Area is so, so good.
I discovered them early in 2002, I think, and
collected most of their recordings only months before
the box was released (dammit). I'm not generally a
prog fan, either, but the two groups cited by
Dominique Leone in his Pitchfork review---Magma and
Soft Machine---are favorites and okay points of
reference, in the sense that they created fascinating
soundworlds in/around prog and psychedelia, and both
had rather, er, _different_ vocalists that placed an
indelible stamp on the groups' work. Demetrios
Stratos' voice might be the only off-putting thing
about Area for a newcomer who hasn't braved the Magma
"shivery falsetto" skreech yet. Not that Stratos does
that, exactly, but he does ornament his vocal drama
with, well, yodels. What else could we call them?
Yodels, growls, ululations, glossolalia...Stratos
crushes up and spits and wipes and ruminates language
like very few singers anywhere near the rock idiom.
Those who are impressed by Mike Patton's range and
perversion would do well to seek out Stratos' work
with Area. In terms of chops, SM/Magma really is a
kind of marginally helpful comparison, because though
all three bands jam, there are more than a few moments
where there's no better comparison than some of Herbie
Hancock's groups from the Seventies. Balanced against
Area's ultra-tight kick-ass funk-fusion ejaculations
are passages of open-ended perversity that outdo any
other prog groups I can think of...though I think most
of these might be on records like the great MALEDETTI
(not inlcuded in this Area box, but available from the
same label, Akarma). My own preference would be for
this album, though at the price, the four disc box set
can't be beat, if you found it for only $40. For a
"popular" band, Area might have included almost
everything they did on four full CDs, instead of four
~40min CDs, but that is the "value oriented American"
in me. Also, when did Paul Lytton and Steve Lacy sit
in with any other prog band, the way they do with
Area? (Well, this was on MALEDETTI; I can't remember
if that happens on any of the box set titles.) I
personally recommend Area with devil-signs in the air.
If the descriptions don't have you convinced, then
try MALEDETTI, and if you like it, the box will be a
must. (Though MALEDETTI is probably the stranger of
the discs, all things considered.)
-----s
