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Rating: I think that very few records like "Quale destino per noi?" and the following "Strade smarrite" tell certain stories so well. So today, let's talk about a "twenty years later" of that masterpiece Banda del Rione released about twenty years ago.
Just imagine with what heavy hearts the skinheads picked up the memory of such an album. Imagine them seeing twenty years flash before their eyes in which, every morning, they wake up already tired and angry. Twenty years of bans and DASPO, twenty years of brawls and drinking, twenty years of concerts and activism, twenty years of work sites and factories. Twenty years in which the reasons you didn't hang yourself were two: your family—your wife and children—and then punk. Oi!. Twenty years in which what gave you the drive to carry on was that record, that monument, that legend: "Quale destino per noi?".
And then those great artists—because that’s what we’re talking about—who were the Banda del Rione had a quality few others had: by telling their own stories, they managed to tell everyone's story. In this record, I and who knows how many other punk fans have etched the years of adolescence, nights spent holding back tears of anger, those evenings in a practice room on the outskirts, those nights after the demonstration is over and a few tough guys are still around; those nights with "two friends and a girl you can trust." Even if we were never underpaid workers.
Attaccabrighe kick things off with the title track, a generational manifesto, a lyric so poetic it doesn't fear comparison with any singer-songwriter. The reinterpretation is less energetic and epic than the original but works great nonetheless. "Lotta" is split between Sempre Peggio and Sacro Cuore, for a version that raises the energy and roughness, while maintaining the "class" that the originals were able to instill in their songs; they work on the rhythm of the chorus masterfully. The legendary Nabat reinterpret "Gronda Il Sudore" with their non-extreme style and deliver a very good cover; in fact, one point in favor of this album is that it’s not just an imitation of the original—in every track you can feel each band's personality. Pretesto take on the daunting "Lei", which tells the story of Turin in a way never done before, but as interesting as the song is, honestly I don’t fully appreciate the metrical choices of the verses, though the song, a masterpiece, remains excellent even in this version. The historic Klasse Kriminale tackle "Birra," a symbolic track of Banda del Rione's "Oi! poetry": the gritty voice does justice to the subject matter and you can sense a vaguely more rock and roll feel. Gli Ultimi play one of my favorites (but, in reality, I love them all): "Non Ti Sei Fermato Mai"; they put in their not-too-extreme style and typical tone, smoothing out the sharp, fast pace of this song; I’m not particularly fond of how they reinterpret the chorus, but it’s undeniably original, interesting, and good. Things get mean again with the great and ultra-solid Plakkaggio, who play "Te Ne Vai" with their typically sharp speed metal style. "Eterno amore" goes to the great Azione Diretta, with a clear and fairly standard reinterpretation.
"Quale destino per noi?" is one of those albums that got inside me like very few others and hearing all these bands put in effort for a great tribute is moving. The rating we can give this record obviously takes into account that they’re all covers, let’s be honest, but covers that tell one of the most beautiful stories of Italian culture from the 1900s to today.
"Quel muro è ancora lì." Score: 77/100.
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