c o n r a d

Banco del Mutuo Socorso's debut album is the first of the great trilogy of albums released by this band which established them as one of Italy's "Big Three". Banco had a unique, frenetic style, with perhaps a hint of Genesis and ELP. What makes them really stand out, though, is Francesco di Giacomo's voice. His histrionic style has lead some to describe him as operatic, but there is too much of a growl in his voice for this to be a truly accurate description. Unfortunately, his voice is a love-it-or-hate-it one, and those who hate it will find the band very hard to like. This album has three short tracks, in the order of two minutes, and three longer ones, which last from six to eighteen minutes. Although the shorter pieces all add to the atmosphere of the album, "Traccia" is the only one I would listen to as a piece of music in its own right. The three longer pieces, on the other hand, are all excellent, if not masterpieces. Of the longer pieces, "R.I.P." showcases the band as a vocally centred group, whereas "Metamorfosi" highlights the Nocenzi's dual keys. The eighteen minute epic "Il Giardino del Mago" gives us the best of both worlds, as well as exposing the band's ability to through compose a piece. Slow passages are steadily built up to Banco's own special form of caffeinated rock, as the major melodic themes are luxuriously worked over. Some may find this slow going at times, but as far as I'm concerned this is Banco at their best. Banco have the mindnumbing energy of a group of ten year olds with ADHD, but thankfully a lot more control. This album has none of the flat spots that were on their next two albums, making it an enervating listen. Any symphonic prog junkie like me who can enjoy the vocals will consider it a classic. I usually recommend Io sono nato libero as the place to start with Banco, but this would do almost as well. review by Conrad Leviston — 2-1-05 —

s e a n

This was the first studio release for Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, one of the most famous and influential bands of the Italian progressive rock scene. Banco succeeded in taking the best parts of the normal symphonic progressive sound -- the rich keyboards, complex arrangements and sprawling compositions — and combine them with Italian elements for an original sound. Lead vocalist Francesco di Giacomo employs an operatic style, while Italian folk and classical elements creap into songs such as "Traccia". As for English progressive influences, there is an occasional Emerson-like quality to Vittorio Nocenzi's keyboard work but other than that not much. Longer compositions are often divided into outbursts of instrumental virtuosity and slower sections with di Giacomo's passionate vocals. Of special note here is the 18-minute "Il Giardino del Mago", which ranks with any of the English progressive epics. If there's a complaint to be made about this album, it would be regarding the often lacklustre sound quality, which thankfully improves on later efforts. This shouldn't stop the intrepid progster from diving into the band with this classic release, however. review by Sean McFee — undated —

m a t t

Italian prog, from the perspective of a non-native, is a curious sub-genre. While I haven't come across many Italian prog albums that I think amount to something more than a synthesis of existing styles, I do think that the scene nevertheless produced some very good records. Banco is generally regarded as one of the best Italian bands from the 1970s, and I would agree with the consensus. Their three releases between 1972 and 1973 are their most well-known, and the debut album is my pick of the three by a slight margin (for the record, Banco released two self-titled albums; the debut album is the one with what looks like a giant orange nipple on the cover). Banco, like countrymen PFM, made their most popular and respected albums in a style of symphonic prog that borrowed elements from the bigger names in English progressive while mixing in some regional flavor. I think that Banco bettered PFM, however, in the sense that they were better able to integrate their influences into a cohesive sound (PFM's longer songs had a tendency to sound more like collages). Probably as a result of progressive still being a fresh genre in the early 1970s, Banco's dependence on their influences didn't chain them down and the music doesn't sound derivative to me like the output of most of the neoprog bands that I've heard. Banco's distinguishing features were the dual keyboards of Vittorio and Gianni Nocenzi, and the soaring, quasi-operatic vocals of Francesco di Giacomo. The debut album catches the band at their most energetic and aggressive. It lacks some of the polish and diversity of Darwin or Io Sono Nato Libero, but I think it more than makes up for this by being the most consistently strong of the three. "Requiescant in Pace," and "Il Giardino del Mago" quite simply have some of the most appealing melodies and catchy music in the Banco catalog; the latter is a long, multi-part suite that I would rank right there with the best that the band ever made. Whereas di Giacomo might draw his phrases out more frequently on some of the band's subsequent albums (a technique for creating drama and suspense that doesn't really work on a listener who doesn't speak the language) the vocals here are generally bouncier and more melodic; I don't feel like I'm missing a lot by being unable to comprehend their meaning. "Metamorphosi" is primarily and instrumental and it amply shows off the band's chops. The other three tracks are very short and seem to exist to provide brief interludes to separate the longer pieces. Banco would go on to make albums of greater sophistication and with more of an individual character, but the fiery first album is still my preferred Banco title. review by Matt P. — 6-28-05 —

b r a n d o n

Italian prog in general is tough to describe; this one especially. Wavering schizophrenically between hard rock and beautiful symphonic, this amazing debut album transcends genre groupings and exemplifies the uniqueness and ingenuity behind the best Italian progressive rock. Driven by dual keys and electric guitar, the band whips through countless themes at light-speed, helped on by a solid rhythm section and the quasi-operatic voice of Francesco di Giacomo - a voice which people either love or hate. I love it - even though I don't understand the lyrics (in Italian), di Giacomo puts such emotion into his inflections that it's difficult not to be moved. With three short, melodic pieces and three longer ones (at 7, 11, and 18 minutes), there's plenty of music on this disc. Each of the long pieces is a masterpiece, though the 11-minute one is the weakest of the bunch; the 18-minute one in particular has absolutely gorgeous acoustic-guitar-and-flute moments mixed with plenty of heavy organ-led prog rock. Writing about this album is utterly ineffective - you've got to hear it for yourself. review by Brandon Wu — undated —