Legendary
Italian progressive rock
band
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
released its first LP in 1971 on the label
Dischi Ricordi
. The lineup included
Vittorio Nocenzi
(keyboards),
Gianni Nocenzi
(piano),
Francesco Di Giacomo
(vocals),
Renato d'Angelo
(bass), the newly arrived
Pierluigi Calderoni
(drums), and guitarist
Marcello Todara
, who would soon be replaced by
Rodolfo Maltese
. Although plagued by poor sound quality (something frequent with Italian albums from the early '70s), this eponymous release revealed a band with stellar musicianship, an inclination toward the kind of
classical
-meets-
rock
blend
the Nice
had been doing in England, affinities with the burgeoning European
prog rock
scene, and yet retention of strong connections with a hard-to-define Italian sound, thanks mostly to singer
Di Giacomo
.
contained the fast-paced
"R.I.P.,"
a good
number with a surprisingly lyrical bridge, and
"Metamorphosi."
The latter became a fan favorite, even though its construction was uneven. The band would record a stronger version of it for its first album in English (
Banco
), but when
entered the last part with English lyrics, it kind of killed the mood. The other highlight on this first opus is
"Il Giardino del Mago,"
a piece in four parts. Less emotional but stronger in terms of cohesion and momentum than
"Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico,"
it featured beautiful keyboard work, although the star of this album is drummer
Calderoni
(he must have had two more arms than
Carl Palmer
). The album ends with
"Traccia,"
a short instrumental piece that has nothing to do with the more commonly known
"Traccia II"
(on
Io Sono Nato Libero
, the band's third LP). Not quite as strong as its follow-up
Darwin!
, this first album still remains a classic element of
. ~ Francois Couture