Area International POPular Group
Concerto Teatro Uomo

THE REVIEW

I will probably receive fewer accusations this time, because this review DOES NOT yet exist!!! Moreover, it's quite an important album, so I might get away with a: "Someone had to do it!".

The album in question is a double live from Area, which as we know is one of the most influential groups in the Italian prog scene of the 70s. It was recorded in 1976 at the Teatro di Milano, where hundreds of university students gathered to witness the great event.

The first disc starts with "Evaporazione" (which originally opened the album "Maledetti - Maudits" of the same year); after this, there follow three tracks from the first album (a true classic), namely "Arbeit Macht Frei", a milestone of their repertoire, "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)" and an excellent performance of "L'Abbattimento dello Zeppelin" (lasting 10:26). The following three tracks are from their second LP ("Caution Radiation Area"): "ZYG (Crescita Zero)", "Cometa Rossa" (with a public ovation lasting 9:38!), and "Lobotomia". A superb interpretation of "Brandenburg Massacre number three in G major" follows, lasting 7 minutes, after which "L'elefante bianco" and "Gerontocrazia" close the first part of the performance.

After an hour like that, anything can be expected from the second half; indeed, we are faced with a HUGE track, "La mela di Odessa". Up to this point, this track had not exceeded 7-8 minutes; here it reaches 18!!! And it's absolute delirium! A track like this deserved nothing less. Also remarkable is "Gioia e Rivoluzione" (a good 10 minutes and 50 seconds), followed by "Scum", "Giro Giro Tondo" (8:03), and "L'Internazionale". Penultimate track: "Boom Boom" by John Lee Hooker, adequately revisited. Finale: "Improvvisazione"!!! 13 minutes and 50 seconds of pure progressive fantasy.

After so much music, Stratos' spoken interludes, and much more, a 135-minute live concludes, in which everything has been seen, and certainly, those who love Area will not forget it. This double is one of the absolute peaks of the band (although unfortunately, the recording quality is somewhat poor - after a while, you don't notice!), and it should not be missed.

5 stars without a doubt.