Modena City Ramblers
Raccolti

THE REVIEW

They may be heavily politicized, and they fall into the lowest and bleakest rhetoric. They've done some unbearable things, see "Radio Rebelde" and "Fuori Campo". They may be repetitive. Some will say they are pathetic communists. However, their acoustic live is well played and entertaining, it's pleasant to listen to and offers some gems. First of all, it's undeniable that the Irish atmosphere is something to which Modena is so attached they can't do without it, even though they've tried to rejuvenate with strange and questionable experiments. Violins and accordions: that's how we like it (not that the other albums should be discarded, though...).

In short, the post-2000 Modena, are victims of the departure of Giovanni Rubbiani (guitar and lyrics) and Alberto Cottica (accordion and lyrics), and it shows. In this "Raccolti", they are still the rustic Modena making pub music, and they captivate, right from the frenzied start, "Clan Banlieu" and "Transamerika". Then there's an unreleased Celtic-style track, "Notturno Camden Lock", very praiseworthy, a bit of successes from the first two, and best, albums, some revisiting of "Terra e Libertà", inspired but not at its peak, offering two acoustic versions not up to the mark, "Il ballo di Aureliano" and "Cent'anni di solitudine". But from "Terra e Libertà" also comes the Dylan-esque (compare with the lyrics of "Simple Twist of Fate") and magnificent "Qualche splendido giorno", a gem of the album. The other unreleased tracks are "A gh'è chi g'à", funny, and the traditional piece "La fiola dal paisàn". The album closes with four notable tracks, i.e., the best from "Riportando tutto a casa", including the famous "In un giorno di pioggia" and a frenzied "Bella ciao".

An excellent Live, in short, perhaps a summary of the best of the Ramblers. We await hopefully a resurrection to levels worthy of "Raccolti".