ARBEIT MACHT FREI

Being a big fan of RPI and especially the band Area, it's about time I review my favourite album of theirs, Arbeit Macht Frei. After discovering PFM, Banco and Le Orme, and realizing that I really like Italian Prog, I began to look for other band in the RPI genre, and one of the first band I tried was Area. There is a Prog Rock music store in Montréal, yes we have that kind of store in Montréal, where I usually get my Prog CD/DVD. By going there often, I became very friendly with the owner, and one of the first thing he suggest me, as one of the essential RPI album to get, was Arbeit Macht Frei. He was right, not the only time he will be.

To get the music of Area, you got to have an ear for Jazz, world and experimental music, because it's not your regular kind of Prog. They will mix arabic motif with jazz groove, or do beats with white noise etc? The essential part of Area is naturally the incredible voice of the late Demetrio Stratos. What a voice!!! He's IMO one of the best singer in music, being prog or not, making his death, like Hendrix or Bob Marley, another big lost in music.

Arbeit Macht Frei is the first album by Area and my personal favourite of theirs. Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (Nero) start the album with the voice of a girl speaking in arab, then fallow with a great arabic riff, wow! If that riff doesn't do anything for you, stop there, I doubt you'll like the rest. What a great intro piece, it grabs you instantly and never let you breath. Then you have the title track, Arbeit Macht Frei, my favourite of the album, it may start slow but when the main riff start, it never let you go, the last riff of the song with Demetrio singing on top of it is amazing, one of the best riff in music, especially when the keyboard solo enters, sorry Yes, but you are not the only band to have a amazing keyboard solo under an amazing riff. If the album was only the first 2 songs, it would still have a 5 star resting from me, but no, you still have 4 other masterpiece to go. Consapevolezza, the third song is tour de force vocally speaking + another amazing riff and a beautiful sax solo, so perfect, so it, this is my definition of what good music is and should always be. Next, Le Labbra Del Tempo, may be more traditional in therm of Prog Rock but with Demetrio, it's nothing but traditional, great Rhodes solo at the end. 240 Chilometri Da Smirne is a great followup to Le Labbra Del Tempo, very Jazz rock/Fusion, lots of sax and great bass groove and it as the distinctive to be instrumental. L'Abbattimento Dello Zeppelin might be the most experimental song of the album, a great way to finish one the greatest album in Rock history.

5 Stars, Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music