Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
Banco

Curiously, this is the second album with the same title by the Roman band that I want to review, a work of a completely different caliber compared to the previous self-titled one from '75, the English version of the best tracks from the early production, which is one of the peaks, if not the peak of Italian Music in the early '70s. Now we are in 1983, and the music scene has definitely changed, Banco is searching for new energy after two relative failures and the definitive decline of the progressive era.

The result is this decidedly pop album, with an octet of sometimes pleasant tracks, among which stands out, at least commercially, "Moby Dick," one of the most well-known and sold tracks of the Roman group still in its classic formation, with the Nocenzi brothers together for the last time: Gianni will leave the group at the end of the summer promotional tour for the album, evidently the pop drift that will continue throughout the decade no longer saw him agreeable.

The "A" side is better with, besides the already mentioned "Moby Dick," also "Lontano da," less so the "B" which opens with the cloying and inconclusive "Allons Enfants" and continues with disco music... (yes indeed, Banco doing disco, who would have thought!) "Velocità," it doesn't improve with the repetitive "Moyo Ukoye" which only brings an exotic title and finally ends (finally?) with Track 3, somewhat at odds with what precedes and the only instrumental track to close, at best, a surely forgettable work.

If I add that even the graphics are of a whitening poverty (it is indeed the case to say it) and the duration of the octet (36') already modest for the times when the CD was slow to have wide distribution came over 2 years after the last effort, it is difficult to go beyond the overall 2 stars, which inevitably deeply saddens those who have loved this great Italian group since the beginning. After all, Crises are part of the career of every great Artist, Banco will come out of it, albeit without returning to past glories.