MALEDETTI

This was Area's fourth studio effort, and what an album this is! They got plenty of outside help, with the likes of Steve Lacy and Paul Lytton, plus a cello quartet. Patrizio Fariselli had acquired himself a Serge Modular synth, which don't appear to feature a keyboard, but great for electronic effects, as as it's plain to see, sounds quite different from the EMS Synthi A, which was what he was using on previous efforts.

This was their first effort since Arbeit Macht Frei to feature sax use, and it's put to great use on "Diforisma Urbano". Once again, some incredibly mindblowing fusion/prog, with those vocals from Demetrio Stratos. The opening cut "Evaporazione" consists mainly of strange synth droning that almost sounds like a didgeridoo. Out of nowhere, Stratos yells, "Ladies and gentlemen". I really love those percussion experiments on "Gentrocrazia". It's an experiment I never heard on previous Area albums. What is that percussion? Some Basque music instrumental called the Txalaparta, which boards of wood on a stand played as a musical instrument, although I thought it was just some slit drum. There are two guys named Anton Arze and his brother Jose playing the Txalaparta, as it requires two people to play it. Eventually the music starts and Demetrio Stratos voice kicks in, and it's Area as we come to know and love. It just occured to me that since Area sided up with oppressed people of the world, the Txalaparta intro, to me, is a representation of the suppression of Basque culture in Franco-era Spain (given Area were communist, they were obviously opposed to Franco). "SCUM" is a piece that wouldn't be out of place on Crac!, a fusion-oriented piece, dominated by piano, but then the electronic effects and Demetrio Stratos does some spoken dialog that sounds like it could belong on Caution: Radiation. Then you have the desecration of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, played by a cello quartet. If you're familiar with the original, you'll notice many parts of the song taken out, and even ending in a different way. "Giro, Giro, Tondo" is back into familiar Area territory, with Stratos, and nice use of electric piano. Then comes the avant garde piece "Caos". If you notice somewhere the theme song to the Pink Panther playing, and you expect the sax to kick in, but that never happens.

This is no doubt all over the place: piece that wouldn't be out of place any of their previous albums, while trying new things. Yet, despite some of these new experiments they never tried before, it works surprisingly well. This album is full of great stuff making it highly recommended!