1978 - GLI DEI SE NE VANNO, GLI ARRABBIATI RESTANO!

'1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!' is the fifth studio album of Area and was released in 1978. This is certainly the most discussed, poorly digested and criticized album of the band. It marked definetely a change in the band. The first turning point is, undoubtedly, the abandonment of Paolo Tofani. With his departure, Area doesn't lose only a guitarist but all that experimental research of sounds that had distinguished the band in their previous albums. The second turning point was, unfortunately, the untimely death of Demetrio Stratos. The group, under the same name, will produce two more studio albums, one a year later and another in 1996. But, both albums are strongly distanced from all the production in the years of activity with Stratos on vocals. It was really fatal for Area his tragic departure.

'1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!' has nine tracks. All tracks were written by Demetrio Stratos, except 'Interno Con Figure E Luci' written by Patrizio Fariselli and Demetrio Stratos, 'Acrostico In Memoria Di Laio' written by Patrizio Fariselli, 'FFF (Festa, Farina E Forca)' written by Giulio Capiozzo, Patrizio Fariselli and Ares Tavolazzi and 'Vodka Cola' written by Patrizio Fariselli, Demetrio Stratos, Giulio Capiozzo and Ares Tavolazzi.

The first track 'Il Bandito Del Deserto' opens with the usual Mediterranean atmosphere very common in the band. The structure of the piece isn't the most complex. But nevertheless, at the level of the structure, it's a concentrate of ideas and precious virtuosities that only great musicians could produce. The text is loosely based on the writing by Shanfara, an Arab pre-Islamic poet. The second track 'Interno Con Figure E Luci' is structured between instrumental parts and moments in which Stratos remains the only creating every kind of sounds from his throat. It's an instrumental track that can show the contrast between the sung parts, which are more obscure and repetitive, and the instrumental parts, which are more radiants. The third track 'Return From Workuta' opens with a very strange and amazing vocal work of 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 song is about the return from the famous Soviet Gulag, the Vorkutlag. The fourth track 'Guardati Dal Mese Vicino All'Aprile' is, undoubtedly, the freest song on the album. It hasn't any kind of structure or discipline. It would be impossible, or rather infinitely long, to describe what happens all over the track. This is another instrumental piece. It's about the regret of have passed ten years after the revolution of 1968 and the things just have only changed a bit. The fifth track 'Hommage A Violette Nozieres' is a ballad with a typical Mediterranean atmosphere, apparently almost pop. But, if we analyze it, we can find harmonious choices and rhythmic solutions of great refinement and complexity. Even the vocals are in a stratospheric level. It's one of the tracks in which Stratos reaches the apex of the vibrato. That is particularly evident on the ending of the piece. It contains a vocalization to the limits of the unimaginable. The sixth track 'Ici On Dance!' is a piece where the most amazing thing is the crazy work from the rhythm section. Here, the Mediterranean influence is aslo predominant in the theme and in the created musical atmospheres. The text is very minimalist and hermetic. The only real fact is that the title of the piece resumes a writing attached to a post, during the Bastille's taking in Paris. The seventh track 'Acrostico In Memoria Di Laio' is a funky Mediterranean jazz piece that runs almost entirely around the text, which is interpreted by Stratos with a kind of spoken. Stratos changes the voice and intonation with an embarrassing naturalness, making jumps even more octaves, giving us the impression that there are several people recording the piece. The eighth track 'FFF (Festa, Farina E Forca)' is another 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 ninth track 'Vodka Cola' is the lengthiest song on the album. Here, the influence of the Weather Report is even more present, especially in the keyboard sounds. 'Vodka Cola' doesn't have a well defined music structure and has a continuous progression of parts full of the all kind.

Conclusion: '1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!', like all the albums of Area, isn't easy to assimilate, although it's certainly more 'easy listening' when compared to their previous albums. If Stratos hadn't passed away, so soon, probably today, we would talk about this album as an adjustment to a new music path for Area. But, unfortunately, we have to label it as the 'swan song' of one of the best vocalists ever of the universe of the progressive rock music. Although we certainly can't define it as their best album, this is undoubtedly another great album produced by this unique band. It's a less avant-garde release, but if you appreciate the genre, this album will undoubtedly please you. Perhaps our friend DamoXT7942 is right when he says that there's no unification in the whole album. However, this album remains a great piece and justifies why I consider Area the most original and creative Italian prog rock band ever.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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