FEDE, SPERANZA, CARITÀ

Fede, Speranza, Carita is a fairly heavy Italian symphonic prog album from 1972. The original release featured only five songs, with three of these being in excess of 8 minutes in length. The album begins with the title track, in subdued mood with organ accompanied by some effects of rain and thunder. Piano and spoken words join the Hammond, and as this gains volume the guitars take over. The lead guitar plays a blistering riff supported by the rhythm section and Hammond, then there is an explosive drum fill that leads into the main song. Thereafter the song goes through numerous changes in tempo and mood; from dreamy, with acoustic guitar and string effects, to aggressive, with intense vocals and ripping guitar solos. After further guitar and Hammond exchanges, a short drum fill leads back to the recapitulation of the main theme. The song concludes with some falsetto vocals, sung over a riff that is reminiscent of Lord Of This World from Black Sabbath's Master Of reality album. Outstanding first track.

Track 2, Il Prete E Il Peccatore, continues in similar vein with numerous distinct sections. It starts off with raw fuzz guitar and bass, before being joined by the drums and Hammond. Mellow sections with spacey organ, strings and vocals are interspersed by some more spoken words. The tempo then picks up again with some choppy guitar undercutting a piano solo. Another great song. One very minor complaint I have is that some of the organ on this and the following track has a decidedly cinema-organ sound! it doesn't really spoil my enjoyment of the songs though.

Next up is C'e Chi Non Ha, a romantic sounding ballad with lovely acoustic guitar and rumbling drum rolls. There is a nice stereo effect here with the sound of the drums moving from one speaker to the other. This song also features piano and typically passionate Italian vocals. Very nice. I only wish they had used a Mellotron instead of that tacky organ timbre.

Sinfonia Per Un Re begins with an aggressive riff leading to more alternating dreamy and heavy sections, with cello joining the ubiquitous guitar and Hammond. The title track is reprised within this song, here played on piano. This reprise gives the impression of the album being a single work, rather than a collection of separate songs. Unfortunately I don't know any Italian language so I can't say if there's any concept on the album.

The final track, Sfogo, is a major disappointment at the end of an otherwise great album. It's an up-tempo jazzy piece featuring scat-singing. It sounds out of place and is undoubtedly the weakest track here, though fortunately it is also the shortest.

In summary, this is a great symphonic album featuring bucketloads of blistering guitar, swirling Hammond and dramatic Italian vocals. I would recommend it highly to fans of RPI and heavy prog. I would have awarded it 5 stars but for that last track... shame