Recorded live at the Verdi Theatre in Salerno on 23rd April, 1975, this vintage concert is now enjoying a 2 x CD release (with 16-page booklet) in a newly remastered version. The origins of BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO (Bank of Mutual Relief) from Rome date back to 1969 when the Nocenzi brothers, Vittorio and Gianni, both keyboard players auditioned for RCA Records with Franco Coletta on guitar, Fabrizio Falco on bass and Mario Achilli on drums. The Nocenzi brothers met singer Francesco Di Giacomo, guitarist Marcello Todaro, bassist Renato D’Angelo and drummer Pierluigi Calderoni at the Caracalla Pop Festival in Rome in 1971 and the first manifestation of the band was formed. Two albums were released in 1972, “Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso” and “Darwin!” and the music on these comprises a large chunk of the concert, with ‘R.I.P’ (sung in English) and ‘Metamorfosi’ (a monster 26:40 version) with the short bridge ‘Passagio’, and ‘Danza Dei Grandi’ and ‘La Conquiata Della Posizione’, the latter two tracks together totalling over 22 minutes. Three further numbers come from 1973’s “Is Sono Natio Libero” album: ‘Non Mi Rompete’, ‘Dope…Niente È Più Lo Stesso’ and ‘Traccia II’ while ‘L’Albero Del Pane’ came from the 1975 album “Banco” which mostly reprised older numbers sung in English.
Banco’s music at that time was full of complexity, melody and subtlety; theatrical at times, and a kind of bridge between classical, chamber rock, prog rock, and in the finest Italian tradition even operatic in Di Giacomo’s powerful voice. The Nocenzi brothers’ imaginative and varied keyboard work was another defining feature of their sound. They enjoyed great commercial success and were considered the main prog band in Italy (and indeed other parts of Europe) alongside P.F.M. By 1973 they had veered towards an electric/ acoustic demarcation, with elements of jazz and classical music. This can all be heard in this historical music concert, essential for fans of the Italian progressive rock style.
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