Banco - Capolinea (1980)

'Shame!'', ''Disco!'', ''They betrayed prog ideals!'', ''Why Banco did not kill themselves after this record?'' - is what we often read here and there about ''Capolinea''. Is this album really that bad? I don't think so.
On the contrary, we have here perfectly sounding live record of BANCO. Yes, with its highs and lows. The opener ''Il ragno'' has funky beat, pretty good for this uplifting song. Then we hear a decent version of ''Canto di primavera'', quite close to studio original. There are excellent melodic bass lines (fretless bass I guess) throughout the whole song and contrasting heavier part in the end of ''750.000 anni fa … l'amore'' from ''Darwin!''. Nice! ''Capolinea'' is an instrumental jam based on ''Fino alla mia porta'' theme from the album ''Come in un'ultima cena''. Good live version again.
The only obvious flaw is, in my opinion, new arrangements of ''R.I.P.''. Funky (or, if you like, disco) beat and jazzy scats ruin dramatic atmosphere of one of the band's greatest songs, additionally reduced here to 4 and a half minutes. From the other hand, it's musicians' right to play their own music in some different way. Probably such significant song like ''R.I.P.'' was a wrong choice for experiments while in case of instrumental ''Garofano rosso'' new arrangements work quite well.
One of the best versions of ''Non mi rompete'' closes this short live album. I don't know whether this record presents the whole concert. Back then, in vinyl days, it was a risky move to make a double album. If other songs from that gig were recorded and longer CD will be released one day I'll be among those who orders a copy. ~progarchives

Track listing
01. Il Ragno (5:30)
02. Canto Di Primavera (4:58)
03. 750.000 Anni Fa… L'Amore (4:06)
04. Capolinea (1a parte) (4:14)
05. Capolinea (2a parte) (3:29)
06. R.I.P. (4:32)
07. Garofano Rosso (4:38)
08. Non Mi Rompete (6:54)
~ (38:21)

Personnel
- Francesco Di Giacomo / vocals
- Gianni Nocenzi / Yamaha GP 70 piano, Roland and Arp Odissey synthesizers
- Vittorio Nocenzi / Polysinth Yamaha CS 80, Minimoog, Multiman Crumar, Uranus 2, Vocostring CRB, vocals
- Rodolfo Maltese / electric & acoustic guitars, Sint Uranus 2, vocals
- Pierluigi Calderoni / drums, percussion
- Gianni Colailacomo / electric bass, acoustic guitar, EKO, vocals
- Karl Potter / percussion



Thx to novox