Jeez N! Again, why broadcast that you're not going to do a review? I bloody hated the thing and I was still the first to review it. What is it with you that you have to let everyone know how much you don't like an album, but won't review it? I honestly don't get it... :confused:

I feel funny jumping in and out of the Prog club. And thought maybe I should express that I was somewhat interested what was going on, even if I don't produce a review. I guess it is a case of not fitting in by trying to hard to fit in.

It's not that I don't like either album, I listen to both. So far, from Seconds Out on I haven't come across an album that I absolutely hated... so far. And if Seconds out was a greatest hits instead of a live album I would rate it 7+ on a scale of 0 to 5. Funny thing that there was a Italian Prog album up for review because I was listening to live performances from Italian Prog bands on YouTube, a day or two before I saw it up for review.

Hmm. Maybe if you just comment/discuss with us but stay away from saying "I won't be reviewing this". Maybe it's just me and I know you don't mean it but it's really annoying me. Personally I wish I had opted not to review AMF but then as a Core member I don't have that luxury!

Incidentally, for those interested I am now listening to my first ever Miles Davis album (also my first ever jazz album) and really enjoying it... :thumb:

I totally opt out listening to Miles Davis, I guess because his name is bandy about just as much Bob Dylan's. Though I have seen some of his interviews. Well to say the least I am in full support in your decision to explore Jazz - most people would be starting their Jazz phase in their 30s, in a way I am proud you held out for so long. What got me into Jazz believe it or not was Prog, and I owe much what I know and like to Prog musicians.

But why are you overly influenced by what you read? I always read album reviews and just take that on-board what they've said, but I still make up my own mind in the end. Also this is not some elitist club, anybody can participate whether they feel comfortable writing reviews or not. In my opinion it takes more constructive ability to write a negative review over a positive one.

But then again you can put in a lot of humour when writing how bad a band performs and get a chuckle out it and also lulz from people who read it too. When you write a positive review no one is going to laugh at "he was a fantastic drummer."

But then again you can put in a lot of humour when writing how bad a band performs and get a chuckle out it and also lulz from people who read it too. When you write a positive review no one is going to laugh at "...he was a fantastic drummer."

You do music reviews to get laughs? I think you are doing it wrong buddy.

Yes but that's not constructive criticism though, that's a just casual slag off of the album;) What I meant was to actually stand back a bit from the album and examine why you don't like it and tackle it from that angle, I did it on my own journal with the Ozzy album and found it a lot more demanding than doing a positive review.

http://blog-imgs-37.fc2.com/e/p/i/episode666/area.jpg
Album title: Arbeit macht frei
Artiste: Area
Nationality: Italian
Year: 1973
Subgenre: Rock Progressivo Italiano, though I would say more jazz fusion (ugh)
Player(s): Demetrio Stratos (Vocals, Organ, Steel Drum), Giampaolo Tofani (Guitars, Synth), Patrick Djivas (Bass)Guilio Capiozzo (Drums), Eddie Busnello (Sax), Patrizio Faraselli (Piano)
Familiarity: None at all
Favourite track(s): The whole thing to me seemed to come off as just one long jazz influenced piece.
Why? N/A
Least favourite track(s): N/A
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? Trollheart had given it such a terrible review it left me intrigued to hear it, but before that I was intrigued, as I always like to indulge anyway into European bands.
Factoids you'd like to share? A noted highly socialist band....well it was trendy and cool back then.
End impression: A somewhat enjoyable experimental jazz effort with an Italian tinge to it and yes I'd listen to more material by this band.
Comments: This is one of those experimental albums that carries over elements of the 1960s experimental scene, it has a big druggy acid-psychedelic influence as well and I also hear the Canterbury scene in there too and these are all scenes that I really like and were well executed here. I wouldn't call this a classic album but I enjoyed the somewhat distinctive feel of the album and also the heavy jazz score (and I'm not really much of a jazz fan either) When he sung I thought Demetrio Stratos was actually very good and the album's experimental idiosyncrasies both in the vocals and music was quite refreshing as well, overall I'd say this was actually a very good album if the listener is keen on any of the above mentioned influences by me. To be honest I never noted the left-wing focus of the band here and maybe it's more obvious on their other material. Remember too that this was the early 1970s and violent communist revolutionary movements were very en-vogue especially in Italy with the Red Brigades and in Germany with the Baader-Meinhof Gang, so the band would've been very politically clued up as well.

Rating: 4.0 An enjoyable 30 odd minutes with an Italian identity