Vecchio Scarpone
Rabbia (Demo-Live)

THE REVIEW

"Vecchio Scarpone" was a song from the post-war period (1953) by Gino Latilla. It tells the story of nostalgia for the '40s, of the war that now seems like a bad memory. In the song, a partisan finds his old military boot in his attic, which triggers his memories, brings back illusions, songs, and makes him think that if destiny will one day allow, the old dusty boot will still manage to walk, maybe.

Vecchio Scarpone is the name of one of the numerous bands of the Brigata Oi!, an antagonistic skinhead crew which also includes Los Fastidios and FFD. "Rabbia" is a demo recorded live by the group, a bit off-key, punk-ska guitars and drums, half-drunk, yelling and shouting, among ideals, alcohol, friendships, sleepless nights, and brawls with Nazis.
The tracks are eight, very beautiful, especially "Noi Combatteremo", "Caro Stile Ti Lascio" (dedicated to a friend who leaves the skinhead style "you betrayed an ideology"), "United", "Rabbia" and "Vecchio Scarpone" (cover of the homonymous song by Gino Latilla). The band from Bergamo goes all out with instruments and vocals, resulting in an energetic punk ska, as violent as it should be, powerful, that shakes your soul and strikes your brain. The lyrics are also well written, mainly devoted to shedding light on the style of rudeboys and original skinheads, highlighting the contrasts between a culture like that of skinheads with public opinion and the media (see "Come Voi" the cover by Fun), which often leads to deviations and problems even in the private life of individual skins (as happens in "La Tua Birra E' Senza Schiuma"). Problems and marginalization in front of which, according to the group, skins must be united and fight ignorance, conformity and neo-fascism. Musically pure and excellent, the only thing that takes away their full excellence is the inevitable politicization. However, they are good at not making it redundant, rhetorical, and thus heavy.

A great demo for lovers of punk, ska, and Rude Style. But also for those who, like me, are simply interested in knowing a bit more, beyond the little that the media say, about the skin culture. The original one.