Libero 2011.09.04

The 1976 release As in a Last Supper marked a pivotal point in the career of legendary Italian prog rockers Banco. The previous year, the band put out its first album targeted at English-speaking audiences, on admirers Emerson, Lake & Palmer's own label, Manticore. (Fellow Italian proggies PFM were already part of the Manticore roster.) But that self-titled release was a hodgepodge of earlier tracks with newly recorded vocals in English, plus some new material. As in a Last Supper was the first "proper" Banco album targeted at the Anglo audience, the first to be conceived as a self-contained piece for Manticore. During this period, they were also going by the simpler Banco outside Italy, as opposed to their full name, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, though they'd eventually use the shorter moniker worldwide…

During this live concert Banco plays most of the better numbers that has made them popular over the years, and by including many of the past members of the group, some of the old feel is recaptured. Francesco Di Giacomo's voice has darkened a bit over the years, but it is still strong.
They did it the best way: a great summer open air concert with all the past and present member of the band. That show is captured live here and is excellent both for the sound quality and the great musicianship.

Somewhat enjoyable hard rock/prog in the style of Jane, mainly. Singer Gerd Hoch has an astoundingly gruff, rough voice that's going to be hard for some listeners to take, but his style largely suits the music. Not really a whole lot of prog on the A-side, pretty much straight-up hard boogie rock. The last two tracks, both extending longer than ten minutes, are the reasons to get this album. Full of Floydian changes and an Eloy-like spaciness, they're well-done for this style of music. Nice layers of celestial synths and aggressive Hammond organ from keysman Harald Kaltencker. Italian drummer Bruno Perosa (whose prior prog pedigree extends to playing the percussion-y bits in "Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico" on Banco's Io Sono Nato Libero album) even adds a cosmic recitation (in Italian!) at the beginning of "Desert Man".

The first thing that must be said about this album is that, despite of the release date, it is a collection of previously unreleased songs by the very first line-up of the band, which didn't include the wonderful voice of Francesco Di Giacomo. The lyrics are quite simple and so it's better to point the attention to the music that, although far from the complex textures of the first period albums, is very fine and includes some themes that had been developed in the following albums (the last notes of "E io Canto" are the main theme of "Non mi rompete" in "Io sono nato libero", the music of "E luce fu" later became the one of "Quando la buona gente dice" from "Come in un'ultima cena")…

Nel 2009 il gruppo La Repubblica-L’espresso presentò Il Caffè Filosofico – La filosofia raccontata dai filosofi, una collana di 16 volumi in cui alcuni studiosi contemporanei (Severino, Ferraris, Odifreddi, Galimberti, Vattimo, Rodotà, De Monticelli, Bodei, Curi, Ciliberto, Rossi, Giorello) raccontano il pensiero dei più grandi filosofi dalle origini ad oggi. …

Handel wrote ‘Arresta il passo’ (which Hyperion has renamed after its hero and heroine) for Rome’s Arcadian Academy in 1708. A suitably pastoral cantata for two voices, strings and continuo, it depicts the shepherd Aminta’s wooing of the initially reluctant nymph Fillide in a series of charming arias (some of which Handel reused in Agrippina and Rinaldo).