DARWIN!

The reason why Banco del Mutuo Soccorso so much deserves their status as an epitome of the best Italian prog of all times is the fact that its first three efforts are highly remarkable masterpieces in which complexity and beauty are taken to their maximum levels. All three together follow a coherent line of artistic ambition and consistent recreation of sonic potential. "Darwin!" was my first BMS experience, and what a pleasant entrance it was. 'L'Evoluzione' brings the listener a complete landscape of the musical world generated by the Nocenzi borthers and ordained by the full ensamble. There is Di Giacomo's peculiar vocal style in which the grandiosity of opera and teh magic of Mediterranean folklore are mixed, there are the interplays sustained by both keyboardists while they apparently seem to go their own ways, there are the guitar flourihes, there is the complex labor delivered so solidly by the rhythm section, there are the additiona ornaments provided by other instruments such as vibraphone andclarinet. This is the first BMS to feature a Moong synthesizer, and you can tell that the Nocenzi brothers are loving it. Its employment adds color and energy to the other keyboards' inputs, as well as robust duplication of guitr phrases and clarinet lines. This is an incredibly jaw-dropping opener that leaves the listener wanting more (or some time to ret before going on with the album). 'La Conquista della Posizione Eretta' is heavily based on the multiple keyboards' stuff, but this is not a mere exucse fr technical pyrotechnics: in fact, you can sense a dramatic feel in the long instrumental jamming that takes place, a feel to which Di Giacomo's singing a proper defining conclusion while the piano delivers mysterious chod progressions. 'Danza dei Grandi Rettili' is a most beautiful serenade, relaxed and constraint, focused on the playful side of conventional jazz. 'Cento Mani e Cento Occhi' is a typical BMS number: it's complex yet not unscrutable, energetic yet not overblown, full of appealing musical ideas which ae cleverly intertwined through thoroughly crafted mood shifts and tempo changes. And what can I say about track 5 that many haven't said before me 750,000 times? It's one of the most beautiful ballads ever in the world history of rock, just like that. Therefore, it's one of the most beautiful ballads in prog history and Italian prog history: Di Giacomo makes his voice cry in sheer sadness, and so does Gianni Nocenzi regarding the ivories of his grand piano. Sadness leavs and grandeur returns for the almost instrumental 'Miserere all Storia'. Unlike 'La Conquista...' and not unlike 'Cento Mani...', this one is constructed in a very calculated manner by all instrumentalists, but there is a brief moment for drama during Di Giacomo's pompous soliloquy: ceremonious, perhaps parodic. The closer is a prerry circus-meets-Venezian folk song on a 3/4 tempo. The final sounds of old carrousel machinery closes down a terrific musical work, a masterpiece indeed.