1) Ummm, you mean like that band Yes? 
2) Ummm, what? 
3) Ummm...  

Start talking about European progressive and you’re likely to fall completely off the low end of the obscurity meter. Despite public opinion however, progressive Rock is alive and growing, with bands like Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, and Dali’s Dilemma at the forefront. In fact, the genre is so vibrant that it now has several of its own festivals -- perhaps the biggest and most important of these being NEARfest (North East Art Rock Festival). The festival has been host to such acts as Porcupine Tree, Happy the Man, and the supergroup Transatlantic. It was at this festival in 2000 that D.F.A., a little known progressive rock quartet from Italy, gave its first American performance earning the band a new set of fans in progressive circles across the country as well as in other parts of the world.

D.F.A. is truly a musician’s band. Their complex arrangements can seem chaotic and cacophonous if not perceived by a trained ear and understood in some strict musical context. Their website includes actual sheet music of the band’s songs. WORK IN PROGRESS LIVE features songs from the band’s first two releases, 1999’s DUTY FREE AREA and 1997’s LAVORI IN CORSO, and though the songs remain long ("La Via" clocks in at nearly fifteen and a half minutes), several are considerably shorter than the original versions. For a live album, WORK IN PROGRESS is incredibly well captured, all of the musical forces clear and articulate. The vocals, few and far between for the most part, sound to the English speaking person’s ear far different from the operatic tenor that is such a staple of most Progressive Music.

On WORK IN PROGRESS LIVE, D.F.A. delivers a healthy dose of synthesized madness, completely insane time signature changes, and precision tested drumming on three instrumental tracks and three tunes sung completely in Italian. The musical prowess displayed on this incredible live album is far out of the reach of most popular bands nowadays, and even by progressive standards, these guys are standout musicians. The guitar and bass interplay is nothing short of inspiring. For the most part, the album is fluid and melodic, though there are certain moments, such as on "Trip On Metro", where the music gets a bit bogged down in technicality and loses the attention of melody-seeking listeners, sounding, instead, more like the inhuman blips and beeps of R2D2.

The band flows freely from mellow vocal passages into gigantic jazz improvisational jam sessions and back again. D.F.A. infuses their rock stylings with a healthy dose of ethnic world music, all while paying homage to their Prog forefathers. "Pantera" recalls the keyboard licks of Yes and their 1970’s peers. Unlike some recent Prog groups, D.F.A. shows little influence from the 80’s and 90’s metal that seems to have infiltrated much of the scene. Instead they chose a more classical approach to the genre.

WORK IN PROGRESS LIVE is an album that can be appreciated by musicians and non-musicians alike, but all should be prepared for something quite different from your everyday live album. Flawless musicianship and innovative arrangements are the rule. The degree of accuracy with which D.F.A. plays often makes it difficult to believe that this is a live album. If the reaction of the crowd at NEARfest is any indication, the future certainly looks bright for D.F.A.

Artist	D.F.A.
Title	Work in Progress Live
Label	Moonjune Records
Reviewer	Shelby Rushing
Rating
website	DFA's Homepage

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