INTERNATIONAL POPULAR GROUP

Area was an Italian progressive rock band. They began their musical adventure at the end of 1972, gathering musicians from different backgrounds, pop, free jazz, electronic experimentation and contemporary, with the common will of the overcoming of individual artistic experiences to arrive at a "total music". Picking matrices of different music, from jazz to progressive through the vanguard, Area have proved among the most courageous and original band of the Italian progressive scene. But to make their mark was also and, above all, the incredible voice of their singer Demetrio Stratos.

"International Popular Group" is a compilation of Area released in 2004. It features tracks from all five studio albums of Area, plus a non-albums track, when Stratos was in the band. So, it has one track from "Arbeit Macht Frei" from 1973, one track from "Caution Radiation Area" from 1974, two tracks from "Crac!" from 1975, four tracks from "Maledetti" from 1976, three tracks from "1978 ? Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!" from 1978, plus a non-album's track.

"International Popular Group" has twelve tracks. The first track "Return From Workuta" is from "1978 ? Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!". It opens with a strange and amazing vocal work from Stratos. The piece is timeless and we only perceive a synth carpet with a heavy and suffered contrabass accompanying the melancholic vocalization of Stratos. The second track "Nervi Scoperti" is from "Crac!". It's an instrumental with nice guitar and keyboard solos. It's a vibrant and tense piece where the drumming is the star. It begins with Fariselli assuming the leading role with his piano, preparing the ground to Tofani flourish and complemented by Capiozzo work. The third track "Diforisma Urbano" is from "Maledetti". It's a terrific instrumental piece. It's a perfect, fantastic and surprisingly upbeat funk jazz/fusion track. Here we have Demetrio putting his voice as an instrument adding to the song a beautiful, strange, unique, intense and special touch of colour. The fourth track "Implosion" is from "Crac!". It's a free instrumental experimental track where each member plays improvising in their one way. It begins very calm and soon develops with some sudden musical changes of mood and rhythm. The fifth track "MIRage? Mirage!" is from "Caution Radiation Area". It's a surprising track. It's a track with a mix of contemporary classical music and free avant-garde jazz/fusion music. It has a dark and a dissonant atmosphere with improvised moments. It's only recommended to the hard fans of the band. The sixth track "Arbeit Macht Frei" is from "Arbeit Macht Frei". It's a song with strong political lyrics. Ironically, its title was taken from the Nazi motif on the entrance of Auschwitz, in Poland. The music is close to avant-garde jazz, very innovative, and which begins to typify the band to a new and unconventional approach. The seventh track "Hommage A Violette Nozieres" is from "1978 ? Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!". It's a ballad with a typical Mediterranean atmosphere, almost pop. But, we can find here harmonious choices and rhythmic solutions of great refinement and complexity. Vocals are in a stratospheric level. It's one of the tracks in which Stratos reaches the apex of the vibrato. The eighth track "Gerontocrazia" is from "Maledetti". It starts with a cradle song in ancient Greek. During the song we can hear play txalaparta, a Basque percussion instrument, that I never heard before on the previous albums of Area. That demonstrates again the interest of the band in the ethnical music. The ninth track "Caos (Parte II)" is from "Maledetti". It's an avant-garde piece. It's a strange chaotic track with electronic sounds, noises, and voices. Each musician does what they want. It's one of the strangest and difficult pieces I heard. It's interesting but is too much experimental. The tenth track "Evaporazione" is from "Maledetti". It's a short track where we can hear someone running, whistling and talking, without any music. It's an introduction to that album where Demetrio says there is something important to say on that album. The eleventh track "'FFF' (Festa, Farina e Forca)" is from "1978 ? Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!". It's an instrumental piece, starting from a single drum that later flow into an almost ambient relaxing part to culminate in another jazz style in which Fariselli shows off all his piano skills. The twelfth track "L'Internationale" is a track that was never released on any studio album of the band. It was originally released as the A side of their single "L'Internazionale" in 1974. The track was usually played in all their live shows and included on their compilation albums. It's a vanguard associative free experimental version of the communist hymn, "The International".

Conclusion: "International Popular Group" is another good compilation of Area. It covers almost all the studio material recorded by the band before the premature death of Demetrio Stratos. So, it has tracks from the four studio albums released by the band when he was in Area. It means that all these tracks belong to Area when they were at their most creative peak. And those who are used to Area's music know that all the tracks chosen to be part of this compilation are all great and amazing, in its own way. They cover the different sides of Area, their most popular and melodic side and their most avant-garde and experimental side. Thus, we can say that "International Popular Group" is a compilation well representative of the band and an excellent showcase of Area. I really think that it must be rated with 3 stars, indeed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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