Gruppo D'alternativa

Realizing you've never had a thought of your own
And that you've destroyed within yourself the strength
To bring your truth to light
Man, I believe you'll find yourself searching elsewhere for words
To give a voice to its silence

The more the years go by, the more the Milanese Gruppo d’Alternativa remain among the most overlooked bands in the history of Italian progressive rock. Although the first pressing, with its laminated sleeve, of their one-shot “Ipotesi” (Harvest, 1972) is still sought after by a certain niche of collectors, the album itself never won over specialist critics, unlike “Concerto delle Menti” (Magma, 1973), whose jazz-rock-oriented instrumentals could, in some way, hint at the very obscurity that ended up enveloping the Milanese group's debut.

Formed by Tino Guasconi (vocals), Leonardo Dosso (bassoon, guitar), Rodolfo Pace (guitar), Gianfranco Fumagalli (flute), Paolo Rizzi (bass), Roberto Romano (keyboards) and Nino Flenda (drums), Gruppo d’Alternativa made their debut at Milan's Teatro Uomo with their eponymous rock opera, steeped in long improvisations with Davis-like overtones. Dedicated to the memory of a friend of the frontman, “Ipotesi” soon became a concept album with Canterbury-esque shadings, favouring the unusual use of bassoon and a variety, as well as a density, of arrangements. Fairly unusual traits by the standards of Italian progressive rock of the era, often skewed towards symphonic sounds.

Icy, tormented, alienating, solitary. The grotesque cover art of “Ipotesi”, created by Fabio Donato (Teresa De Sio, James Senese, Luciano Cilio) and Carlo De Simone (Osanna), conceptually mirrors the dynamics of grief and the surfacing of trauma: the figure of the headless little man, dressed rigorously in a blinding white, isolated within the confines of a few square metres, together with the religious references on the back cover, conveys the idea of a bleak, perhaps overwrought, but decidedly inspired story.
The arbitrary stream of consciousness that opens the concept, “Quando le parole”, is unsettling for the manic seriousness in which it wraps itself, paving the way for a mysterious, cathartic undercurrent. Shortly after, the composition takes on an increasingly pronounced thriller-like attitude, destined to explode into a triumph of dominant horns à la Ian Anderson: the narrative element starts to take hold on the following track, “Incidente”, an all-too-literal portrait of the protagonist's fate, whose story is sung entirely by Guasconi, whose shrill, cacophonous timbre ends up diverting attention away from the elaborate instrumental parts and the rigorous keyboard solos.
Split into two short movements, “Infanzia” offers a melancholy instrumental section, mature in its execution. During a transition, an almost clean and graceful acoustic passage emerges, though it sits somewhat awkwardly with Guasconi's off-key singing, at times over the top in the vague childhood memory it recounts.
Among the most instrumentally striking tracks on the album, the sarcastic “Voglia di essere” unfolds over a heavy, apocalyptic introduction, soon deflated by a classic prog arrangement that alternates blues-tinged keyboards with vocals deliberately at odds with any sense of metre. Consistent, in its own way.
The bassoon-bass pairing on “Appare la forma” delivers one of the record's most intense moments, underpinned by an arrangement fully in the style of Colosseum. The creative rhythm section on “La tua lotta” struggles somewhat under the stylistic inconsistencies of its singer, once again prone to genuine off-key moments that limit any objective listen. The slowed-down close of the title track, punctuated by a nicely mixed layering of overlapping monologues, casts one final glance over the protagonist's earthly existence.

Sure, it's true that if “Ipotesi” had been an entirely instrumental record, it might have enjoyed greater fame at home, perhaps on a par with Dedalus or Spirale. And yet, it's precisely that aura of imperfection that sets it apart and makes its emotional impact on the listener so distinctive.

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13/09/2026