EN CONCIERTO, MAY 1999 - MEXICO CITY.

This is a mix of both old and "new" stuff. Maybe to please both categories of fans ? Although I doubt that the same person could appreciate their two different careers (before and after 1980). But who knows ?

Some very old material from the debut : "RIP" (they could not miss that one), and "Traccia" (fully forgetable). Two long songs from their best work, the "Darwin" album. A dull, complex and very long instrumental opening section (almost eight minutes) for "La Conquista". But the last part is a pure marvel : incredible vocals from Giacomo. Always so great after all these years. An exceptional moment.

This version of "L'Evoluzione" can not be regarded as brilliant. Almost half the lenght of the original. It is totally denaturated while the original was such a beauty of a song. All subtlety, harmony. This live rendition is pure nonsense. I just can't stand this "transformation". And the wonderful first part is just dropped (maybe some vocal problems for Giacomo). It was the most emotional section and it is unbelievable that the band skipped it.

Lots of regrets that the great "750,000 Anni Fa ... L'Amore" is not featured here. But there will be lots of regrets during this live album.

Three songs from their average (but still the best of their after seventies album) "Il 13" : "Sirene", "Brivido" and "Bisbigli". All three being poor tracks (both studio as well as live). Two songs from their poorest album of all time "Banco 83" : "Moby Dick" and "Lontano Da". Useless.

My favourite one from this live set is "Canto Di Primavera"; mainly thanks to a superb Giacomo again. What would have been "Banco" without him ! The second track from this album is "E Mi Viene da Pensare". One of the best moment as well. Almost "unplugged" like "Canto" actually.

One song from "Come In Un'Ultima Cena" which was one of their last good album. But "Il Ragno" was a just a poor jazzy number and it remains so here as well of course. From their previous work "Nudo" which was a combination of live and unreleased songs, we'll get "Roma / Tokyo". Not very useful I must say.

I am not sure that this live album will contribute to boost the fans' enthusiasm. But since there were no commented review before this one, I guess that the current interest in "Banco" is rather limited. Even on a prog site. Two stars.

It is, probably, the best Banco live recording. The sound is perfect, the selection of songs reflects well both band's past and present (to date) material. Only the album "Nudo Live" presents equal sound quality.

Even tracks from the album "Il 13" ("Brivido", "Sirène", "Bisbigli") sound well in the context of this concert. So here we have a journey through Banco's long musical career - from early songs ("R.I.P", "L'evoluzione" etc) and 80's pop-period ("Moby Dick" and "Lontano da") to the band's latest studio album "Il 13" (what's a pity they haven't released new material since then).

Musicianship is superb, the voice of signore Di Giacomo sounds as if there were no 27 years behind his shoulders, when all these things only started, the energy of the band explodes, leaving, at times, the place to the most delicate passages, and music takes the listener to some another world.

Gentle (just listen to "E mi viene da pensare") and explosive at the same time, this album shows all possible sides of Banco: catchy melodies, gorgeous epics and the perfect feel of the beauty in every song.

A must for Banco fans, a good starting point for newcomers and, in any case, very good addition to your prog collection. 5 stars.

This is indeed a very meaningful album to me as I had the chance to be part of this concert almost eleven years ago. At that time, I was barely getting introduced to the Italian progressive scene throughout some homemade mixed tapes that included some PFM, Le Orme, Campo di Marte among others and of course, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso to whom I ended up embracing as one of my favorite Italian bands. The very first detail that impressed me out Banco's music was Francesco DI GIACOMO's voice. For the ones who have had the opportunity to see BMS live wouldn't let me overreact on my statements as Francesco's voice overshadows all the other instruments surrounding him. The energy coming out of this sensible man's lungs turns irremediably into poetry as the sensibility lingers in the air the same way over all his interpretations whether he's pulling off a high pitched tune upon the aggressiveness a song might describe or while getting submerged in the depths of a melancholic passage. If this is part of what Banco sealed upon my mind just by listening to their records, you can pretty much imagine how my more inner musical feelings distilled at the time I beheld this live performance in merely front row.

We took off from our seats at the time the first notes of "Brivido" cracked the breathing air within the theater. This wasn't one of those concerts where attendants burst into screams and cries as I believe it was almost as captivating as watching a classical play. For me, it was my first time I got surrounded by the presence of these Italian progressive icons so I did nothing but to stare and let myself drift away on the music. By the end of the opening song Francesco welcomed us and wished we had "a great concert". Right after, "Il Ragno" thundered amazingly powerful through compassed bass and drums notes, always taken in hand by our eternal frontman's voice. During this song I could feel the harmonic feeling of Vittorio NOCENZI's on keyboards as from where I was standing I managed to see the way his fingers slid over the keys so rapidly you wouldn't believe notes will fit together one after the other. But they did incredibly. Thus, it came the time for us the audience to blend in a song by clapping to playful notes on "Sirene". Up to the concert's day, I never had the chance to listen to this song and I found it quite simple but concise in it's wholeness as far from being pretentious, the musical arrangement showed everything but whimsical, hollow elaboration. A fine piece of music which I enjoy most performed live rather than the studio version.

Then finally, one of the songs out of my wish list for Banco to perform during this concert started peacefully by the hand of Vittorio NOCENZI as he softly tapped on the keys that revealed the mind-blowing "R.I.P.". One of the greatest songs BMS ever wrote and composed, very determining to understand their art and crucial to cross the threshold leading to the Italian Progressive Rock world. This live version has an upbeat addition compared to the original studio version but still is very convincing and rewarding as it's got a brief drum solo passage courtesy of Maurizio MASI.

As we jumped across the beautiful scent of "Bisbigli & Passaggio", yet another solid epic got us all beholders up from our seats just to witness the appearance of "La Conquista Della Posizione Eretta". Another of my all time favorite Banco pieces and one of my starting points to get sucked into their music. This wonderful melody goes back and forth through calm and fiery instrumental passages for almost 8 minutes just before Francesco's devouring voice cracks the circular, rhythmic ambiance. At this point you will start crumbling down out of the pure poetic storytelling essence Banco's got prepared for you. Truly skin-crawling.

As we moved onto the second part of this concert, this sort of more cheerful songs began to fill the air with restful chords and rhythms throughout "E Mi Viene Da Pensare" and "Canto Di Primavera". This first song presenting the latter half of the show is merely a paused, comfortable ballad full of compassed acoustic guitar and soft piano passages that reveal every now and then the presence of a telling voice. Next song is as delicate as the one before, running down calmly through unpretentious streams of composition, showing this eagerness and passionate feeling for living worriless and unaware of the world outside. Just a perfect couple of beautiful songs.

Coming up next, "L'evoluzione" plagued the ears of the whole theater from beginning to end. Every soul in there received the impact of this cascade of diverse emotions and musical togetherness. For me it was the song out of the entire setlist BMS offered that night which showed the enigmatic presence of the straight, pure Italian progressive acts like they used to be back in time. Evidently this song brought the reward we all were expecting to satisfy our musical ambitions and desires. When the song came to an end that night, Francesco addressed to the audience if not in perfect Spanish but with a complete understandable premise: "Si tu tienes un sueño, tienes que seguirlo por toda la vida" (If you have a dream, you must follow it all of your life). The perfect opening line to burst into the first lyrics of "Moby Dick", a very enjoyable piece that brings you this sort of peacefulness and spiritual harmony. It's the kind of song that'll turn you to the right of mood to let everything go and forget about all the sorrow and distress you might have been wandering about.

Sadly, the ending part of the show started to appear. Notes of the very instrumental track "Roma/Tokyo" were unveiled and played soulfully. The band sweated every single drop of energy they had to give Mexico City one of their most unforgettable concerts. Even when the tiredness was evidently shining upon their faces, they offered the best repertoire we could ask for. During "Lontano Da" and in the voice of Francesco, all of the band members were introduced to the audience one by one, the instrument each one of them played and their full names giving a special recognition to Vittorio NOCENZI for an outstanding performance. Even the sound engineer (Carlo Di Filippo), was introduced to us which and we all took this gesture as a token of humility and sincerity from BMS. As the song continued with the entire audience still standing up, the band jumped to their signature tarantella named "Traccia" to wind up for the night and the concert. This is one of those live performances that remain soulfully through the years, turning into a memory hard to forget.