DONNA PLAUTILLA

The first thing that must be said about this album is that, despite of the release date, it is a collection of previously unreleased songs by the very first line-up of the band, which didn't include the wonderful voice of Francesco Di Giacomo. The lyrics are quite simple and so it's better to point the attention to the music that, although far from the complex textures of the first period albums, is very fine and includes some themes that had been developed in the following albums (the last notes of "E io Canto" are the main theme of "Non mi rompete" in "Io sono nato libero", the music of "E luce fu" later became the one of "Quando la buona gente dice" from "Come in un'ultima cena"). The title track is an extremely mature instrumental jazzy work, which can remember, for the structure and the execution, a little gem by Sting "The dream of the blue turtle". At the end, even if it is not a masterpiece, this album is an important historical witness to explore the origins of this milestone band. Line-up: Vittorio Nocenzi: organ, vocals; Gianni Nocenzi: piano; Claudio Falco: guitar, back vocals; Fabrizio Falco: bass guitar, back vocals; Franco Pontecorvi: drums.

Very old "Banco" stuff. Pre "Banco" should I say.

Maybe that it was a good moment to release such a compilation since the band produced some extremely poor albums during this decade (the eighties). But these songs really sound outdated and little interesting. Just old Italian rock music.

The poorest ("Piazza Dell'Otro") will be mixed with the best ("Ed Io Canto") which is a fully psychedelic track and very much early Floyd oriented.

If you feel that there is something weird with this release, don't look further : the lead vocalist is not yet the great Francesco. So don't expect any great and passionate vocals on this album. Just average ones. Like the music featured.

It is superior to any "Banco" album of the eighties (but doesn't actually have nothing to do with them; only the release date). This sounds as a childish late sixties / early seventies album. Anecdotal. If it weren't referenced as a "Banco" album, I guess that no interest would raise (and even as such, there are extremely few reviews for this release. And when you would listen to it, you might understand why.

"E Luce Fù" is probably the best song from this release. The most "Banco" one. Complex structure, jazzy parts, beautiful vocals (probably the only song featuring such ones). I would have liked to get more of this type. "Mille Poesie" starts on a jazzy mood for a minute but shifts to a really beautiful and melodic song. Keyboards sounds really old but it is another of the good song. The childish chorus is also typical of these psychedelic years. Pleasant. These are the two best songs from "Donna Plautilla"

This album is more a curiosity than anthing else (but there are apparently very few curious guys when I count the "many" reviews for this album : three (including this one). This is a collector item. Very little inspired songs and almost no premonitory signs of what will come next. Two stars.

This is a very late 60's sounding music with some traces of British psychedelia. Arrangements are stripped down, quite lively and playing is mature but not virtuoso, so typical for late 60's rock, or let's call all ambitious British psychedelia. Hammond organ and piano are the prominent key-based albums, guitar is also audible. Vocals are alright and don't stand in the foreground the way it was with Giacomo, so it's like a band of 5 equal players. I would like to highlight good rhythm section by muscular bass guitar and busy drumming, so much better than the lazy 80's Banco albums.

Despite all this glorification, there isn't much for a proghead to be searched for, so 2 stars for this forum, otherwise 3.5 it is.

Donna Plautilla is often considered one of the less essential and masterful works of Banco, but I beg to differ. The album has an interesting early 70's prog/60s psych sound that I really enjoy. The keyboard work in particular is quite exquisite on many tracks, whether it be piano, Hammond, or another synth sound.

The album opens with the upbeat "Ed io Canto" which has an amazing opening riff. The vocal performance is not bad for it not being Francesco di Giacomo. It is my personal favorite track off the album also because of the Hammond in the song. The next song "Cantico" is not a particularly special acoustic piece but it is a little nice song. It is probably one of my least favorite tracks off the album. However, the follow-up "Piazza dell'oro (eh, eh)" is a great track off the album. The opening seconds show the piano riff with the great bass line. In my opinion, the song has a really full sound, especially with the vocals. The keyboard solo with piano and organ in the middle of the song is a really nice touch.

Mille Poesie is another highlight of the album. The slow start with the pickup, vocals, and then the guitar lick that takes it into a new section is just really great. The song includes amazing harmonies from the band that make it even better. After Mille Posesie is "Un giorno di sole." I think it is a really Beatles-Esque song that really does it for me. The piano and bass work is once again amazing. The beautiful vocals that fade out, really remind me of a late 60s psychedelic song by The Beatles or Beach Boys. Following Un giorno di sole, is Un uomo solo. It's another total Beatles/Beach Boys rip-off. The Beginning of the song is literally "Michelle" of Rubber Soul. Then it goes into this harmony that resembles something of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys or Rubber Soul by the Beatles. I really love it though because the added Hammond makes it like a proggy version of those bands, which I already love on my own.

"Bla Bla Bla" is by far the weakest song on the album. Not because the material is necessarily bad, but it is too repetitive of the songs off the album before it. It opens with the closing riff from "Ed io Canto" and then does a slightly revamped version of "Un giorno di sole" for the rest of its run time. Its follow-up is probably the closest thing to their earlier work. It opens with haunting voices and Hammond chords, that lead into spectacular vocals. Then it takes a faster pace, with great piano, Hammond, woodwind, and percussion. Then for about a minute, the song goes into a keyboard solo that fades out, but then a short drum solo pulls the song into a jazzy little interlude that closes off the song, resembling something of Io Sono Nato Libero. The title track closer is actually very good. It has great piano and Hammond riffs along with a great bass line. It is total early 70s Hammond prog. Then the harmonized vocals come in in short interludes, and it's just amazing. The song continues at the same pace for a while with a short keyboard solo, then closes the album with the main riff.

Overall I love this album and think it's a great addition to anyone who is a fan of bands like The Beatles, Focus, The Beach Boys, and Early Banco music. I think it gets too much criticism because Francesco di Giacomo is not the vocalist. Although Francesco di Giacomo is way better than Vittorio Nocenzi, the musicianship and composition of the album make up for the inferior vocals (even though Vittorio's voice is far from bad, and has some great parts on the album). There are only 1 or 2 bad tracks in my opinion, so if you haven't check out the album!