UN BIGLIETTO DEL TRAM

This is the first true prog album of Stormy Six. It can be considered RPI or Prrog-Folk, as RIO has still to come in 1974. The folk element is enhanced by the violin that's the principal soloist throughout the whole album.

The songs are IMO excellent prog-folk and as in their previous albums the lyrics are the most important thing, so instead of speaking of the great instrumental final of "Nuvole a Vinca" with its great violin or the little attempt to "experiment" of "8 Settembre", I think is important speaking of what the subjetcs of the songs are.

This is an album about the last years of the second world war that starts with "Stalingrado" (Stalingrad). It has been one of the bloodiest battles of the human history and has been the beginning of Hitler's defeat. There's a mention to the Italians who were fighting together with the Nazis and have been left back. After the German defeat they had a long retreat in the cold Russian winter which caused more casualties than the battle itself.

"La Fabbrica" (The Factory) is about an episodeat the beginning of 1943. The fascists are still ruling and the workers of a factory in Turin decide to strike. The fascists attempted a repression but the workers were so many and so "committed" that the fascist squads had to retreat.

"Arrivano Gli Americani" is a little sarcastic. When the American troops desembarked in the South of Italy they were acclaimed as savers (and they were). The sarcasm is about the fact that the Catholic Church tried to describe them as "Sent by the Virgin Mary after all our prayers". The same Catholic Church that 20 years before had helped the fascists in getting the power. A nice sentence is "Americans, Martian Garibaldines throw tablets of freedom". It was probably as the people was seeing them. The reference to Garibaldi is because they followed the same path from South to North as Garibaldi about ine century before.

"8 Settembre" (Sept, 8th) is one of the most tragic dates of the recent Italian history. The fascist government has been deposed and the General Badoglio negotiates secretly the armistice. The Italian army is totally disbanded and not informed and when the Nazis decide to revenge after what they consider a betrayal the Italian soldiers didn't defend. It's since that date that the Nazis start killing and deporting every soldier that they find and destroying entire towns including of course the civilians.

"Nuvole di Vinca" is about one of those episodes. A farmer sees the Nazis coming to Vinca and tries to alert the people but he fails and all are closed into the town's church then the Nazis shoot them all leaving no survivors.

"Dante di Nanni" is a former soldier become partisan that who was able to stop a platoon of more than 100 Nazis and fascists for more than three hours, killing many of them fighting all alone from a ladder. Instead of using the last bullet for himself he raised up from the balcony and shot one hidden gun on the top of a church. After then he was waiting to be shot but the Nazis were so surprised to realized that only one man was able of that and they gave him enough time to raise his fist, cry "Long life to Italy" and fall down from the balcony.

"Gianfranco Mattei" is another paartisan. He committed suicide in the jail of Via Tasso in Rome to avoid revealing the names of his mates under torture.

"La Sepoltura dei Morti" (Dead's Burial) and "Un Biglietto del Tram" are the unhappy ending. The war is gone but the consequences are not. Even taking a bus to go to Piazzale Loreto where the corpses of Mussolini and other big names of the fascist party are exposed is not enough to ill the wounds that the war and the fascism have left.

From a musical point of view this is an excellent album with a strong concept. I have just spotted that another reviewer has detailed the tracks as I've done, also better than me, I think. So if you want to go more in depth click on the album title and read also Andrea's review. 4 stars for me.