Un biglietto del tram by Stormy Six

Un biglietto del tram by Stormy Six, a 1975 album, here in the beautiful 50th anniversary limited edition (Marbled Vinyl).

Stormy Six are representatives of the RIO (Rock in Opposition) movement, a European political-musical collective founded in 1978 by several bands in open opposition to the commercial logic of the recording industry, which they viewed as an expression of capitalism.

They took part in the musical event organized on March 12, 1978, at the New London Theater on Drury Lane in London by the English band Henry Cow. Also participating were Henry Cow (UK), Stormy Six (Italy), Samla Mammas Manna (Sweden), Univers Zero (Belgium), and Etron Fou Leloublan (France).

Founded in Milan, they began their career in the 1960s as a folk group with psychedelic influences, composing protest songs.

This album begins to reveal elements of complexity and experimentation that will lead them to the full-fledged RIO movement just a few years later.

It is an acoustic album with a blend of folk, classical, and progressive rock influences. The lyrics reflect the band's commitment to youth and political protest.

It is, in fact, a concept album based on events from the final stages of World War II and celebrates the Italian Resistance movement.

- "Stalingrad," an epic song about the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, enlivened by waltzes and Cossack dances, and the lyrics describe hunger, rubble, and bombings.

- "La fabbrica," a song about the strikes of 1943, after news of the victory at Stalingrad reached Northern Italy. 

- Arrivano gli americani (The Americans Are Arriving) ironically describes the arrival of American troops with a strong anti-American sentiment, portraying them as harbingers of consumerism and capitalism who give away "freedom bars" (chocolate bars...).
- 8 settembre (September 8) is a sad, dark song that, after an acoustic intro, speaks of a man walking on the tracks, stripped of his uniform, returning home. The Italian army has disbanded and the country is in pieces. A very moving song.
- Nuvole a Vinca (Clouds in Vinca), a beautiful and melancholic song, recounts a massacre of defenseless civilians suspected of supporting the partisans in Vinca, a village in the Apuan Alps, Tuscany, on August 24, 1944, where 174 inhabitants, mostly women and children, were killed. A song of striking beauty.
- Dante di Nanni is a disturbing dance of spirits. Dante di Nanni was a partisan who died a hero, fighting with great courage... his ghost still wanders the city, indomitable...
- La sepoltura dei morti is a very melancholic ballad whose strength lies in the lyrics: "April is truly cruel / Lilac flowers bloom on the dead / Winter has buried their memory, leaving only pity / And now a life is just a yellowed face, just a photograph / Death isn't even worth the price of the newspaper / That you read and then throw away..."
- The album closes with the title track, Un biglietto del tram, a disturbing waltz animated by the ghosts of victims who move among an indifferent audience while demanding justice. The tram ticket evoked in the song is required to return to Piazzale Loreto, where fifteen partisans were killed in 1944 and their bodies were displayed.

Overall, an excellent album that retraces the story of a tragic era in Italian history with beautiful melodies and compositions.

One of their best albums. A must-have for any collection, in my opinion.

Tracks
1. Stalingrad (5:25)
2. The Factory (3:36)
3. The Americans Are Coming (5:50)
4. September 8th (4:49)
5. Clouds in Vinca (4:18)
6. Dante Di Nanni (4:12)
7. Gianfranco Mattei (4:17)
8. The Burial of the Dead (3:47)
9. A Tram Ticket (5:40)
Running Time 41:54

Line-Up
- Franco Fabbri - guitar, mandolin, bass, recorder, vocals

- Umberto Fiori - guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Carlo De Martini - violin, mandolin, vocals
- Tommaso Leddi - violin, mandolin, balalaika, guitar, flute, vocals
- Luca Piscicelli - bass, mandola, vocals
- Antonio Zanuso - drums