AREA — Caution Radiation Area (review)

AREA — Caution Radiation Area album cover Album · 1974 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Miler72
This was the second album by Area. Jan Patrick Djivas had left the group and joined PFM (L'Isola di Nienti was PFM's first album with Djivas). In comes Ares Tavolazzi, who is a fantastic bassist in his own right. Here Demetrio Stratos only sings on one song, and the rest is him doing the occasional spoken dialog and funny sounds. The band also takes on a less accessible, more experimental direction. "Cometa Rossa" is the only song in which Stratos actually sings, in Greek (he was Greek, after all). There are plenty of great fusion passages that would keep any fusion fans happy. "ZYG" and "Brujo" features some rather avant garde passages with some great jamming fusion passages with synths and electric piano from Patrizio Farisello. I really love how "Brujo" ends with Stratos giving some spoken dialog and some really tripped out synths. "MIRage? Mirage!" is really out there, lots of tripped out passage, screaming voices, but even here they go into fusion territory. "Lobotomia" is simply a bunch of noise off synths.

Perhaps the biggest thing that might turn off some people about Area is their politics as they were openly communist (in fact a hammer and sickle can be seen in the gatefold of Arbeit Macht Frei, their debut). Regardless, I didn't let their politics get in the way of my enjoying their music, that same goes to Robert Wyatt and Henry Cow (who were also communists, the latter also showing a hammer and sickle on their Western Culture album), because Area certainly made some of my all-time favorite fusion/prog albums. Caution: Radiation Area is great, but if you're new, you probably should start with Arbeit Macht Frei or Crac!
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Cecil Taylor Unit : Live At Fat Tuesdays, February 9, 1980 First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
CECIL TAYLOR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Solo Bern 1984 - First Visit Avant-Garde Jazz
ANTHONY BRAXTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Bruno Parrinha & Johannes von Buttlar : Whispers and Reveries Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Nuno Torres & Johannes von Buttlar : Cosmic Collision Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ernesto Rodrigues, Carlos Bechegas, João Madeira & Monsieur Trinité : Free to Open Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ERNESTO RODRIGUES
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Songs My Mom Liked EPK - Anthony Branker
ANTHONY BRANKER
js· 1 day ago
“INFLUENCES” by Jared Hall, trumpeter & composer
JARED HALL
js· 1 day ago
Jean-Pierre (feat. Darryl Jones)
BILL EVANS (SAX)
snobb· 1 day ago
Magic Box
CHRISTOPHE MARGUET
snobb· 1 day ago
The Peacocks
ANTOINE DRYE
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed