Roller

Progheaven is Excellent.Five stars.

Goblin is best known for doing soundtracks to horror films, usually by Dario Argento. Roller, released in 1976, is one of their rare non-soundtrack albums. The band was originally known as Cherry Five, who released a wonderful album in 1975 simply entitled Cherry Five. That album sounds nothing like Goblin, but much more in the Yes and Tarkus-era ELP vein (lots of vocals, in English as well), with some Acqua Fragile thrown in. Just as soon as the band completed that album, Dario Argento wanted them to compose the score to Profondo Rosso (but without a vocalist, and with a new drummer), with a new name, that name was Goblin. Because Profondo Rosso got in the way, the Cherry Five album was actually released AFTER Profondo Rosso, believe it or not. After Profondo Rosso, the next Goblin project was a non-soundtrack album, and that was Roller. Although the band themselves don't seem to care for that album, to me, I think it's a vast improvement over Profondo Rosso. Better production, a better, more full sound, a better keyboard sound and so much more. They seemed to have cut back on the Mike Oldfield-type minimalism here and went for a mid '70s funk influenced prog sound, just like what Il Volo did with Essere o non Essere or the Austrian band Eela Craig did with One Niter. There's the atmospheric "Aquaman", great use of electric piano and synths. There's the funky "Snip Snap" with bass work that really sticks out. The album's real crowning achievement is the 11+ minute "Goblin". Because this is not a soundtrack album, these 11+ minutes really let the band stretch out big time. The song varies from more moody passages, to more fusiony passages, to funky passages. The only cut I don't seem to care is "Dr. Frankenstein", it just seem to be a cut that goes nowhere. Aside from that, this is truly an amazing album, and if you like instrumental prog, chances are you'll like this one.

Long a personal favorite, I was happy to see this album's reissue on CD (my copy was a beat up old vinyl LP on Attic Records Canada). Goblin's progressive rock skills meshed fusion jazz and hard rock sensibilities onto a solid and enjoyable whole that became the "soundtrack" of choice with film-makers like Dario Argento, who used the group's skills as composers to score his nightmarish B- and Z-grade horror films back in the day. Working within a fixed framework (keyboards, bass, guitars and drums: no vocals and no "unusual" instruments), much of Roller sounds heavy duty ELP or PFM-ish. If you're familiar with the era, you'll enjoy this album for what it is: skilled art-rock with an experimental feel. I'm not so thrilled with the album's remastering however. This is richly played rock and deserves a solid, first-rate remastering job. Instead, we get an OK transfer that kind of flattens the experience out. That said, I really enjoyed listening to Roller (a solid and anthemic opener with cool church organ riffs), Aquaman (a dreamy ballad), Snip-Snap (edgy, nervy rock pyrotechnics), Il Risveglio Del Serpente, Goblin (easily the most accomplished song on the album) and Dr Frankenstein. No bonus cuts (at 35 minutes one definitely feels somewhat short-changed) though the liner notes are decent. Still, had a bit more care gone into the remastering, I would have afforded this set an extra star. As it is though, fans of Il Volo, Le Orme, Reverberi, PFM and Banco Del Mio Soccorso should be unafraid and jump right in.

This second album by Goblin, following DEEP RED and preceeding SUSPIRIA(their first album as Cherry Five doesn't really count), is one of their best works. Though it is not a soundtrack, tracks from this album have turned up in such films as PATRICK and WAMPYR(the European version of Romero's MARTIN). Two tracks, DR. FRANKENSTEIN and AQUAMAN, have even been included in some releases of the SUSPIRIA soundtrack. This is a great album. Any fan of Goblin has to have this CD. It is very much in the '70's progressive rock vein and is perhaps not as dark and sinister as the vast majority of their other albums. The superb talents of Simonetti-Pignatelli-Morante-Morangolo are in evidence here, the songs allowing each member ample opportunity to shine. The songs are strange but, unlike most prog rock, are not torturous and drawn-out affairs. Repeat listening only enhances the enjoyment. This is truly a great CD that belong in the collection of any follower of Goblin.

If you've ever watched some odd 70s Italian horror movies like Suspiria, you've heard the band, Goblin. Their cds are not in large production and not your standard $20...and if you want to purchase mint vinyl, you better be willing to shell out a couple hundred ducats. I recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of instrumental prog rock. There's a little funk. A little classical. Lots of organ and synths. Quality prog. I wouldn't pay a couple hundred dollars for it, but if you like this type of music, check it out.

Goblin made some of the best prog in the 70's. You most likely hear them on Dario Argento's suspiria. If the masses understood good music they would have had the attention they deserved! Classic.