DARWIN!

If you find a clock in a forest, you understand that there is a designer behind it, you do not think that he formed himself. So said the theologian William Paley to justify the argument that Nature was created by a Creator, according to an Intelligent Design. Banco del Mutuo Soccorso in 1972 dismantled this theory, saying that THE CREATED HAS CREATED ITSELF since the first note of the album. And they anticipated the English Richard Dawkins, one of the most important living evolutionists, who in 1986 published The Blind Watchmaker, overturning the saying of William Paley: natural selection is the Blind Watchmaker.

Second album by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, a concept album based on Darwin's theory.

1. L'Evoluzione (13:59). Beginning that combines epic and melody, reaching a notable pathos. You immediately notice that the arrangements are much more pumped than the debut album, and that the synth is now king. Around 7-8 minutes the music stops and you hear the clarinet, which together with the synth is the trademark of this record, and which will be the protagonist of the second side of the disc. The rock progression restarts, then there is a long instrumental digression and in the finale the initial melody returns but is immediately marred by the virtuosity of Nocenzi, who seems to want to show off his technique. It's a great song, but I have the impression that something of the immediacy of the debut album has been lost: the greater instrumental refinement actually prevents the melody from taking flight. Rating 8,5/9

2. La Conquista Della Posizione Eretta (8:42). The second song seems to be the continuation of the first, with Nocenzi producing virtuosity. It is an almost instrumental song: Di Giacomo's vocals arrive only in the finale, as had already happened in the last song of the first side of the debut album. The musical difference lies in the rhythms, much more sustained, in the arrangements, much more charged, and guided by the synth. In short, music is more complex and layered, and this can be good or bad. Then the music slows down, and finally Di Giacomo's voice arrives, always very beautiful. Final falling with the wind. Rating: 8.

Side B: 3. Danza Dei Grandi Rettili (3:42) is an instrumental piece, pop-jazz music, it's a nice ballad for piano, bass and clarinet, with synths making a progression. Rating 7,5.

4. Cento Mani E Cento Occhi (5:22). It is the weakest song of the album. too forced, too based on rhythm, without melody, without the possibility of Di Giacomo's voice emerging, here the negative influence of Gentle Giant seems evident. The talent of Banco in my opinion is wasted for a rock song of this type. In fact, the best part is the slow one. Here perhaps the defect is due to the will to narrate. The fact is that Banco continues to show a very high potential, and wanting to put too much meat on the fire with its sumptuous arrangements: when you have such excellent compositional skills, virtuosos like Nocenzi and Di Giacomo, a beautiful melody, piano and voice is enough to being at the top of music, you don't need to waste energy on a thousand sounds. Rating 7.

5. 750,000 Anni Fa ... L'Amore? (5:38) is a masterpiece. And it is no coincidence that Banco give its best with a piano and voice ballad, these two elements are enough for the Banco to record a masterpiece, thanks to Di Giacomo's vocals, what is needed is just a beautiful melody, and here is the case . Masterpiece. And it is surprising that the instrumental interlude is so little melodic, and lowers the tension of the song, and is similar to certain pieces of Gentle Giant (Acquiring the Taste) and also the ending in crescendo, immediately truncated. This song is definitely a masterpiece but at the same time it is definitely imperfect: the instrumental interlude is of low quality and the ending could have been longer and more powerful. Banco makes the same mistakes as Pfm by chasing English music in its formalities instead of focusing on the melody. And despite these imperfections, the rating of the song is 9, if it had been arranged at best it would have been one of the absolute masterpieces of the whole melodic prog. Rating 9.

6. Miserere Alla Storia (5:58) .It is a song that at first seems instrumental, the clarinet recalls Stravinsky's Spring Festival, but with sounds almost like Kletzmer music, then the theatrical vocals arrive, which make the piece grotesque, and finally an alienating music starts, very ad effect, the Banco now pursues new sensations and the music is more and more colorful and baroque, they have definitely created a particular, sumptuous sound, which starts from the melody and reaches the sumptuous and sometimes mad rock. Rating 8.

7. Ed Ora Io Domando Tempo Al Tempo Ed Egli Mi Risponde ... Non Ne Ho! (3:29) Final with a melodic song but with a circus flavor, which tries to close the circle with the wheel of time that comes and goes. Very well done, but in the second side the Banco has given himself above all to ironic, mellifluous, grotesque, aggressive, and finally circus melodies: great performance but where it gave its best: in the piano and voice piece, where the melody was epic and dramatic. Anyway, rating 7,5/8.

Ultimately, with the second album in the same year, 1972, Banco turns towards more English sounds and proves to conform to a much more refined and pyrotechnic prog rock, as Pfm did with Per un amico (which actually had a sound more American than English). But what happens when these two groups want to imitate the British or the Americans? Pfm with Per un amico, in my opinion, produces a very good record, for heaven's sake, but clearly inferior to Storia di un minuto, because it loses immediacy, melody, pure emotion, and doesn't gain enough virtuosity to make the music enjoyable as much as the debut.

Does the Banco end up the same? In my opinion, the Banco produces a second masterpiece, which is a masterpiece for different reasons than the debut album: Darwin loses in melody, simplicity of arrangement, immediacy but gains in arrangement, virtuosity, extension of the musical contents, and sound: here the Banco creates its own characteristic sound, with rhythmic progressions, synths superimposed on the piano, clarinet, and an alienating and grotesque mood. On the first album the sound is very heterogeneous.

Darwin is better or worse than the debut? I do not know, we are more or less on the same level, it is certain that Banco in my opinion demonstrates with Darwin that it has taken a step forward in outlining a new music that Pfm cannot claim to have done with Per un Amico because despite being a very refined disc, compositionally is less inspired than Storia di un Minuto.

Banco demonstrates with this album that it has enormous potential, and if only Nocenzi had been more inspired in composing memorable melodies here he would have obtained one of the greatest masterpieces of the whole prog.

Masterpiece. Rating 9+. Five stars.