CRAC !

In my humble opinion, Area is with Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Premiata Forneria Marconi and Le Orme, the four best bands from Rock Progressivo Italiano, in the 70's. Area was the first group, with whom I had contact, on this genre of music. "Crac!" is their third studio album and was released in 1975 and it represents my first contact with the group. With this album, the group gained more popularity all over the world and confirmed finally the great value of them.

I was very surprised when I listened to this album for the first time. Its strong musical compositions, between Jazz Rock/Fusion and Rock Progressivo Italiano, with their left-wing lyrics and the unique and spectacular voice of Demetrio Stratos, something that I never heard before and which is completely inimitable, amazed me completely. The Demetrio's voice needs to be listened to be believed. His avant-garde vocal techniques and the agility with cuts between genres and motifs are absolutely astonishing. Sincerely, I can't compare Area with any other group. They are a completely different and truly original band. I strongly recommend this band to everyone who likes Jazz Rock/Fusion with Progressive Experimental Rock and likes to listen to something wild, new and different.

"Crac!" was one of my first vinyl albums. For me, "Crac!" is their best studio album, with theatrical vocals and an experimental, exotic and robust sound. The energy contained on this album is really and truly incredible, and it's full of abundant humour. "Crac!" is an avant-garde album and represented a breath of fresh air in the progressive rock scene.

"Crac!" has seven tracks. The first track "L'Elefante Bianco" is a song with ethnic sounds and is essentially an instrumental track with variations all over the same theme. It's a track full of energy with clearly Oriental musical influences and some nuances of the southern Mediterranean music. The second track "La Mela Di Odessa" is a song that starts with an instrumental part and continues with great musical works by the entire band, with Demetrio's vocals accompanying perfectly the music and giving a more melody to the song. This is a very complex track that begins with some experimental sounds and a drum solo. It's a typical jazz rock fusion track with symphonic tendencies. The third track "Megalopoli" is the longest song on the album. It's a superb instrumental track with Demetrio's vocals performed as a musical instrument. This is a very intricate song full of energy and clearly influenced by the usual concepts of the jazz rock fusion style. The fourth track "Nervi Scoperti" is another instrumental track with nice guitar and keyboard solos. It's a vibrant and tense piece of music where the drumming is the star here. It begins with Fariselli assuming the leading role with his truly amazing piano work, preparing the ground to Tofani flourish and complemented perfectly by the Capiozzo work. The fifth track "Gioia I Rivoluzione" is a song where stands out more the powerful voice of Demetrio. It's an acoustic and peaceful song. It has a very unusual introduction that features some acoustic guitars and powerful melodic lines. This is clearly a song that shows a tendency towards a more conventional tunes and a less intricate and complicated sound, in contrast with the more experimental forms, such as "Implosion" or "Area 5". It became as one of the best Area's songs. The sixth track "Implosion" is a free instrumental and experimental track where each member of the band plays an instrument improvising in their one way. It begins very calm and soon develops with some sudden musical changes of mood and rhythm. This is a track that contrasts perfectly well with everything else which was made before. The seventh track "Area 5" is a very weird experimental track full of improvisations and with some solos and noises. It's the smallest track on the album, a truly contemporary classical piece of music. This is a very bizarre track that originally concludes this great album.

Conclusion: "Crac!" is one of the best progressive albums from the group and represents a mark in the Italian progressive music. It has also some of the best popular and known songs from the band, like "L'Elefante Bianco", "La Mela Di Odessa" and "Gioia I Rivoluzione". They quickly became some of the songs most performed live by the band, keeping the long instrumental parts that have become as one of the mainly characteristics of the group. To finish my review, I must say one more thing. The band describes themselves as an International POPular group. Sincerely, they take it very seriously. Why? Because Area, defines them as a POPular group, which means that they are a band that creates music for the people and for the masses because they don't create music for the elites. Area is a very special band and "Crac!" is a very special album. It's definitely one of the most influential albums of the 70's in the Italian progressive scene. This is a classic album in its genre, and it's for those who love to listen to something different, fresh and new. Sincerely, this album should be part of every progressive musical collection.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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