Franco Falsini

There's no question there are a number of "lost" albums out there. Thankfully, we live in some reissue-heavy times, meaning many long-out-of-print cult classics receive a second shot at life, something Franco Falsini's Cold Nose most definitely deserves. Originally put out by Polydor in 1975 as a soundtrack for a never-released film, the album marked the solo debut by this Italian musician/producer, best known as part of spaced-out '70s prog rock unit Sensations' Fix. And there's no wonder that Emeralds synth-head John Elliott chose to reissue the album on his Spectrum Spools imprint. Straddling the line between drug-damaged stoner rock and cosmic-laced kosmische, Cold Nose is a heady piece of work, often coming off like some ruffed-up mid-period Ashra record or like something Emeralds would have cooked up themselves if they were in a more nefarious, psych-rock sort of mood. And while this may be a soundtrack, you'd hardly know it by the way the record's sprawling, mainly instrumental suites go from down-in-the-dumps bleakness to sonic jubilation and back again, creating a cohesive work that plays like a slaved-over studio album. Apparently while recording Cold Nose, Falsini borrowed from the Bio-Electronic Meditation Society, monitoring his brain activity and only recording when his brain produced "Alpha/Theta waves." Whether this had an impact on the album's futurist leanings is unclear, but there's no question Cold Nose was decades ahead of its time, and well worth the reissue.