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Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso - Banco CD (album) cover

BANCO

Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso

 

Rock Progressivo Italiano

4.03 | 308 ratings

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soundsweird
Prog Reviewer
4 stars As most of you know, this was Banco's English-language debut on Manticore Records (they tried another English-language experiment with the release of "Come In un 'Ultima Cena/As In a Last Supper; I wish I had kept my LP copy of "As In...", since I've never seen it since). Oddly enough, Manticore was by this time a "subsidiary" of Motown Records(!), after being under Atlantic for PFM's two English-language releases. It's worth owning, and not just for the novelty factor. The first two tracks (joined) don't appear anywhere else, and the track "Outside" is a superior re-working of "R.I.P.", one of the tracks from their (Italian-language) self-titled debut. Likewise, "Metamorphosis" outshines the original version from that same album. And, the cover is a hoot! I guess they thought that a photograph of a naked, obese man (on the back cover of the LP) was sure to sell the album to prospective buyers. The CD is an expensive Japanese import, but it sounds much better than the LP ever did. And yes, Banco re-recorded their first two albums much later because of the originals' inferior sound, but those versions are vastly different from those on this album. So, even if you own the original Italian albums AND the re-recorded versions, this remains a worthwhile addition. If there is a weakness here, it's the English lyrics, and the obviously-phonetic singing of them. Too bad they couldn't get Pete Sinfield to help them the way he helped PFM.
soundsweird | 4/5 |

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