Modena City Ramblers
Viva La Vida Muera La Muerte!

'Viva La Vida Muera La Muerte' represents, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle of the second part of MCR's career, after the 'great family' phase, so to speak; and this album, after the (rightly) much-criticized previous works, seems to rediscover at least part of that angry, worried soul, yet simultaneously joyful and spirited soul that the group seemed to have lost along the way, in the dark alleys of 'Radio Rebelde', where fun and vitality were sacrificed for political controversy, wanting to be more satirical than musicians, and where the beautiful folk ballads were replaced by a not always successful dub sound.

Here instead, from the two aforementioned genres, one derives a good mixture, something new in MCR's musical journey, which already finds good application from the title track and "El Presidente", a song that perhaps aims to be the new "Quarant'Anni", but succeeds only partially, with attacks more ironic than aggressive, and often, unfortunately, more amusing than biting. "Ramblers Blues" is a slow, acoustic piece, with words full of fear and hope, which describe the path that everyone has ahead, never wanting to forget what has been, the road already traveled, the one the band has walked and is walking in these years of experience, and the one everyone will walk in their lives.

The tempo of the CD picks up with the following tracks, including "I Cento Passi", a beautiful dub folk piece with a committed text about the well-known story of Peppino Impastato, perhaps the best-known song on this CD. But the soul of the album, in my opinion, is encapsulated in "Ebano" and "Stelle Sul Mare", two jewels of acoustic folk about the fate of immigrants, first creating a sad and melancholic atmosphere, and then of hope, but a bitter hope, perhaps already resigned; two songs with a true soul that let us melancholic listeners of the old MCR breathe fresh air. A song with a true soul is undoubtedly also "Il Testamento Di Tito", a cover of De Andrè, presented in a beautiful and very original combat-folk version, yet preserving in part the typical magic of the songs sung by the national old Fabrizio. Right after, in "Altri Mondi", comes the angry and dreamer spirit of the group, which I mentioned earlier, which here is expressed with cryptic and vaguely anguishing dub sounds, but that leave brief glimpses of musical relaxation, and thus perhaps of hope. Noteworthy is the pleasant rediscovery of songs in Modenese, bearing witness to the desire to reconnect with the band’s past, to its own origins. And it is with one of these dialect songs, "La Fola Ed La Sira", that 'Viva la Vida Muera La Muerte' concludes, sweet, calm, a goodbye, or a see you later, in good MCR style.

This is a good album, I give it 4 stars even if it deserves 3, but it's an encouraging score, and I recommend listening to it, perhaps free from sort of prejudices (I know it can be difficult), but that will repay you with somewhat good music and valid messages, though not yet comparable to the golden beginnings of the group; but I say not yet on purpose because I believe that after 'Appunti Partigiani' and despite the farewell of Cisco, we may perhaps see (I still hope) the MCR of 'Riportando Tutto a Casa', full of stories to tell, of healthy rage to vent, and, why not, of some tears to cry.

I await them, a bit skeptical, but I await them.