La Norma del Cielo (Volo Magico N. 2) by Claudio Rocchi, released in 1972.
This album stands as one of the most fascinating and spiritual pages of Italian avant-pop and progressive rock of the ’70s. Its story is closely tied to that of its famous predecessor, “Volo Magico N. 1” (1971).
Claudio Rocchi had initially envisioned a single, ambitious double album. Unfortunately, due to Ariston’s resistance and commercial logic, the project was rejected. The label then decided to split the material into two parts: the first came out at the end of 1971 as “Volo magico n. 1”. The remaining tracks, recorded in the same sessions and with the same musicians, were released in early 1972 under the title “La Norma Del Cielo”, with the subtitle “Volo Magico N. 2” to ride the wave of the first album’s success.
The musicians who took part in the recordings are among the leading figures of progressive rock, psychedelia, and Italian singer-songwriter pop of those years. Many of them were members or future founders of legendary bands.
Claudio Rocchi (Vocals, Guitars, Bass) was the original bassist and co-founder of Stormy Six, one of the most important bands in progressive rock and the Italian Rock in Opposition movement. He played on their 1969 debut album, “Le idee di oggi per la musica di domani”, before embarking on his solo career.
Mauro Pagani (Flute), historic member and multi-instrumentalist of PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi), the most famous Italian progressive band worldwide. He helped redefine the sound of Italian singer-songwriter music by working for years closely with Fabrizio De André, co-writing masterpieces such as “Crêuza de mä”.
Alberto Camerini (6- and 12-string Guitar), before becoming the famed “Arlecchino” of Italian ’80s synth-pop (with hits like “Rock ’n’ Roll Robot”), Camerini was an acoustic-guitar virtuoso in the Milan underground. He played in Il Pacco (a band formed with Donatella Rettore and a young Eugenio Finardi) and in the Cinzia Fontana Band.
Lucio Fabbri (Violin) later joined PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) in the late ’70s to replace Mauro Pagani. He also played in the Finardi Band (Eugenio Finardi’s backing band).
Eugenio Pezza (Keyboards, Piano, Organ, Mellotron), a renowned session man and avant-garde keyboardist. Besides being Claudio Rocchi’s musical right-hand man in those years, he worked in studio and live with big names like Eugenio Finardi and Alberto Camerini.
Lorenzo Vassallo (Drums and Percussion), a jazz-rock drummer very active on the Milan scene. He played on Claudio Rocchi’s early solo records and collaborated for a long time with Stormy Six and with the RAI light-music orchestra.
Eno Bruce (Acoustic Guitar and Bass), a folk-rock musician and arranger. He was a constant presence in the early years of Rocchi’s solo career, providing that acoustic, acid bed typical of the period.
La Norma Del Cielo is a record about spiritual seeking, inner illumination, and how humans can connect with the universe—a manifesto of early ’70s Italian hippy and mystical culture. The title itself, “Norma del Cielo”, is not a rule as such, but the natural and cosmic order of things, a bit like the Tao or the Dharma. According to Rocchi, we suffer because we have drifted away from this harmony. The purpose of life, and of his music, is to find our place again in this perfect flow.
In “Lascia Gesù”, Rocchi says something strong for the Catholic Italy of the time. He doesn’t criticize Jesus, but urges people to free themselves from the rules of institutional, dogmatic religion. He says to seek a living, personal spirituality, without guilt, tied to universal love and nature.
In songs like “Tutti insieme” and “Storia di tutti”, he speaks of community and sharing. Transformation is not only for one person, but for an entire generation. Psychedelic music and hypnotic, stretched-out sounds (like sitar and mellotron) serve to shift and expand consciousness, bringing the listener to meditation and inner peace.
Nature is not just a backdrop, but a present divinity. In pieces like “Il bosco” and “L’arancia è un frutto d’acqua”, Rocchi celebrates the fundamental elements. He says that humans must shed technology and the city to return to the purity of the earth, of fruit, and of silence.
An album with a unique sound, a mix of avant-garde, psychedelia, and minimalism. Unlike Italian progressive rock of the same era, which often aimed for symphonic, powerful, baroque sonorities (like PFM or Banco del Mutuo Soccorso), Rocchi opts for a more intimate, hypnotic, and exotic approach.
The acoustic guitar, 6- and 12-string, is the heart of the tracks. On this folk base, sound effects, reverbs, and delays are layered, creating a dreamlike atmosphere—typical of psychedelia but reinterpreted in a Milanese and Mediterranean key.
The influence of Indian classical music is evident throughout the album. Open guitar tunings and the interplay between Mauro Pagani’s transverse flute and Lucio Fabbri’s violin recall the structure of Indian ragas, with continuous sound carpets that encourage meditation and circular, repetitive rhythms that gradually build in intensity.
Rocchi uses the recording studio as a musical instrument in its own right. The pioneering use of the Mellotron (played by Eugenio Pezza) creates spectral strings and floating atmospheres.
Rocchi’s singing doesn’t aim for virtuosity or the power typical of rock. It is spoken, whispered, almost confidential. The vocal lines often repeat, turning the lyrics into secular mantras meant to induce a trance state or deep relaxation.
Conceived as the continuation of “Volo Magico N. 1”, the album features artists who managed to create a unique, engaging blend. Rocchi’s bass, acoustic and electric guitars that seem suspended in a dream, ethnic percussion adding a touch of exoticism, and the first progressive keyboards that fling open the doors to a world of new sounds make it a true Masterpiece.
My Version
Label: Ariston Progressive – AR/LP/12088, Sony Music – none, RCA – none
Series: Prog Rock Italiano – 62, Gnomo Production
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, Gatefold, 180 grams
Country: Italy
Released: 3 Feb 2020
Tracklist
A1 Leave Jesus / All Together 9:30
A2 The Woods 2:18
A3 Pearl Moon 6:56
B1 The Orange Is a Water Fruit 5:44
B2 Everyone’s Story 8:03
B3 The Rule of the Sky 3:31
The Line-up
Acoustic Bass – Rocchi (tracks: A3)
Acoustic Guitar – Eno Bruce (tracks: A2, A3)
Acoustic Guitar [6 String], Twelve-String Guitar – Alberto Camerini (tracks: A1), Rocchi (tracks: A1, A2, B1 to B3)
Backing Vocals – Eugenio Pezza (tracks: B1), Maria Teresa (tracks: B1, B3)
Bass – Eno Bruce (tracks: A1)
Flute – Gianni Del Ben (tracks: B3), Mauro Pagani (tracks: A3)
Mellotron – Rocchi (tracks: B1), Eugenio Pezza (tracks: A1, A3, B3)
Percussion – Gigi Gasparri (tracks: A1), Lorenzo Vassallo (tracks: A1, A3)
Piano, Organ – Eugenio Pezza (tracks: A1, B1, B3)
Sitar – Paul Tuel (tracks: A3)
Violin – Lucio Fabbri (tracks: A1)
Voice – Rocchi
Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the page "Artists"
