Mass Media Stars

Mass Media Stars
Mass Media Stars
Studio album by Acqua Fragile
Released	1974
Venue	Milan
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	37:43
Language	English
Label	Ricordi
Producer	Claudio Fabi and PFM
Acqua Fragile chronology

Mass Media Stars is the second album by the Italian progressive rock band Acqua Fragile. The album was released by Dischi in 1974.^[1] The album is sung entirely in English, as was the band's first album Acqua Fragile, but it also received a release in the United States which was unusual for an album by an Italian progressive group.^[2]

Reception

Dag Erik Asbjørnsen in Scented gardens of the mind compared Acqua Fragile's sound to Genesis, Yes and Crosby, Stills & Nash, combining Lanzetti's nasal voice with "majestic guitar licks" and three-part vocal harmonies.^[1]

Augusto Croce in Italian prog commented that the album was similar to their first, but with slightly better production.^[2] Jerry Lucky in The progressive rock files said: "Sounds like early Genesis. Two LPs [Acqua Fragile and Mass Media Stars] produced by PFM and it shows in their sound."^[3]

Personnel

Musicians

Bernardo Lanzetti: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 8-string guitar
Gino Campanini: electric guitar, mandolin, vocals
Piero Canavera: drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals
Franz Dondi: bass
Maurizio Mori: keyboards

Others

Gaetano Ria: engineer
Claudio Fabi and PFM: producers
Guido Harari: design, photography
Bernardo Lanzetti: lyrics
Piero Canavera: music

Track listing

All tracks are written by B. Lanzetti (lyrics) and P. Canavera (music)

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cosmic Mind Affair"	7:19
2.	"Bar Gazing"	5:06
3.	"Mass-Media Stars"	6:53

Side two
No.	Title	Length
4.	"Opening Act"	5:40
5.	"Professor"	6:49
6.	"Coffee Song"	5:56

Release history

Discogs^[4] lists 23 versions of Mass Media Stars including two unofficial (bootleg) versions. Versions have been released on LP, CD, cassette and 8-track cartridge from 1974 to 2021, starting with the original LP (SMRL 6150) and cassette (RIK 76150) versions released by Dischi in 1974.

Plagiarism

In 2018 Bernardo Lanzetti and Acqua Fragile accused the rapper Busta Rhymes of plagiarism because in "Genesis", the song that gives the title to his 2001 album, he used a sampling of "Cosmic Mind Affair", taken from Mass Media Stars, without declaring it and indeed attributing it to himself.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Asbjørnsen, Dag Erik (2000). Scented gardens of the mind: a guide to the golden era of progressive rock (1968-1980) in more than 20 European countries. Borderline Productions. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-89985-512-4.
^ ^a ^b Augusto, Croce (2008). Italian prog: the comprehensive guide to Italian progressive music 1967/1979. AMS/BTF. pp. 18–19.
^ Lucky, Jerry (2000). The progressive rock files. Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-89652-270-8.
^ "Acqua Fragile – Mass-Media Stars". Zink Media LLC. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
^ Moretti, Carlo (9 November 2018). "Busta Rhymes, "Genesis" e l'accusa di plagio dagli italiani Acqua Fragile" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 10 April 2024.

External links

Mass Media Stars at AllMusic
Mass Media Stars at Discogs (list of releases)
Mass Media Stars at MusicBrainz
Mass Media Stars at Prog Archives
Mass Media Stars at YouTube
Acqua Fragile at Italian Prog website

[Scented-1] Asbjørnsen, Dag Erik (2000). Scented gardens of the mind: a guide to the golden era of progressive rock (1968-1980) in more than 20 European countries. Borderline Productions. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-89985-512-4.

[Croce-2] Augusto, Croce (2008). Italian prog: the comprehensive guide to Italian progressive music 1967/1979. AMS/BTF. pp. 18–19.

[3] Lucky, Jerry (2000). The progressive rock files. Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-89652-270-8.

[4] "Acqua Fragile – Mass-Media Stars". Zink Media LLC. Retrieved 10 April 2024.

[5] Moretti, Carlo (9 November 2018). "Busta Rhymes, "Genesis" e l'accusa di plagio dagli italiani Acqua Fragile" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 10 April 2024.

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