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)

STRUGGLING AGAIN

After a long hiatus, in 2007 il Biglietto per l'Inferno came back to life on the initiative of two founder members, Giuseppe "Pilly" Cossa and Mauro Gnecchi. With a renewed line up, the band started performing live the old repertoire from the seventies and in 2009 released a new studio album entitled Tra l'assurdo e la ragione (Between absurd and reason) featuring new arrangements of the historic pieces along with two new tracks. In 2015 il Biglietto per l'Inferno carried out this process of re-appropriation and reworking of their past by releasing a new studio album, Vivi. Lotta. Pensa. that in some way completes the work started with the previous one. It was released with a beautiful packaging on the AMS/BTF label and a three folds jacket with an art work by graphic artist Marco Menaballi that tries to depict its musical and lyrical content...

The current line up features Giuseppe "Pilly" Cossa (piano, keyboards, accordion, melodeon), Mauro Gnecchi (drums, percussion), Mariolina Sala (vocals), Ranieri "Ragno" Fumagalli (hornpipe, recorder, ocarina), Enrico Fagnoni (upright bass, electric and acoustic bass, acoustic guitar), Renata Tomasella (piffero, recorders, ocarina), Carlo Redi (violin, mandolin, acoustic guitar) and Pier Panzeri (electric and acoustic guitar). Along the years, old and new members have matured and incredible cohesion creating an amazing wall of sound where ethnic and folk elements are perfectly mixed with progressive rock while the new female vocalist should not be considered just a replacement for the original front man since Mariolina Sala is not just a singer but also an actress and a sensitive interpreter able to convey emotions with her enthralling theatrical approach...

Biglietto per l'Inferno 2015

This new album starts by the joyful notes of the title track, "Vivi. Lotta. Pensa." (Live. Struggle. Think.). It's the new arrangement of a piece contained on the second album of the band, Il tempo della semina, a committed track about freedom, equality and solidarity that sounds still actual and crisp, between globalization issues and new revolutionary winds blowing all around the world.

Next comes a brand new track, "Narciso e Boccadoro" (Narcissus and Goldmund). It's a delicate, dreamy ballad inspired by the 1930 novel of the same name by Swiss writer Hermann Hesse, also published as Death and the Lover. The novel tells the story of Goldmund, a young man who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as "the meaning of life", or rather, meaning for his life (quote from wikipedia). Here the ethereal interpretation by Mariolina Sala evokes the last words of the protagonist before passing away and the souvenir of his old friend Narcissus...

The following "La canzone del padre" (The father's song) is a long, complex track that was originally released on Biglietto per l'Inferno's second album. It's about the generation gap and tells the story of a difficult relationship between a father and his son. Eventually the rebellious son grows up and becomes a popular pop singer but there's no way to heal that broken relationship. The band really breathed a new life into this piece with a sparking arrangement and a passionate interpretation...

"Mente Solamente" (Mind, lonely mind, nothing but mind) is another piece from the second album that here is completely reinvented blending psychedelic elements and joyful folksy passages. It's an almost instrumental track that invites to let your thoughts run free for a while on the steps of a strange dance...

The long epic "L'amico suicida" (A suicidal friend) closes the album. It was originally released on the eponymous 1974 debut work and was written in memory of an old comrade-in-arms of Claudio Canali who took his life during the military service. This is another great interpretation able to stir emotions with renewed energies...

On the whole, this is a really good album that is absolutely worth listening to.

More info:

http://www.bigliettoperlinferno.com 

https://www.facebook.com/bigliettoperlinferno 

A STAIRWAY TO HELL

From Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

Biglietto per l’Inferno (the name of the band means A Ticket To Hell) began life in Lecco in 1972. The first line-up featured Claudio Canali (vocals, flute, flugelhorn), Marco Mainetti (guitar), Giuseppe “Baffo” Banfi (organ, moog), Giuseppe Cossa (piano, organ), Fausto Branchini (bass) and Mauro Gnecchi (drums). Their debut album is an amazing cocktail of spontaneous musical energies and poetry. You can hear here some echoes of Deep Purple, Jethro Tull and PFM but there’s no plagiarism and the musicians seem to have shaped their own style trying to capture the energy of their live acts. The song-writing of the singer and flutist Claudio Canali is excellent and the lyrics draw some bitter reflections about the hypocrisy of the world. There are many changes in rhythm and mood but all the tracks are in some way bound together as in a long suite, as in a long way down on a “stairway to hell”.

The opener “Ansia” (Anxiety) begins with a delicate sound of organ and guitar, then the rhythm becomes more varied and nervous; Claudio Canali’s vocals come in at the end of the track introducing the “subject” of the album... The lyrics describe the feeling of uneasiness and apprehension that comes up from a “sad and infamous life spent murdering and stealing” and the desperate quest for a saviour, for someone who can ease the pain and give hope... Charlatans, merchants, prophets or priests, it doesn’t matter... A good prologue to the next track!

The lyrics of “Confessione” (Confession) describe a dialogue between a killer and a friar. The music is full of energy and rage, with “shades of Deep Purple” melting into “tarantella” and passages with flutes “à la Jethro Tull”... The singing of Claudio Canali is really convincing and his voice seems almost trying to find a reason for the wind of violence that was blowing so strong in the Italy of the early seventies... “Listen to me, friar / I don’t know if I committed a sin / I killed a bastard who wanted cover his dirty past by means of his money / Trying in this way to cheat his fate... Listen to me, friar / And tell me if you call it a sin or a noble act / I stole some money from a rich gentleman / Just to give something to eat to a dying man...”. But on this album there’s not much room for hope and the verses with the answer of the friar are just a dark prelude to the tragic epilogue of the fifth track: “I can’t save you from the eternal fire / You have just a ticket to Hell”! This song is the trademark of the band...

A good organ work introduces “Una strana regina” (A strange Queen). The music is a blending of church-like music, Jethro Tull influences, hard rock and Italian folklore. Claudio Canali’s vocals seem to be drenched in pessimism while the dialogue between the killer and the friar continues... “A strange queen rules on Earth / She lives in castles formed by every street / She changes her dress every evening / Her name is hypocrisy... Let’s hope that our God from the hereafter can see and forgive us for our impiety...”.

“Il nevare” (The Snowing) is another great track, with some almost “bluesy” passages and a soaring electric guitar in the forefront. It’s a kind of “lay prayer” and the lyrics seem to invite meditation and introspection suggesting that, even in a life where hypocrisy and evil rule, you can find joy just contemplating nature and the snow falling down... “Heavy snowflakes fell down that day / They wet my eyes / Lost in the light / Lost in the effort of knowing, of seeing / How much pure joy from a simple snowing... Far away a bell-tower reminded of a prayer / Over the roofs ancient shadows were celebrating the evening...”. In my opinion this is one of the best moments of the album...

Biglietto per l'Inferno on stage in the seventies

The long, complex “L’amico suicida” (The suicidal friend) is highly dramatic. The lyrics are autobiographical, inspired by the suicide of a Canali’s comrade-in-arms during their military service... “Around your body there’s a halo of death...”: Canali’s vocals are dark and full of emotion, the music flows powerful and melancholic for more than 13 intense minutes... “There was a long rumble of sound, and it seemed to him that he was falling down a vast, interminable stairway. And somewhere at the bottom he fell into darkness. That much he knew. He had fallen into darkness. And at the instant he knew, he ceased to know...”. Well, just a little quote from Jack London’s novel “Martin Eden” that in my opinion perfectly fits the conclusion of this “epic”. Before the end of the album, there’s still room for a nice short instrumental reprise of “Confessione”...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info about the band:

http://www.bigliettoperlinferno.com 

BACK FROM HELL!

Biglietto per l'Inferno (the name means Ticket to Hell) come from Lecco. They started their activity in 1972 and, until their split up at the end of 1975, they had been a terrific band on stage. Their shows were full of energy and musical talent but during their Halcyon Days they had the chance to release only one album, the excellent eponymous one. Biglietto per l’Inferno’s second album was recorded in 1974 but, on account of the financial troubles of their label (Trident), it was left unrefined and unreleased until 1992 when Mellow Records published the old masters. Finally it was re-mastered and re-released in 2004 by “La Vetraia-BTF” with the supervision of the band. The original sound quality and production was very far from perfect and it was quite difficult to fix it up after almost 30 years, but they tried hard…

In 2007 on the initiative of original members Giuseppe “Pilly” Cossa (piano, accordion) and Mauro Gnecchi (drums, percussion) a new project called Biglietto per l’Inferno.folk was formed for some live performances featuring the old repertoire of the band and in 2009 a new album featuring new arrangements of the historic pieces was released on the independent label BTF, “Tra l’assurdo e la ragione” (Between absurd and reason). The present line up features also Enrico Fagnoni (bass), Ranieri “Ragno” Fumagalli (flutes, ocarinas, hornpipes), Carlo Redi (mandolin, violin) Renata Tomasella (flutes, ocarinas) and Franco Giaffreda (electric and acoustic guitar). The original vocalist Claudio Canali retired long time ago from mundane life and today he’s a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict, so lead vocals are now provided by a female singer, Mariolina Sala. Anyway the old singer gave his blessing to the new project and Brother Claudio appears as a special guest on two tracks of the album. Another original member of the band, Giuseppe “Baffo” Banfi, features as producer and helped the band during the recording sessions

 

 

 

Well, in my opinion, this new project is absolutely good. The new arrangements feature folk influences but respect the spirit of the old compositions. Mazurkas and tarantellas, jigs and reels are in some way blended with hard rock and the result is a well crafted and balanced mix of fresh sounds and vintage suggestions. As in the past, the concerts are still the strength of the band and their performances attract many people, so old and young enthusiastic fans are pushing the band to go on and on since the new project is not a boring unplugged version of the old band but a lively act still able to stir emotions. The title track of the new album, an old piece that was never recorded before, is a funny kind of nursery rhyme full of energy and joyful madness that in some way depict the good vibrations of the new line up, especially on stage... “Between absurd and reason there’s just a soap-bubble / Your shadow and desire are going to clash...”

By the way, former bassist of Biglietto per l’Inferno Fauto Branchini is not taking part to the new project but he has not given up music and is working on a rock opera under the name Fausto Branchini – Biglietto per l’Inferno (Facebook).

Biglietto per l'Inferno.folk: Tra l'assurdo e la ragione (2009). Other opinions:

Paul Fowler: The return of Biglietto per L'inferno, or should I say Biglietto Per L'inferno.folk is most welcome and despite the lack of new material they've turned out an excellent album. I hope we can expect more from this great band in the future with an album of totally new material. Welcome back! (Read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.bigliettoperlinferno.com/

http://www.facebook.com/bigliettoperlinferno