Italy's prog-rock legends Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso are back with their 18th studio album, the concept piece Orlando: Le Forme dell' Amore. The album also comes right as the band are celebrating their 50th anniversary. Banco certainly aren't strangers to concept albums, with landmark releases such as Darwin and Come In Un'Ultima Cena being two great examples. As with their previous album Transiberiana from 2019, the line-up of Banco here is:
Vittorio Nocenzi / piano, keyboards, vocals
Filippo Marcheggiani / guitar, vocals
Nicola Di Già / guitar
Marco Capozi / bass
Fabio Moresco / drums
Tony D'Alessio / vocals
At nearly 80-minutes long, Orlando: Le Forme dell' Amore is quite lengthy and pretty much a double album by 1970's standards, so be prepared to give this one some time to sink in. Vocals are of course in Italian, performed by the excellent D'Alessio, who does a fantastic job now as the 'voice' of Banco in place of the late, great Francesco Di Giacomo. Plenty of bombast to be found throughout the album, featuring heavy guitars, synths, Hammond organ, and intricate rhythms, blended perfectly with the more atmospheric and operatic moments, which is something this band has always done so well. There are even some nice jazzy moments, as on "Non Serve Tremare", showing another side to the bands arsenal. The fact that a classic prog band from the '70s is making new music this good is a testament to this great band, and I'd argue that out of all the 'old guard' that are still around making new music, Banco's is as close to their classic sound as any of them. If you were a fan of the band back in the day, don't miss out on this very fine album.
Track Listing
- Proemio
- La Pianura Rossa
- Serve Orlando Adesso
- Non Mi Spaventa Piu' L'amore
- Non Serve Tremare
- Le Anime Deserte Del Mondo
- L'isola Felice
- La Maldicenza
- Cadere O Volare
- Il Paladino
- L ' Amore Accade
- Non Credere Alla Luna
- Moon Suite
- Come E' Successo Che Sei Qui
- Cosa Vuol Dire Per Sempre