1979 - IL CONCERTO - OMAGGIO A DEMETRIO STRATOS

41 years ago today (June 14) this concert took place to raise funds to pay for the medical bills of Demetrio Stratos, the lead singer of the seminal Italian band Area. 60,000 fans and hundreds of artists gathered in the Civic Arena in MIlan for the fundraising concert only to be greeted with the news that Stratos had passed away the day before in New York during treatment. Needless to say, this put a different spin on the day.

A couple of misconceptions need to be dispelled for the average listener. First, this isn't an Area album, there are only two songs by the band on here. For those expecting a 'greatest hits' of Italian prog, it isn't really that either, as there are precious few moments of genuine RPI here-even Banco's appearance is a subdued vocal and piano tune. A better description would be like listening to the Woodstock album: a wide variety of artists (heavy on the singer/songwriter vein much like Woodstock) and a spread of disparate styles playing on a summer day in a large outdoor venue gathering to vibe together (though the vibe had switched from hope to sorrow rather quickly).

The album opens with the Italian punk band Kaos Rock from the Cramps label (home to Area and Arti e Mestieri) bringing an energetic pop punk energy with Basto Basto. From there we get Area performing Danz(a)nello-a spirited fusion jam in the spirit of early 80's Weather Report . Three singer/songwriters follow: Francesco Guccini, a famed folk artist in the vein of Fabrizio deAndre who'd been perfoming since the mid 60's sings Per un Amico (for a friend) in Italian, one of the more heartfelt moments on the album. Eugenio Finardi does an English lyric song, Hold On, very much in line with Richie Haven's work at Woodstock. He was close friends with Stratos and was also on the Cramps label, again in a deAndre vein. Roberto Ciotti rounds out the end of side one's solo acoustic singer performances with the English vocals of Shake it. He also was a blues/jazz Cramps labelmate.

Side two will give solace to RPI fans with Venegoni & Co. giving us a high energy instrumental -Coesioni (this band derived from Arti e Mestieri, also Cramps label artists). Synth, swirling dervish guitars, stuttering bass and drums deliver perhaps the most satisfying jazzy RPI song on the album. Angelo Branduardi, another singer songwriter is up next with the Italian sung Il Funerale. He is known for mining early Italian music (and mildly known in the UK for an English release with lyrics by Peter Sinfield of King Crimson fame). Gentle and beautiful. Next up is Carnascialia doing a song from Mauro Pagani's first solo album, the instrumental Europa Minor. This song featured Area as the backing band on its original release and is a nice nod to the theme for the day. This is another of the highlights for RPI fans, as it stretches out a bit with an excellent sax solo that gives the listener a glimpse into sitting in a field of thousands, just grooving on the music. A high energy drum solo finishes the song up. Side two comes to an end with Adriano Bassi and Italo Lo Venerie performing some instrumental virtuoso piano in the vein of Keith Jarrett.

Side three opens with Antonello Venditti's Bomba o Non Bomba, with solo piano accompaniment. Like many of the singers here, he follows in the socially conscious mode of operation. (he had worked with Vince Tempera in the early 70's, the guy who put together I Giganti's Terra del Bocca album and Il Volo). Three unaccompanied poems by Skiantos come next, mostly as a distraction while the stage gets reset for the next band. Side three ends with Gaetano Liguori e Tullio De Piscopo performing a tarantella that gets the crowd audibly moving. Jazzy but recognizable as RPI for most. Another great 'hey let's enjoy the sun and the music' type of jazz festival song. (here I need to point out that the track listings on the LP are incorrect, and that the last song on side three actually opens side four)

Side four begins with two songs from Giancarlo Cardini, his 'Omaggio a Demetrio Stratos'. Tinkling piano reminiscent of John Cage gives us a tribute to the avant-garde experiments Stratos leaned towards in the latter part of the 70's on Metrodora and Area's Event 76 album. His solo voice performance following the piano is also right up Stratos' alley. Roberto Vecchioni follows with another singer songwriter performance that is one of the better ones in the day's events. Banco delivers a solemn piano and vocal song quite unlike what we are familiar with from them. The event ends with one of the most lugubrious versions of Area's traditional finale, L'Internazionale. This version seems on the verge of falling apart at every corner as the band seems to challenge each other to go as slowly as possible to wring emotions out that didn't seem possible. A fitting end to the album for sure.

All in all a moving tribute to one giant of a man. Demetrio Stratos left an indelible stamp on Italian music of the 70's. While I'd say the casual RPI fan might be confused by so much folk music here, the hard core Area fan will resonate with the massive variety on display in tribute to one of Italy's greatest musicians. For them, this might be absolutely essential stuff. Maestro Della Voce, indeed.

3 stars