BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO Darwin LP Italian prog LP VG++

$

50

VG++ vinyl; Italian pressing. Jacket has light surface wear, 3" center split spine, 1" bottom seam. Small name printed inside mouth.   Less than $11 air mail postage to anywhere in the USA, overseas $35 to $40. (Calculator should be correct for Canada)   Free Local Pickup.   Thanks for viewing my auction!  

Notes from vintageprog.com: Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso obviously experienced a blast of creativity early in their career, as they followed up their classic debut with the even more impressive "Darwin!" later the same year. This concept album about the evolution could also very well be the band's definitive artistic statement. Much of the material on the record has a quite dramatic and intense feel, especially on side one that was made up of two lengthy pieces. First out is the nearly 14-minute "L'Evoluzione" that featured plenty of strong, dramatic melodies, complex chord changes and the first and some of the best examples of the Nocenzi brother's very creative use of synths. The musical drama is maintained by the nearly 9-minute "La Conquista Della Posizione Eretta" that follows. Most of the track is a complex instrumental with more of the Nocenzi brother's impressive keyboards, and with an overall quite dark tone actually. The theme accompanied by Pierluigi Calderoni's powerful timpani is especially eerie. The track ends with an emotional vocal part, giving it a musical structure similar to "Metamorfosi" from the debut. This is simply progressive rock at its very best. The second side consisted of shorter tracks, but with the same complexity and quality as the ones on the first side. "Danza Dei Grandi Rettili" is a catchy, jazzy instrumental where the synths seem to mimic some sort of brass to very cool effect. "Cento Mani E Cento Occhi" is the most complex track of the second side, starting very intense, energetic and chaotic, but gradually getting more melodic and harmonic. The beautiful ballad "750.000 Anni Fa...L'Amore" shows DiGiacomo from his strongest side, as well as featuring a symphonic instrumental mid-part with more distinctive synths. The spooky and spoken vocal part of "Misere Alla Storia" has a very theatrical feel, but most of the track is based around an organ-riff that must have made Keith Emerson jealous. The album ends on a rather modest note with "Ed Ora Io Domando Tempo Al Tempo (Ed Egli Mi Risponde: Non He Ho!)" that sounds like some sort of Italian folk-song in a progressive arrangement. "Darwin!" remains one of the best albums to come out of the Italian 70's progressive rock scene, and that's no small achievement at all.