Procession
are an Italian prog band from Turin that was formed in 1972. In their
debut album, “Frontiera” the line-up featured Gianfranco Gaza
(vocals, harmonica), Angelo Girardi (bass, electric mandolin),
Marcello Capra (electric and acoustic guitar), Giancarlo Capello
(drums, percussion) and Roby Munciguerra (electric and acoustic
guitar). The album was recorded in just a week in Rome and was
released on the Help label. The music alternates hard, raw passages
with electric guitars in the forefront to delicate, reflective
atmospheres where acoustic passages prevail. It’s a concept album
that deals with the problem of immigration from Southern Italy to the
North and its industrialized cities like Turin or Milan. The lyrics
were written by Marina Comin, the same lyricist as Raccomandata
Ricevuta Ritorno’s “Per... un mondo di cristallo”.
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| Procession 1972 |
The
opener “Ancora una notte” (One more night) starts with an
acoustic guitar arpeggio, then the electric guitar and the rhythm
section bring in a dark sense of impending change. The lyrics
describe the last night of an emigrant before leaving his native
village for the big city and an uncertain destiny... “One more
night and the train will set off / But in this last night I can’t
sleep / I’ve waited too long for this day / Now I’m scared / I
fear that my life could end there...”. The body is going to leave
but the roots are not yet broken and this contrast is underlined by
the music.
“Uomini
e illusioni” (Men and illusions) starts with a fiery electric
tarantella (that could recall PFM’s “E’ festa”). The lyrics
describe the train carrying its burden of men and illusions while
running through Italy, from South to North, men who feel strangers in
their own Homeland... “I will have to live my life / Like a clown
compelled to smile / Even when his son is dying / I can’t show any
pain...”.
“Città
grande” (Big city) opens with a delicate acoustic arpeggio, the
music and lyrics describe the arrival in the big city and the feeling
of pain for family and home left behind, the struggle for a job, then
the feeling of hope for a better world and society where people can
survive without leaving home... “Big city I’m here... I left my
mother, my girlfriend and perhaps my joy to live / But hope makes me
go on / And I will live of hope...”.
“Incontro”
(Meeting) is a joyful ballad featuring strummed acoustic guitar and
flute. The music and lyrics describe the meeting between the
protagonist and a boy about twenty years old. The boy talks about
friendship, love, freedom and equality... “We’re all alike / You
can find a thousand friends / If you look for them with your heart /
There are no limits / If you live in love...”.
“Anche
io sono un uomo” (I’m a man as well) is a delicate, melancholic
track about equality and awareness. The protagonist thanks the boy
for the new hope but then there arises an awareness that not everyone
thinks in the same way... “How many people treat me like a man and
don’t judge me? / How many people understand that I’m a man like
you?”.
The
long, complex “Un mondo di libertà” (A world of freedom) is more
aggressive. It starts softly but then fiery electric guitars start
storming enraged notes. Then the vocals come in while the tension
slackens... “You have lost your freedom / But I’m not speaking
with you just out of pity / There’s a whole world around you that
loves you like me / It’s true that everyone here minds just his own
business / But you are a man and you’ll find your way...”. The
lyrics are a kind of sermon against resignation, all in all every
place is the same and life is not so bad...
“Solo
1” (Alone) begins as an electric rock and roll... “Alone again,
alone again in the big city / You look around you / Trying to
understand where to go...”. Then rock and roll melts into something
very different and moody...
“Un
ombra che vaga” (A wandering shadow) begins with hard guitar riffs
shaping a troubled, desperate mood... Then comes a sudden change of
atmosphere and acoustic guitar and vocals describe what seems to be
just a wandering shadow, a living ghost... “Your future life is
like a dark shadow / You see your hopes in the eyes of the night /
Houses seem big but they are colourless / You would like to be at
home / But you can’t come back....”. Then, on “Solo 2” rock
and roll and loneliness are back for another desperate ride in the
big city... “Alone again, alone again in the big city / You look
around you / Trying to understand where to go...”.
Hopes
and disappointments, rage and love, friendship and loneliness, hard
rock and acoustic passages... On the whole a very good album with
good ideas and some ingenuity. Well, now the wish to go away from the
hectic city life rises... “Away from here, away from here!”.
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