Fifty years after Il Rovescio della Medaglia’s debut album, La bibbia, the band’s founder member, guitarist and main composer Enzo Vita gathered around him a group of talented musicians and completely re-arranged and re-recorded it with the new line up featuring, along with the leader, also Marco Pisaneschi (drums), Davide Pepi (guitars, backing vocals), Nicola Costanti (keyboards, lead vocals) and Nicola Castelli (bass) plus the guest Caterina Costanti (flute). The new album, entitled La bibbia 50th Anniversary, was released in 2021 on the independent Jolly Roger Records label and stems from the work of accomplished, experienced musicians familiar with up to date recording techniques while the debut album was the fruit of the passion of young inexperienced youth. If compared with the original old LP it sounds far better and gives new life to compositions that were filled with enthusiasm but penalized by the hurried recording sessions and an approximative production...
The instrumental opener “Nothingness (Il nulla)” is shorter and completely different from the original from 1971 (in fact it’s credited to new guitarist Davide Pepi). It’s an atmospheric, spacey track that leads to “La creazione” (The Creation) where you can appreciate the great keyboards work and creative drumming that reshape this piece about the creation of World, Man and Woman as told in the Genesis. The sound is richer, clearer and more refined than on the 1971 album. The new vocalist is perfectly up to the task, as in the following “L’ammonimento” (The warning), a piece dealing with the powerful reaction of God against the claims of the Devil...
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| Il Rovescio della Medaglia 2021 |
The instrumental “Sodoma X Y” takes the place of the old “Sodoma e Gomorra” re-elaborating the old piece representing the busy, ruthless contemporary civilization. The new version adds colours and spacey flavours while maintaining the same raging energy. Then it’s the turn of the brilliant rendition of “Il giudizio” (Judgement Day), a piece where the music and words depict Man waiting for the sentence of God on his final day on Earth. The last track, “The Great Flood (Il diluvio)”, is a brand new piece (credited to Nicola Costanti) that replaces the original finale. It ends the album with a dark, gloomy atmosphere evoked by the church-like organ in the forefront while the English lyrics describe a great deluge and the waters sweeping away the Evil from the world...
The CD version of the album is completed by three bonus tracks, “The Creation”, “The Warning” and “Judgement Day”, alternative versions of “La creazione”, “L’ammonimento” and “Il giudizio” sung in English.
On the whole, an excellent work.
You can listen to the album HERE
Il Rovescio della Medaglia: La bibbia 50th Anniversary (2021). Other opinions:
Henry Schneider: Bombastic, aggressive Italian prog rock with inspired guitar solos, rich Hammond organ runs, and emotive singing abound. Having never heard the original, I have no baseline for comparison. Suffice it to say, if you are a fan of 70s Italian prog rock, you will not be disappointed... (read the complete review HERE)
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