STATI DI IMMAGINAZIONE

I've been listening to this a lot lately whilst travelling around and initially only really took to Il Mondo In Testa which is an excellent song fitting in well with early 70's PFM. I have found that repeated plays reveal that the whole album is indeed littered with the classic PFM sound and can be considered one of the best prog albums around.

The opener La Terra Dell'acqua is probably what you would expect PFM to sound like, an 00s update on the early style and a band who can start with an 8 minute song that goes through their whole range of styles, never gets dull and showcases a mastering of their genre but there are many highlights on the album, the aforementioned Il Mondo In Testa which I would consider to be one of the band's catchier tunes, La Conquista which starts with groove going through a lovely guitar solo towards 'Celebration' style keyboards. Il Sogno Di Leonardo starts very quietly, something PFM do very well and drops into one of those melting keyboard moments reminiscent of a slightly more uptempo Appena Un Po. Agua Azul takes time to get going but builds into another fantastic keyboard melody. The gentler side of PFM is what sets them apart from most other prog bands and Nederland 1903 peaks beautifully right in the middle of the song. Have I missed a couple? well Cyber Alpha and Visioni Di Archimede bring quite frenzied passages to the album which gives it something for every mood.

The band had a tough time in the 80's and it would be all too easy to sit on early success so I applaud the fact they kept going long enough and releasing new material until the winning formula returned on Stati Di Immaginazione. The more I listen to this album, the more I want to listen to it. If you are a fan of their earlier work then give it a good few formal listens.