COME IN UN'ULTIMA CENA

This was the very first BANCO LP I ever bought. This was their third album for Manticore (their previous two for the label were "Garofano Rosso" and the 1975 "Banco" album), and if you own the LP, you want to make sure it comes with the booklet, that has the lyrics to all the songs. While I have always preferred "Darwin!" and "Io Sono Nato Libero", "Come In Un'Ultima Cena" is still a highly recommended album for those who enjoy BNACO, as the classic sound is still fully intact. The group went and recorded an English-language version of the album called "As In a Last Supper" for the international market (much like PFM's "Photos of Ghosts" and "The World Became the World" or RDM's "Contamination"). I am of course, reviewing the Italian language version. If you already enjoy their previous albums, you should not have much problem with "Come In Un'Ultima Cena". To me, I didn't think the album really gives any new surprises, and pretty much covers the same ground they already did before. That means you get the same dramatic singing from Francesco di Giacomo and the great classically-influenced keyboards from brothers Gianni and Vittorio Nocenzi. It's nice to see a band still staying true to themselves in 1976, whem many of their other great Italian brethern had disappeared (ie. SEMIRAMIS, MUSEO ROSENBACH, OSANNA, CEVELLO, BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO,, etc.). Of course, by the 1980s, the band went the way many other prog bands (like GENESIS) that survived into the '80s: going pop.

Anyway, the album opens up with "...A Cena, Per Esempio", which starts off rather mellow, but then you get treated with the singing of Francesco di Giacomo. Since this was the first album I ever heard from them, I was thrown off by his singing, not used to a near-operatic singer in prog, but then he is definately an acquired taste. The next piece, "Il Ragno" is without a doubt, one of the finest pieces on the album, a totally wonderful, more rocking piece in traditional Italian prog fashion. I never cared for the next piece, "E' Così Buono Giovanni, Ma...", which is an overly-dramatic piano ballad, and I found it rather boring. The next piece, "Slogan" is more experimental. "Si Dice Che i Delfini Parlino" is a wonderful, mid-pace number, while "La Notte è Piena" is a wonderful, medieval-influenced piece, with some really trippy use of recorders and nice use of acoustic guitar and violin. The last piece, "Fino Alla Mia Porta" is more rock, a wonderful prog piece that closes the album.

Another great album from BANCO, and if you enjoyed their other albums, you'll like this one too.