The Gang
Le radici e le ali

The roots and the wings.

It's a daunting task to talk about this album without stumbling into rhetoric; but rhetoric, in certain cases, is neither useless nor trivial, indeed it's indispensable to speak of a fundamental work in the cultural history of a Country.

It's been twenty years since I last listened to it, «Le Radici E Le Ali»; but on Thursday evening, blinded by the crazy idea of jotting down a few lines for DeBaser, I pull it out of the record collection.

Twenty years pass slowly, even if they aren't enough to erase some memories – like in 1991 I didn't appreciate it properly, because the shift in gear was too sharp and sudden compared to «Tribe's Union» and «Barricada Ruble Beat»; and alright, «Reds» somehow announces that change, but at twenty what do you want to foresee the transition from militant combat-rock, which deludes me into living the clashian epic, to a sound whose existence I don't even suspect, and which is (seems) a flash in the pan, compared to the clenched fists to the sky that accompany the liberating outbursts of «Libre El Salvador» and «Rumble Beat»; meaning, where did the group that tours Italy with Billy “Guitar” Bragg go, and at the end, all together on stage shouting «Garageland» and «I Fought The Law»?

Then, as I remove the vinyl, snippets of magazines from the time fall out: pages from Rockerilla and Mucchio Selvaggio dedicated to «Storie D'Italia7 and, above all, an article by Marino on the pages of I Giorni Cantati, the only issue I ever bought in my life, solely and exclusively to preserve those two pages where the album of change is discussed, I'm sure, and maybe to form an idea to guide me.

Out of it come roots as trenches to resist; roots as barricades to be continuously rebuilt; roots to have ties with one's land; roots as a cliff to cling to; and roots to reverse the river's course. And roots that need wings because «... a moment like the one we are living through cannot be faced without a renewal of cultural tools, traditional or invented ...».

I don't remember if I read these lines in '91, but even if I did, I certainly didn't understand their meaning.

Today, it's better.

So, encouraged, I also read the article by Alessandro Portelli, who reciprocates Marino's courtesy and dedicates some thoughts printed on the inner sleeve of the vinyl: these, I bet the record, I absolutely did not understand at the time, too lofty and rich in popular culture.

Today I completely agree, demonstrating that nothing, not even time, ever passes in vain.

Alessandro says that «Le Radici E Le Ali» is a fundamental album in the history of Italian popular music because before there were only wings. The Gang added the roots: because in the United States they have Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, and we have the accordions and village bands that march beyond.

Then Marino and Sandro «... took the ingredients of our history, melted and transformed them to truly understand and resurrect them, and to create with the old speeches a new speech, and with the new speeches a timeless one ...».

Like bandits, who aren't all gentlemen, but some are just like those who populate the stories of notes by Woody and Hank; and they are ours, they are our history in flesh and blood, and everyone has the History and bandits they deserve. And if for Woody the guitar is a rifle that gets rid of fascists, the Gang transforms the rifle into a Magnum Les Paul that shoots «I Fought The Law» and bursts of other hurting songs.

No better prelude to listening exists, so I begin the journey.

And the journey starts from a remote date and a defined place: May 1, 1991, I'm in Rome, at Piazza San Giovanni, for the concert organized by the unions.

Memory sometimes falters, but I remember perfectly that in the late afternoon the Gang show up on stage; in a live television broadcast, unknowingly filmed by Mamma Rai's cameras, Marino reads a brief communiqué urging workers to general strike; then announces a program change and the whole group launches into «Socialdemocrazia» instead of «Ombre Rosse». So «Welcome to the ground with an expulsion order in the paradise Socialdemocrazia. Here no more strikes or opposition, all in agreement for superproduction. Land of heroes and saints without sin, of mafia, P2, and state massacres. The future is not yet written, there will be trouble.».

A punch in the face and a kick in the ass, for the spectators in the square (and for those in slippers in front of the TV), unaccustomed to such musical ferocity and verbal tirades; but a little is enough to shake from lethargy, so I throw myself into the youthful enthusiasm for the pogo that accompanies the Gang's performance.

Concluded, Marino greets everyone with the encouragement «Ciao Roma, the struggle continues.».

RAI bigwigs, notoriously lacking spirit, don't take it very well, and for the Gang, a sort of Roman edict looms on the horizon, sending them into exile, far beyond Eboli. Then, since nothing ever passes in vain, not even time, RAI grows savvy, and in the backstage of Piazza San Giovanni, they permanently place a portly marshmallow, just in case anyone had a crazy idea to dedicate a love song to diva Giulio.

That's how I approached «Le radici e le ali».

The genesis of the album dates back to 1990, when the Gang participated in a compilation titled «Union», where the best representatives of tricolor rock were gathered to take stock; our guys decided to remake «Musica Ribelle» by Eugenio Finardi and for the first time sang in Italian, deciding then and there that turning back was no longer an option.

«Le radici e le ali» is not an easy record; the interminable working and recording times in two distinct studios, in Milan first and then in Bologna; the lyrics, full of references to political and social realities, bloodied and, in their own way, violent.

But they do not compromise with the record company, obtaining carte blanche on how to move, what to write, who to attack.

Consistency, social commitment, and freedom have always been exemplary traits of the Gang: a proud pride. After all, «The Gang Is Not For Sale» has been their calling card since the days of «Barricada Rumble Beat».

Singing in Italian exposes them even more, without the barrier of the English language to veil their intents and separate them from the audience. To reduce distances even further, Marino and Sandro broaden their musical approach, opting for a third-worldist combat-folk (as it was called then) rather than global, in which they incorporate violins, accordions, and traditional instruments and songs.

The title of the work is emblematic and clearly states where the Gang intends to go; the cover, splendid, offers the image of an upside-down Italy, where the south of the peninsula and the world stands out prominently.

The album aims to be, and succeeds completely, a journey into the forgotten, oppressed, and poor South; whether it's Basilicata or Palestine, neglect, oppression, and poverty have the same face everywhere. And then, in «Bandito senza tempo», Latin America and the calm atmospheres recalling Inti Illimani; there's «Johnny Lo Zingaro» and its hot reggae plots, ready to explode in a combative finale, where Mauro Pagani's violin sound stands out; stories of "against" characters, as in the tex-mex «Chico Mendes»; the participation of a local band in «Oltre», a polka that wouldn't be out of place in some Fellini-like film; and finally, the piece giving the work its title, introduced by the voices of Che Guevara, Yasser Arafat, and Nelson Mandela, a splendid ballad with the bucolic taste of revolution, a journey from the Apennines to the Andes.

With a touch of rhetoric, neither useless nor trivial, «Le Radici E Le Ali» is an epochal and courageous album that pointed out a path to follow, not only in Italy: aggressive, fierce in certain moments; but capable of moving and stirring emotions, like few other works released at that time; an experience not only musical, unforgettable. To be handed over to future generations.

And then, the following year comes «Storie D'Italia», with the Gang setting fifty years of Italian history to music and flying even higher: the roots have taken deep hold and the wings are spread, indeed.

L'Imbrecciata Filottrano caput mundi.