AREA

During 73' Area traveled for a tour in Chile and represented Italy in the eighth Biennale de Paris Festival.Soon after though the band was struck by the departure of Patrick Djivas, who joined Premiata Forneria Marconi, and sax player Victor Busnello.A new member entered the picture, this was bassist Ares Tavolazzi, completing the most classic Area line-up.In 1974 Area held a unique concert at the Psychiatric Hospital of Trieste, which apparently influenced the band's second album ''Caution Radiation Area'', released the same year on Cramps.

''Cometa Rossa'', which opens the album, sees Area at their best.Fiery and powerful Prog Fusion with a fantastic technique by the rhythm section and superb keyboard work in a dense and complete track.All lyrics are sung by Stratos in Greek.''ZYG'' is another monster track, somewhat split between Prog Fusion and Free Jazz, including another bombastic ad virtuosic delivery by the rhythm section, excellent synth parts and fiery electric piano by Fariselli and a suprising trombone performance by bassist Tavolazzi.''Brujo'' closes the awesome first side of the original LP and follows more or less the same vein of the previous track.Mostly instrumental Jazz/Fusion with incredible piano exercises and a powerful sound, blended with some Avant-like synth parts and a sinister ending section with Stratos' unique, dramatic vocals.The second side sees Area entering more experimental grounds.The long ''MIRage? Mirage!'' flows for over 4 minutes in an Avant-Garde/Experimental atmosphere with percussion, strings and trombone creating a cosmic soundscape and from this point on the band starts alternating between incredible Fusion themes with organs, guitars and synths in the forefront and psychedelic soundscapes with wordless vocals and screams.The closing ''Lobotomia'' is based on disturbing synths and sound effects with a clear tendency by the group to surprise the listener, as listed in the liner notes of the album.

Musically speaking ''Caution Radiation Area'' is outstanding.The vocals of Stratos do not play a basic role and the focus leans towards the incredible instrumental workouts.The more experimental moments during the second half of the album might bother some listeners though and possibly prevent someone from fully enjoying the album.Nevertheless the structured ideas in this album are many and great, so this comes at least strongly recommended, especially for lovers of trully intricate music...3.5 stars.

An interesting jazzy album by one of my all-time favorite Italian groups. Unfortunately, After the amazing album "Crac" the band wasn't able to follow up at the same level. This album could potentially be really great if I could just cut out about 40% of the boring noisy junk. let's explore:

The first song "Evaporazione" is weird and pretty much pointless, yet oddly amusing. I wouldn't really consider it music though. "Diforisma Urbano" is a very jazzy and unique keyboard dominated jam. Classic Area. "Gerontocrazia" starts out slow with some random noodling by the band, then about halfway gets reeally good with some excellent keyboard work. An okay song with potential. "Scum" is a song that may take a while to appreciate. Its got a mix of classical piano playing with a mix of intense, fast-paced avant garde jazz playing. Leandro Gaetano (piano) really demonstrates his amazing talent here. This song gives Keith Emerson a run for his money. The last minute and a half is just weird abstract noise that does nothing for me. Very cool track still, probably my favorite on the album. "Il Massacro" is a really random song that's entirely a classical symphony. Sounds nothing like the rest of the album, I don't know why they bothered with this. "Giro, Giro, Tondo" is another jam that gets interesting about a minute in. Its a good track, but not at the same level as the second and third song. "Caos, pt2" starts with even more pointlessness. Maybe i'm missing something, but almost the entire song is just noise. It just sounds lazy and uninspired. which is really too bad, because it ends the album terribly.

Overall, The small amount of Demetrio Stratos' vocals is disappointing, because I absolutely love his style. And there are too many parts of the album that seem unnecessary and sound like weird avant garde noise just for the sake of it. Compared to some of their other albums, this one is not very memorable. Nonetheless, There are some fantastic jams on this album. A good album for any fan of the group, unfortunately I can't really recommend this to anyone else. Unless you are willing to put up with lots of uninteresting nonsense for about 20 minutes of great jams.

2.5 stars.

Good Heavens, what's the world coming to?! An Italian band imitating American elevator music? Just horrible and an absolute waste of time - unless you enjoy getting stuck in an elevator where only the piped sound remains operational.

This is the first - and very last - Area album I've listened to as going on this experience, I'd be hard pressed to detect any possible improvement expected of this band. Brass-Rock, Jazz- Rock? Nope. More like quality musicianship gone to the pigs in an effort to conform to a style that some - like myself - would frown upon. Did I say horrible before? If so, I'd repeat it in capital letters - any day.

There is no doubt that the musicians could play, but here they are seemingly Hell-bent to create something that's not to reach even mediocre by any means. Horrible - ah, yes, I said that before...

If you imagine the least quality offerings of the band CHICAGO to go out with the flavour of a Mexican procession band, then this album comes very close to that. Instrumental all the way through, which is a relief as the solo album of their singer Demetrio Stratos left me speechless and only able to rate it - not very favourably.

Area is off my menu for good. Not because it's bad, but for providing a serious disappointment. The musicianship I'd rate 4 out of 5, the material - well, let's just not go there.

Arrivederci - or rather not.

The Chernobyl theme park

Having been a fan of this marvellous group for some years now, I hesitated somewhat diving into Chernobyl 7991 their latest release. As most of you guys know, front man Demetrio Stratos died an untimely death at the young age of 34 - leaving the group without the real fuel behind the pyrotechnics and earth-shattering middle eastern yodelings.

The loss of Stratos is comparable to when The Doors lost Jim Morrison. Big words, I know - but the fact of the matter is, that he had an artistic aura about him, as well as vocal chords that could shatter the polar icecaps in a jiffy - something that rubbed off to his musical surroundings, - and suddenly he was gone...

Chernobyl 7991 continues Area's unhealthy obsession with radioactive matters - and on here we get re- introduced to the horrible grey and dusty terrors of the Russian city, where the atomic trap once snapped and we as a whole nation of people, worldwide, felt the cold lifeless hand of death on our shoulder, if only for a brief moment.

What I then find bizarrely weird and perplexing, is the choice of music found within this album, that's supposed to illustrate this black chapter in man made energy. Even if it's coloured in the widely spread 90s sounding synths, you know the ones you'd find on an IQ album from around the same time, - you'll still almost instantly hear the Area flavour boosting through it all. Sure there's a sombre atmosphere occasionally peeping through, but most of all, what I get is those same old circus themed organ runs only now performed on electric piano and those plasticy synths - only much much slower! Not only does this sound oddly misplaced and inappropriate - it also makes me chuckle a bit now and then........ I am so ashamed of myself - no really. This album is about one of the worst man generated catastrophes in modern times, as well as serving as a memorial to one of my absolute favourite singers bar none, and here I am having a bit of a laugh...

Still, take a step back from this and the penny drops. Area were always like that. Whatever they've chosen to say or reveal with their music in the past, they did so with carefree attitudes and circus themed craziness all over the board. Even when they were at their most experimental and dark circa Caution Radiation Area, the stagnant horrifying sound sculptures and unorthodox Eastern phrasings still got followed by something completely "Areaesqe" and zany. That particular trade is still here, and whatever one thinks about its surroundings and how one preferably should behave around them: Please!!! Do the opposite of grow up!! Pull out the old Peter Pan outfit and jump out through your bedroom window!

The fierce spiralling tempo of this band has diminished slightly, I'll admit to that. But once you hear the drum rolls of Giulio Capiozzo and the whirlwind piano of Patrizio Fariselli - it quickly becomes apparent that these guys are the same bunch that once made albums such as Crac! and Maledetti. On Chernobyl 7991 they may have opted for some boring production qualities and veered into jazz lounge territory, if only briefly, but the finished product is one that they can be proud of. With musical guests throwing chitarra, saxophone and French horn into the mix, you are treated to an Area album that sounds unlike any other in their discography. It's a trip, and had it not been for that catastrophic production job and the, at times, rather flavourless lounge jazz, I may even have awarded this album with 4 stars.

Well worth the effort this one, you just have to get your head around the odd tempos and the unforgiving attack of the 90s. Area fans approach with care - fusion flavoured lollipop men of da-daah-da tendencies, jump right on in!

A really tight and concise debut album from these talented Italian musicians. So much so that three of them would go on to release solo LP's.

Quite like 'Magma' in certain parts, this goes borderline crazy, therefore I don't recommend playing this at work. There's a heavy emphasis on Avant Garde Fusion throughout. 'Arbeit Macht Frei' is one of the most radical Italian Prog albums available

Well, we all know what the title means so lets just skip that or else we'll just get into a fight. Good cover though eh?

Demetrios Stratos, as usual, sounds like a yodelling Tarzan on steroids, beating his chest as chimpanzees try to steal his collection of coconuts and berries.

This first 'Area' album is notable in that it has Patrick Djivas on bass who would later become more well known for his contributions with 'Premiata Forneria Marconi'

'Arbeit Macht Frei' was issued on the brilliant 'Cramps' label, which is more well known for their far more tuneless experimental recordings. This album has dated pretty well on the whole where at all times Demetrios Stratos, the Egyptian born Greek singer is the star... the main event.

Hats off to poor Demetrios who died at far too young an age.

Whatever this is jazz-fusion, free-jazz, italian prog or eclectic it's certainly very good, although I do sometimes find myself wishing Demetrio Stratos did more singing. Whatever it is, it's certainly atypical and very recommended.

The music is dramatically colourful, wild, energetic, experimental and technically impressive, not at all cheesy or dated. It is an acquired taste that not everyone will be able to enjoy or understand, but if you're inclined towards adventurous prog, then you're going to love it.

Vocals are dramatic and avant-garde but, for the most part, this remains an instrumental record where even vocals loses their usual leading role and assume the likeness of an instrument, as you can hear by the many gurglings here and there (e.g. in "Area 5"). Has to be mentioned that Stratos was able to perform diplophony, triplophony, and also quadrophony and has been described as the person who decimated monody by the demultiplication of the acoustic spectrum.

If you have read reviews of this Italian band or this particular album, you know you're going to have a strange ride. Some of the reviews would easily make me think I definitely wouldn't enjoy this (I usually can't get into very experimental Avant/RIO kind of music). Moreover I didn't remember that on my previous visit to the library where I borrowed it, I had quickly listened to AREA's Crac! album and had put it in the "won't borrow" pile. Luckily I borrowed this one against all odds. When I finally listened to it with minimal expectations, I was surprised to find it much more interesting - and accessible to me, no matter how funny to use that word in this case.

Maybe I somehow was in the right mood? Well, had the last two tracks been the first ones, I may have said to myself "why did I bother", and wouldn't have had the same patience for the whole album. The first three tracks were the best, the last one 'Lobotomia' is the most extreme but not without charm. Ten minutes of 'Mirage' were too much for me.

It's not that noisy and experimental after all. From the world of Prog, influences outside Italy might include King Crimson (Lark's Tongues etc), some Canterbury and some Krautrock. At one point I thought of Canterbury band National Health gone wilder and crazier than ever. There's certainly a Jazz thing going on, not only experimental rock. Music is often some sort of Fusion or Free Jazz. Electric piano could come out of a Miles Davis or Return To Forever album.

The instrumentation is more varied, featuring e.g. organ, harpsichord, trombone, flute and bass clarinet. Rhythm section is very intense, and only occasionally this album wanders aimlessly in atonal / experimental landscapes. The very little amount of human voices are quite strange though; 'Cometa Rossa' has a brief text in Greek if I'm not mistaken. Of course also musically there are lots of things to wonder, I'm not trying to say this isn't RIO / Avant-Garde. But surely not the hardest one to digest, I dare say (being quite green to RIO), at least if you're into fiery Fusion.

I haven't yet listened to this repeated times; probably there are things to discover for many rounds on this album, even in its shortness (32 minutes). But if this really is a standout masterpiece and something extremely special, I doubt it. What wouldn't have been already done by the year 1974? Some of the music is probably worth at least four stars, but three's enough by me for this over-hyped album.

P.S. The text in the leaflet - or the part of it that had translations - was actually more baffling than the music (a pity I don't have it on my hands now to cite it). Perhaps it was partly because of a bad translation? Or was it deliberately mumbo-jumbo?

Where do you begin reviewing an album by Area?

Demetrio Stratos had the vocals of a demented bull. Patrizio Fariselli plays piano like that mental part in 'Aladdin Sane' and Ares Tavolazzi's bass clings tightly to all that's being thrown at his face.

This is a fair bit easier on the ear than previous Area albums and that's saying something... However, their best days were past in my opinion. 'Maledetti' was the high point where everything they played and all members were as sharp as a diamond. There's nothing wrong with '1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano' but, crumbs - why such a long title?

Bits of 'Weather Report' creep in when Stratos isn't singing, when he does sing he elevates this album into something truly unique.

I've got a version where a BLEEP cancels out the vocal on 'Acrostico in Memoria di Laio' at 4 mins 30 secs into the track. Every time I hear it I get more and more agitated. What was the word that censors felt they had to delete?? Arrghh! It really makes me not want to listen to this again. And I can't even speak Italian!

The title of this album should explain it all as it could easily scare an unprepared poor sucker off with ease and contains some of the weirdest sounds made by this (awesome) band; the freejazz influence is far more prominent and the mood very experimental in general. Apart from the fantastic rhythmsection of Giulio Capiozzo and newcomer Ares Tavolazzi, a brilliant bassist that couldn't be any better for this band, the almost alien keyboard experiments within all the chaos present a whole new dimension to Area's music unlike anything else from that time, check out "ZYG" and "Mirage" for evidence. Opening the record in their typical fast'n'furious arabic influenced way (similarly to 'Arbeit' and 'Crac!') with the brilliant "Cometa Rossa" the albums grows progressively more insane every minute until a final ear lobotomy in "Lobotomia", a track I won't spoil but recommend playing at highest volume possible. I think this is Area at their explosive best, and while not necessarly pleasant I won't have it that way either. Being first released in 1974 this stuff is definitely ahead of it's time in terms of experimentation like this and fans of wild experimental avant fusion should pick it up, and if it grows enough on me then "Mirage" should be played at my funeral, if possible of course.. 4.25/5

Another intriguing experiment from the Italian masters of avant-fusion, 1978 Gli Dei... sees the band drift towards the more comedic end of the avant-garde, spewing forth outrageously cartoonish vocals over a musical backing which seems a little weaker than their usual to me - a bit too repetitive, a bit too low key, without the fast playing and technical skill evident on their earliest albums. Like the Mothers of Invention (who must surely have been an influence on them), they even dip their toes into doo-wop parodies here and there; unlike the Mothers, they don't produce any particularly interesting results. An album for the more committed Area fan, this one.