Key songs: Roller, Snip-Snap, Goblin
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