Il Rovescio Della Medaglia
Contaminazione

Italian progressive rock has been both loved and snubbed at the same time by many people, and it has often been more appreciated abroad than here. Bands like Locanda delle Fate, Metamorfosi, Pierrot Lunaire, Pholas Dactylus, and Garybaldi have certainly not made history like other groups (I’ll only mention PFM, Le Orme, and Banco). Undoubtedly, Il Rovescio Della Medaglia also belongs to this category of bands, having released only three albums in their 70s career. Thus, while the more famous groups of it-prog were enjoying their (let’s say outright) success (even if justly), these other groups were unjustly erased from the memory of Italian rockers.

Their first album was "La Bibbia," released in '71, a concept album that generally drew on the early chapters of the sacred text. A great debut with committed songs, even if not entirely innovative (Sodoma E Gomorra should definitely be remembered and praised for its splendor). The following year, "Io come io" was released, with which not only the band’s effective style began to be felt but also the theme that perhaps interested them the most: the study of being and personality.

We then arrive at 1973, marking the year of the group’s real turning point, presenting with a more ambitious project than ever: reconciling classical music with progressive rock (something that, until then, only Zappa had been able to conceive wisely). Therefore, the main theme of the album becomes, as the cover states, "some ideas from certain preludes and fugues of the 'Well-Tempered Clavier' by Johann Sebastian Bach." Many have clashed verbally over the importance or success of the aforementioned work, and I stand firmly on the side of "they did it, absolutely." The album before us is not only experimentation by young ambitious bands but also the certainty that the ambiguous project is possible. And here, in some way, the theme of the self, of mental confusion presents itself (I quote from memory - unreliable: I woke up, I no longer know what music I was making...). And it is precisely this that gives the work its title, the "Contamination" of true music (the one that perhaps can be defined as primordial, the first true expression of sound, that is, classical), with modernity, the music of common mortals, destined to disappear, sooner or later. This is what makes this work unique, that touch of eternity that only J. S. Bach can infuse. I am not saying that this album will be remembered forever (indeed, it’s unknown to 98% of the world population), but that it must be rediscovered, to feel proud of at least one reality that has traversed the rock era, but of which few have taken notice. I will not describe a single track of this album, which gives life to emotions that even I could never have imagined. And moreover, it is all summed up in what represents the perfect conclusion of the album, "La grande fuga."

Whoever approaches this album with patience and a bit of optimism will discover a Masterpiece with a capital M. No jokes. Just a dream you will never forget.