3.0 out of 5 stars
It isn't too bad, but compared to their first two albums..., January 19, 2011
This review is from: Quinto Stato (Audio CD)
For some reason, there was a four year gap between albums. In 1975, Arti + Mestieri released Giro Valzer per Domani, and no new albums from them until 1979, with the release of Quinto Stato, once again, on Cramps. Perhaps the big shocker is the raspy vocals on some of the cuts, to me, they simply need getting used to. The album does have some good material, and I like the use of keyboards. The only wind instrument used now is the sax. The violin had also disappeared completely too. Musically, I am reminded a bit of what Brand X was doing around the same time (Product), probably due to the presence of the Wal fretless bass. Unfortunately many of the pieces have a more commercial fusion bent to them, making you wished they pushed the envelope more, as they had on their previous albums. At least drummer Furio Chirico is still behind the album, but his drumming seems rather tame compared to what he's done on previous albums (as well The Trip's Time of Change from 1973 and Atlantide from 1972, where he played drums on as well). I wouldn't be too far off in saying that Quinto Stato is to Arti + Mestieri what Tic & Tac was to Area, a more mainstream fusion album. Both from more or less the same time period. Of course, with Area, they lost their very important figure, Demetrio Stratos, so they decided to try a different direction than when they had Demetrio on board. Arti + Mestieri didn't have that problem, just lineup changes, and the fact they're facing hard times as fusion and prog rock were no longer fashionable by 1979. I don't believe you can blame Cramps for forcing the band to record something more commercial to sell more albums, as, from my understanding, Cramps was apparently not too concerned about how well the albums were to sell or the commercial value of them, giving their artists artistic freedom, so I believe it was simply the decision of the band to move this way.
This album still had good moments, but go with Tilt and Giro Valzer per Domani first.
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