One of the truly experimental Italian rock figures, Franco Battiato, Renaissance man, singer, songwriter, modern composer, even painter and filmmaker, Battiato started his musical career in the very late 60s, as Battiato started with his experiments on psychedelics, electronic music, and progressive rock as a way to follow the teachings of his master, the great German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, Battiato experiments took place in his native Italia, fertile grounds to other prog acts and a place where obscure rock band Van der Graaf Generator were treated nearly like gods.

With a cover that still startles (featuring an hyper realistic human fetus) to this day, the music contained on Fetus is that of a singer songwriter that really knows what he is doing and who embraces modern sounds like no one else, Battiato was creating a very strange hybrid of progressive rock, yes, the kind of progressive rock other talented Italians were making in little famous, but not forgotten bands like Area, PFM, Le Orme, or Ill Balleto di Bronzo, making it even weirder by including his own electronic experiences with the German master of sounds, Battiato drowned his music with electronic treatments that could have easily been developed by Brian Eno (for whom Battiato opened on several tours), Conny Plank or Tangerine Dream, all this graced by an almost conceptual vision on the whole record.

The music has a unique quality that can make it at times sound complex and sophisticated, close to the cold “cosmic” sounds of Ash Ra Tempel or Tangerine Dream, but at the same time the warmth of Battiato voice keeps the sound grounded and accessible, putting him in a category very close to other talented avant pop vocalists like Peter Hammill, David Bowie or Scott Walker.

Krautrock lies very close to the heart of this Italian masterpiece, as obviously the sound comes close to the cosmic tendencies of Stockhausen and the modern rock tendencies of bands like Can, or the aforementioned Tangerine Dream.
Battiato would go on to issue a couple of similar groundbreaking records, but after a period, pop would finally absorb him, somehow lessening the legendary status of his records, and as we know for some people the records that weren’t big hits in the U.S., are somehow overlooked as local hits or cult recordings, but my friends, Battiato could easily claim the title of being the Italian Bowie or the Italian avant garde version of Scott Walker, Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream, all rolled up into one.