Napoli Centrale Featuring James Senese

Showmen were a Naples band important in RPI history as well as rock and roll. The first incarnation dates to 1966 and included in its line-up Elio d'Anna, who would go on to form the RPI powerhouse Osanna. The first line-up blended Italian pop with soul/R and B and had several successful singles before breaking up around 1970. Shortly after this, several members joined some new musicians to form Showmen 2 which would attempt to blend some of the original Showmen sound with the exciting new rock sounds that were beginning to permeate Italy. This line-up is the one of interest to RPI fans as it produced the fine 1972 album Showmen 2. While together they played at the 1972 Genova Pop Festival and other open air festivals of the day. The story is a familiar one: the album didn't sell particularly well and the band broke up shortly after this, with Senese and Del Prete going on to form Napoli Centrale, who actually were quite successful and recorded several jazz-rock albums. Showmen 2's history spans the beat and progressive eras, with points of interest in both. Their lone album features elements of their recent past blended with distinctive nods into the surging RPI scene. While not wildly avant-garde by any means, the excitement of the moment is felt in the spirited jamming, blended styles, and occasional splash in the prog-sound ocean.