A LATE HARVEST

Biglietto per l'Inferno’s second album, Il tempo della semina, was recorded in 1974 but, on account of the financial troubles of the Trident label on which it should have been released, it was left unrefined and unavailable for the music market until 1992, when the Mellow Records label took the old master tapes out of the drawer. Finally it was remastered and re-released in 2004 on La Vetraia-BTF label with the supervision of the band. The original sound quality and production was very far from perfect and it was rather difficult to fix it up after almost thirty years, but they tried hard...

 

On the remastered edition the sound quality is really improved and the final result is not so bad. The long, complex title track, “Il tempo della semina” (The time of sowing), I think is the best piece on this work. The music reminds me of the band’s debut album, with its marching drums and evocative keyboards, while the filtered recitative vocals conjure up a kind of “revolutionary dream”. “Why would we still have to put up with you / We won’t wait for a tailor-made sunrise / To break down the bars of your prison...”.

“Mente solamente” (Mind, nothing but mind) is a kind of experimental nursery-rhyme based upon a calambour and, in my opinion, is by far the worst track on this work... The following “Vivi, lotta, pensa” (Live, fight, think) is definitively better. The producer of the album, singer songwriter Eugenio Finardi, pushed the band to write committed lyrics dealing with social problems and the political system and this piece goes in that direction. The music and lyrics invite to reflection by comparing the poor and the rich, all human beings but one different from the other...

  

Next comes “L’arte sublime di un giusto regnare” (The sublime art of a righteous reign) with its medieval influences (and a light “Jethro Tull’s flavour”) and the flute in the forefront. The lyrics depict the life of a king who doesn’t pay attention to the poor people who live outside his palace. “That’s what I call to rule / Happiness in dominating, that’s it...”.

“Solo ma vivo” (Alone but alive) is another committed track, that invites you to choose to fight instead of fighting because to have to choose. It describes a jaded friend who walks on many roads but who have no real goals... It’s not an outstanding piece and I prefer by far the introspective vein of the songwriting of Claudio Canali in the closer “Canzone del padre” (Song of the father), a long track full of energy, autobiographical and bitter, where the music and lyrics describe the difficult relationship between the singer and his father...

On the whole, Il tempo della semina is less inspired if compared with the excellent debut album of the band, but it’s still a good work that was luckily saved from oblivion.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Biglietto per l’Inferno: Il tempo della semina (1992). Other opinions:
Paul Fowler: Il Tempo della Semina is the second album from seventies Italian prog rockers Biglietto per l'Inferno. It's failure to be completed and released at the time was to shortly lead to the band splitting up and it didn't see the light of day until 1992 unfortunately. Not surprisingly it's a bit rough round the edges... While not being in the same league as their excellent debut still has enough of interest to make it a worthwhile purchase for RPI lovers though not essential listening by any means... (read the complete review HERE)