The Acqua Fragile, an

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The Acqua Fragile, an "English" band born in Italy.

Rock Progressivo Italiano

The Acqua Fragile are an Italian band formed in Parma in 1971 from the ashes of the group "Gli Immortali", an Italian prog band of great musical quality and originality, which despite limited commercial resonance at the time, is now recognized among the greats of the genre.

They established themselves during the boom of Italian progressive rock, with complex tracks and symphonic and classical influences, also opening for international bands, but their choice to sing in English limited their popularity in Italy.

The band broke up in 1975 after Lanzetti's departure, who joined PFM. They reunited in 2017 and are still active today, also releasing a new album, "A new chant".

The founding members are Bernardo Lanzetti (vocals), Gino Campanini (guitar), Piero Canavera (drums), to whom were added Maurizio Mori (keyboards) and Franz Dondi (bass). Let's look at them in detail, with the premise that the members of Acqua Fragile reflect the typical path of Italian prog pioneers, characterized by talents who later influenced other bands.

Bernardo Lanzetti (Vocals, Guitar) is the charismatic leader. Thanks to his studies in the United States, he introduced singing in English and complex lyrics. In 1975 he left the band to become the singer of PFM. To this day, he continues to be the central figure of the group.
Gino Campanini (Guitars), a highly talented guitarist, had a biographical book dedicated to him in 2022, "Racconti e schegge di Acqua Fragile."
Franz Dondi (Bass), previously a member of I Moschettieri (a band that opened for the Rolling Stones in 1967), was the soul of the group's later reunion, keeping the repertoire alive with the Acqua Fragile Project in the 2000s.
Piero (Pier Emilio) Canavera (Drums) is one of the founding members, and also contributed to vocal harmonies and acoustic guitars in the studio.
Maurizio Mori (Keyboards), original member until 1974, was briefly replaced by Joe Vescovi (formerly of The Trip) before the 1975 breakup.

After the 2017 reunion, the band integrated new musicians to support the historic members (Lanzetti, Dondi, Canavera): Claudio Tuma as lead guitar on the recent album Moving Fragments (2023), Stefano Pantaleoni on keyboards, Rossella Volta vocals and backing vocals during live and studio activities since 2017.

In 2023-2024 they collaborated with international figures such as David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) on sax and Stef Burns (Vasco Rossi) on guitar.

The musical style of Acqua Fragile stood out in the 70s for its international approach with clear British influences and singing in English. They were directly inspired by British progressive rock, with a style reminiscent of the complexity of Genesis during the Peter Gabriel era and the intricate contrapuntal structures of Gentle Giant. Their (pioneering) choice to sing exclusively in English aimed at the international market, making their sound less "Italian" compared to other contemporary Italian bands. Bernardo Lanzetti's voice was outstanding, with a natural vibrato and a hoarse but very powerful timbre, using advanced vocal techniques, falsetto, and harmonic experimentation that made the singing theatrical when needed.

Their sound is dense with tempo changes and broken rhythms, typical of the most refined prog and enriched by splendid multi-voice vocal harmonies for compositions that blend almost classical scores with the energy of rock, with extensive use of keyboards and both acoustic and electric guitars in complex interweavings.

The Discography and the Reviews

Acqua Fragile - 1973 - GOOD

Mass Media Stars - 1974 - GREAT

A New Chant - 2017 - Coming Soon

Moving Fragments - 2023 - Coming soon

Note: the links to the pages of the artists and bands mentioned here and their albums are available on the"Artists" page or using the TAG Acqua Fragile