GAROFANO ROSSO

''Garofano rosso'' is the fourth official Banco album for the Italian market and with this album the downfall for the band continues.After the symphonic excellency of the first two albums,''Io sono nato libero'' showed a much darker and jazzier side of the band and with ''''Garofano rosso'' this mutation is completed.

It must be pointed out that this album is totally instrumental,heading as a soundtrack for the eponymous film,and of course this work is not highlighted by the voice of Francesco Di Giacomo,maybe the best singer of the whole Italian Prog scene.Many pieces in this album have a jazzy edge,partly even close to Lounge Jazz,centered around souless keyboards and a smooth rhythm section or have a slight keyboard-driven artistic flavor,but without the familiar Banco power and freshness.It is not a surprise that the few symphonic pieces of the album are definitely its brighter moments,though they sound lighter and less intensive that on the previous Banco works.A couple of tracks also deliver the qualitive musicianship of ''Io sono nato libero'',that means they offer some bombastic interplays of the highest calibre.On the other hand,this album was created in order to cover musically a film,so it cant be equally compared with the rest of the bands discography.With all these styles met throughout,the best comparison would be propably be PANGEA's ''Invasori'' album.

''Garofano rosso'' is not a bad album at all and if you just forget about what to expect from a classic Banco release,you will propably enjoy it a bit more...but it lacks a lot of the majestic moments of the group's early years,not to recall the total absence of Di Giacomo's sensational vocals.Fortunately its members would find themselves soon on the rise again.