DEDICATO A FRAZZ

One of the more difficult yet rewarding albums I've ever heard. Prog albums are well known for keeping their secrets hidden until multiple intent listenings unlock their treasures. This is one such album. There is so much to discover here (see Finnforest's and Linus's reviews above) that I don't think I'll ever tire of this album. What an incredible work this is--and to think it was conceived and performed by teenagers! All are excellent musicians, each one given his moment to shine. At times the guitar takes the lead, other times keyboards, even vibes. Throughout, the amazing rhythm section provides both anchor and accentuation.

The music is definitely on the wilder side of RPI, perhaps giving "Ys" and "Palepoli" serious competition for the wildest in the subgenre. There is an intriguing schizophrenia present here. At times there are angular, jarring riffs played by the guitar, accompanied by dissonant or minor keyboard soundscapes. Elsewhere the music is beautifully, hauntingly melodic, with lush arpeggiated guitar augmented by symphonic sounding keyboards. Perhaps the most disconcerting sound is the incredible use of the vibraphone, which is employed to great effect.

I like this post by Luca on a forum thread: "The title of their album, comes from the acronym of the surnames of the musicians (F)aenza, (R)eddavide, (A)rtegiani, (Z)arrillo, (Z)arrillo. It's a concept album, about the story of a clown, who sees life with ingenuity: his only joy comes from appearance and satisfaction for the beauty of things. Then, when he discovers the sad truth of existence, he commits suicide by hanging himself."

Even the album cover is jarring, with a beautiful, surreal picture of a man with a green face, the aforementioned clown Frazz. The inner artwork is even more surreal and matches the music perfectly! The BTF version is a gorgeous mini-lp that faithfully reproduces the artwork and provides some biographical information. The sound production is subpar, which is the only negative from my perspective. But that is not enough to detract from the status of this album as a masterpiece of not only RPI, but of prog in any genre.