Rustichelli & Bordini were one of the most unusual acts in Italian progressive rock: a duo of nothing but keyboards and drums, who made a single, richly inventive album — “Opera Prima” (1973) — and then went their separate ways. Built almost entirely on the keyboards of teenage prodigy Paolo Rustichelli, it is one of the great hidden treasures of RPI.

The short version

Formed in Rome out of the band Cammello Buck, Rustichelli & Bordini stripped down to just keyboards and drums on the advice of their management, in the style of Britain’s Hardin & York. Their sole album, “Opera Prima” (1973), is a heavy, keyboard-drenched symphonic-prog gem, often compared to ELP — and all the more remarkable for being made by two musicians alone, one of them barely out of his teens. Rare and much-loved, it stands among the finest one-shots of the Italian scene.

Rome: from Cammello Buck to a duo

At the centre of the story is Paolo Rustichelli, a teenage keyboard prodigy and the son of the celebrated film composer Carlo Rustichelli. In 1971 he formed the Roman band Cammello Buck with guitarist Pino Belardinelli, bassist Mauro Morlacchi and drummer Carlo Bordini; they played the first Villa Pamphili Pop Festival in 1972 and, with new bassist Pasquale “Windy” Cavallo (lately of Panna Fredda), signed to the Delta label. When nothing came of it, their management made an unusual suggestion: strip the group down to a keyboards-and-drums duo, after the model of the British band Hardin & York. And so, in early 1973, Rustichelli and Bordini dropped the Cammello Buck name, signed to RCA, and set about making a record as a pair.

Keyboards and drums alone

What makes “Opera Prima” so striking is that two musicians made it entirely on their own — no guitar, no bass, just Paolo Rustichelli’s banks of keyboards and Carlo Bordini’s drums. Rustichelli commands a full early-1970s arsenal — Hammond organ, piano, Mellotron, ARP and VCS3 synthesizers — and the absence of other instruments is barely felt, so rich and full is the sound. The result is a heavy, dynamic symphonic prog, clearly indebted to ELP but with the added darkness of the Mellotron, recalling at moments Le Orme, Semiramis and Gabriel-era Genesis. The one weak spot, by common consent, is Rustichelli’s rough, gruff singing — but the vocal parts are short, and the keyboards more than make up for it.

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Opera Prima

The duo’s sole album, “Opera Prima” (1973), released on RCA, gathers six long tracks built on Rustichelli’s keyboards and Bordini’s drumming. Its crowning glory is the instrumental opener “Natività”, an ever-shifting piece that moves from dreamy calm to frenzied, Mellotron-soaked intensity — widely held to be among the finest tracks in all of Italian prog. Elsewhere there is the Genesis-like “Icaro”, the touching ballad “Dolce Sorella” and the closing “Cammellandia”, a fond tribute to their old band. A rare record, issued in limited numbers — some copies even carrying a small card with a quotation from Marcel Proust — it was barely noticed at the time. The duo played a handful of festival and radio dates, then went their separate ways.

Album by album

A single album — a keyboard-and-drums tour de force. Tap the title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

Rustichelli & Bordini were simply that — Paolo Rustichelli and Carlo Bordini — and both went on to notable things. Bordini was soon recruited into the band that would become the horror-soundtrack legends Goblin, and played on the album by their precursor Cherry Five before pursuing a distinguished career as a percussionist in Italy’s great opera and symphony orchestras. Rustichelli, meanwhile, followed his father into film scoring and into jazz-fusion, working over the years with the likes of Miles Davis and Carlos Santana, and eventually settling in the United States. But it is their lone album together that fans of Italian prog still treasure.

Where to start

There is only one place to start — “Opera Prima” (1973), Rustichelli & Bordini’s single album and one of the most rewarding keyboard records the Italian scene produced. Begin with the magnificent “Natività”, and the rest will follow; for anyone who loves ELP, Le Orme or the heavier, keyboard-led side of RPI, it is essential.

Why they still matter

Rustichelli & Bordini matter as proof that imagination could outweigh numbers — two musicians, keyboards and drums, conjuring a sound as full and dramatic as any full band of the era. In “Opera Prima” they left behind a genuine hidden gem, and in Paolo Rustichelli a prodigy who would go on to work with some of the biggest names in music. For anyone digging into the deeper corners of Italian prog, this remarkable duo is well worth discovering.

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