puntiniCAZpuntini

THE POOR IDIOT WROTE: "Crash!" the review by Riccardo Bertoncelli
Driven by the "desire to communicate" and perhaps aware of the paranoia they reached with the second album, Area offers us a work that is more calm, serene, and festive than the previous ones, coupling the "revolution" that winked between the pages of the past with a "joy" that is fundamentally about having fun with sound. Compromise? Certainly not, even when delving deep into meanings. Awareness never makes concessions, the lyrics never cease to insinuate and raise doubts, the style shifts in the commas of the modus without crumbling the substance: "my gun is a double bass / that spits on your face," the words sing at one point, and it is the faithful summary of the Area experience, the desire to do something for the times with the instruments available. Beyond the proud proclamations, however, the fabric of the music continues to show cracks. The old problem of "vocality" remains unresolved, Demetrio Stratos continues to chase gasps and freedom oppressed by rigid structures: and the music itself presents stumbling blocks and areas of doubt, forced to slide between audacious images and small retrograde pop schemes.

That the neurosis is that of the years of lead is not my interpretation, it is just so, read millions of times by journalists and by the group itself. The Area were politically active from their hair to their socks, sickles and hammers are plentiful on their covers, starting and ending concerts with a raised fist, concerts in the middle of political rallies, etc., etc. In the mid-70s, a photo appeared in a newspaper depicting a hideout of the Red Brigades just discovered by the police; on a table were rifles, pistols... and an Area record. Patrizio recounts that according to him the journalists or the police put it there on purpose, but the fact remains that to give the idea of the BR hideout, they used rifles, pistols, and an Area record. We’re not talking about Fighetti; they were angrier than all the damn punk and young-hardcore kids in Washington combined and cubed. Not coincidentally, the title of the album is "1978: The Gods Are Leaving, the Angry Remain!" They were really very, very angry, indeed. In the next post, I'll copy and paste the review of a poor jerk about Crac! in I don't know what newspaper, and in the following one, I'll post Stratos' response to that poor jerk.

The snob's corner: I know a jerk so snobby that he insists on saying that their best piece is "Caos."

Aeneas: whether the title or the music came first, the final result doesn't change; Nervi Scoperti perfectly represents the neurosis of the years of lead. It's technical because there was no other way to do it. For me, the point <<transfiguration in the idea of musical genius (=technicality)>> makes no sense. Technicality is taking the guitar, opening the sheet music of any composition, and reproducing it at triple speed. That's technicality; the rest is not. Then, if you read carefully, I've written that the D major chords are musically self-sufficient because their purpose is practical and not musical. /// Ajeje, for me the best is Maledetti, followed by Harbeit & Caution Radiation Area tied for second, and then this one comes. As I write in the review: <<<In my personal opinion, this is not their most successful work, but it is definitely the most suitable for those approaching their sound for the first time>>> According to what is read in the booklets of the Digipack reprints, this is their most structured work, written with the idea of making an album, but I also prefer them when they gathered in the room and played, and whatever came out, came out; in complete freedom, they gave their best.

Well, even though many "rock histories" include "Freak Out," many others include "Absolutely Free," I lean more towards A.Free (oh, and then we're talking about a measly year difference between the two). I see Freak Out as the first attempt at a Rock Opera, while Absolutely Free succeeded better: it’s more cohesive and never loses its central thread. Not that Freak Out is a lesser album; it's a masterpiece worthy of standing among the very first cornerstones of modern music. However, it is much less “rock-opera” than Absolutely Free. You can tell it's the first album, and many things feel "pasted together." This isn't a flaw in the absolute value of the record; it’s just that I can't consider it a unique work divided into tracks; let's say it's more like a series of pieces united into one. And if we want to be nitpicky, the first true rock opera in the true sense of the word is Tommy. /// Lumpy Gravy is a cornerstone because it’s from 67-68 (I remembered it as late 67, but I see that Freedb lists it as 68) and it is only Zappa's third album. However, when he later tried to do similar things, he managed better. I am not very devoted to the philosophy of "derivative" thinking; I focus more on the final result. And as of today, 2005, if you want to hear Zappa's madness, there are even crazier albums of his. However, I recognize that this has historical value that surpasses the subsequent ones :) - One question: both tracks are exactly 15:50 long; did he start with the idea of making them last the same amount of time, or is it a coincidence? I've never read anything about it, but I have a feeling it was all planned: "not a leaf falls that Franco does not want," as they used to say in ancient Mesopotamia.

I don't know, it's my first time, have you been here before me or after me? Or are you my age? I'm voting for Gigi.

To express instinctive neurosis and madness, you need neurotic and mad notes. It’s not a matter of technique; it’s about the result you want to achieve: a song called Nervi Scoperti can only be hyper-messed up; you can’t express neurosis in any other way than through sudden tempo changes and rivers of sounds that intertwine—there’s no other way. Extreme technique is a necessity, not a showcase; otherwise, you’re representing melody, not neurosis or anger. There are also those who say that neurosis and anger are expressed through Punk or Washington Hardcore, but to me, those are the whims of a child wanting a lollipop, and when the mother doesn’t buy it for him. Neurosis and anger are complex feelings, and to be represented in music, they require complexity; otherwise, you’re a spoiled child, not a man in a state of neurosis. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s not an exhibition for its own sake at all; music for its own sake is the "giri di do" that serves to learn how to play.

One Crazy yet still very structured: "Absolutely Free" (my favorite, as well as the first Rock Opera in history) - A mammoth live performance: "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life," featuring almost 40 musicians (classical, jazz, and rock), it's a double album - A Jazz Fusion record: "The Grand Wazoo." These three are among Zappa's less experimental works, musically "very engaged," but there's no excessive nonsense; if you want excessive and crazy nonsense, then this "Lumpy Gravy" is a must.

The first truly heavy and violent album was released a year earlier and is called Vincebus Eruptum. But this one remains a great record. Then in '69 the first album by the Stooges came out, I wouldn’t know exactly which is the more violent. But this one remains a great record. Too bad they later only made crap.

Beautiful but not among the best.