IO SONO NATO LIBERO

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso was one of the most accomplished of the progressive rock bands that flourished in Italy in the early 1970s. Their distinguishing features: the advanced compositional abilities of Vittorio Nocenzi; the fluid piano of brother Gianni Nocenzi, equally adept at classically styled arpeggios and jazzy punctuations; and the strong, operatic vocals of Francesco di Giacomo. They certainly had an angst to them that made them more than just your typically sunny-smiled, symphonic prog band. I think that the first two songs, "Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico" and "Non Mi Rompete" stand out as easily the best on the album. "Canto Nomade" is a very successful extended suite that deeply broadened the band's sonic palette, liberally incorporating synthesizers (well, it was 1973 - the year that every progressive band seems to have learned to love synths) and diversifying the percussion. In fact, despite having some excellent organ and synthesizer passages, the most memorable parts of this track for me are the beautiful acoustic guitar interludes and the polyrhythmic percussion. "Non Mi Rompete" is largely acoustic and sports the most affecting melody on the album and some great Italian lyrics. These two tracks make up half of the album. The second half "La Cittá Sottile" and "Dopo... Niente è Piú lo Stesso" are nearly at the same level but occasionally succumb to prog-rock clichés. This is one one the greatest Italian prog releases. 5 stars: an absolute masterpiece!