Record Reviews

BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO ~ TRANSIBERIANA (LIMITED EDITION) SONY 190759343722 (Barcode: 190759343722) ~ ITALY ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 On May 10, 2019, the day this album was released, I happened to be in Rome, so there was no way I was going to ignore the event and not get a copy of a new Banco Del Mutuo SoccorsoFind albums by this artist album, released twenty two years after their last studio album "NudoFind albums with this title". After all they were obviously a significant part of the soundtrack of my life as one of the three leading Italian Prog bands in the 1970s together with PFMFind albums by this artist and Le OrmeFind albums by this artist. Fronted by the original founding member, keyboardist / composer Vittorio NocenziFind albums by this artist, the band also includes lead guitarist Filippo MarcheggianiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Nicola Di GiàFind albums by this artist, bassist Marco CapoziFind albums by this artist, drummer Fabio MorescoFind albums by this artist and lead vocalist Tony D`AlessioFind albums by this artist. The album presents, as expected, a concept journey suite comprising of eleven tracks. All the music was co-composed by Vittorio Nocenzi and his son Michelangelo NocenziFind albums by this artist, This Limited Edition is lavishly packaged in a digibook format and includes a 44-page booklet with in depth essay and the lyrics in Italian and English and splendid photographs, as well as two bonus tracks recorded live in 2018. Although the Prog genre lost its "progressive" characteristic by the end of the 1970s and didn´t move an inch forward since, this does not mean that it lost its Artistic values. Some wonderful music was created within the Prog idiom over the years and this album is a wonderful illustration of such a case. Prog simply became a "closed" genre, which offers ambitious, sophisticated and intelligent Rock music, with an emphasis on well structured melodic themes, which serve as basis for extended improvisations, blending Classical, Rock and Jazz flavors in a kaleidoscope of sounds, which has a distinct keyboards dominated sound. On this album Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso return to their heyday period, during which they created their first three albums: the eponymous debut, "Darwin!Find albums with this title" and "Io Sono Nato LiberoFind albums with this title", all classic examples of Italian Prog. The same approach to melody, harmony and instrumentation appears here, with only slightly updated sound and production techniques, but faithfully preserving the overall retro ambience. The philosophical concept subject matter also returns, adding an intellectual dimension to the entire project. Altogether the album offers a superb collection of wonderful melodies, full of typical Italian lyricism, beautiful harmony and heartbreaking sincerity. The Italian lyrics work like magic and honestly even reading a telephone book in Italian sounds simply stupendous. Some "critics" will probably claim that this is all about nostalgia, but the truth is that this album has nothing to do with nostalgia. It is completely fresh and contemporary, and the fact that it is still presented as or considered as Prog does not weaken its value whatsoever. Yes, there is not much innovation here, but everything is done with exquisite elegance, taste and flair, as only the most talented musicians are able to create a perfect piece of music based on a tradition, which they wish to preserve. Overall this is a magnificent album, full of great music, superb playing and full of aesthetic values, which are sadly mostly gone from our present reality. A rare gem proving that not all is lost and some musical sanity is still around us. Thank you Gentlemen for this gift of music!

Updated: 17/05/2019Posted: 17/05/2019

CD 1 Digibook Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend