PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM)

The results yielded the album THE WORLD BECAME THE WORLD which featured all the tracks on "L'Isola Di Niente" only completely reimagined with English lyrics with only three major differences. Firstly the midsection tracks were placed in a different order and secondly a sixth track which would become the title track was rechristened from the band's first single "Impressioni Di Settembre" from the band's debut release "Storia Di Minuto." Unique to these albums, the track "Is My Face On Straight" actually appeared as the first English language track to be heard on an Italian language release and remained identical. Musically the tracks are also identical on both albums. This album followed its Italian counterpart released in March 1974 exactly three months later when it was released in June of the same year. Both releases showcased a stylistic shift in the band's approach by delivering a more diverse palette of musical styles that added more complex elements of avant-prog, jazz fusion and other influences in addition to its classic symphonic prog of its earlier albums.

Both guitarist Franco Mussida and keyboardist Flavio Premoli shared lead vocal duties and both do an excellent job of delivering PFM's music in the English language without sounding stilted or overly accented. In fact they handled the foreign tongue with grace and ease making THE WORLD BECAME THE WORLD just as palatable as the original Italian release even though the preference for most Italian prog lovers seemed to prefer the band's original language over the international accessibility of English. Neither the track order differences nor the addition of the emotive title track reformatted from the band's debut album detracted from the overall masterpiece status of "L'Isola Di Niente" thus making THE WORLD BECAME THE WORLD pretty much an equal counterpart in this double marketing attack. While many artists can sound rather clumsy tackling a language other than their own, PFM were masters of their craft in every way and that included marketing themselves to a larger world following.

The album was a huge success and the band continued to release albums in both languages with a total of five English language releases appearing between 1973 and 1977. Pete Sinfield deserves a lot of credit for making THE WORLD BECAME THE WORLD so believable as an English language release given that the way Italian is constructed is so vastly different. There is nothing about THE WORLD BECAME THE WORLD that detracts from the Italian version, at least to my ears as the music delivers all the same passion and musical maestro magic that the original Italian language delivered so masterfully well. Given that the Italian version worked so well with "L'Isola Di Niente" opening and "Via Lumiere" closing the set, the band opted to keep those tracks in the same running order however the scrambling of the mid-section proved to remain as powerful either way. In short, yet another masterpiece!

After delivering its two immediately enduring masterpieces of Italian symphonic prog with the double dose of "Storia Di Un Minuto" and "Per Un Amico" in 1972, the band found international fame and followed with an English version language of some of its music in the form of "Photos Of Ghosts" in 1973. By 1974 PFM was an international sensation representing its homeland as one of the most innovative and productive nations in the world of excellent prog although most bands would not be heard due to most artists' insistence of using the Italian language. PFM continued to release Italian language albums but by 1974 was wise enough to release two versions of its album L'ISOLA DI NIENTE (The Island of Nothing) with an international edition title "The World Became The World" resulting from the very same sessions. Wisely eschewing mere translations of the album's track titles and lyrics, the band employed lyricist Peter Sinfield of King Crimson to construct more realistic English versions which resulted in one of the tracks "Is My Face On Straight" finding its way onto its Italian album version.

A much harder nut to crack than its previous romantically infused and classically inspired symphonic prog, L'ISOLA DI NIENTE ramped up the complexities and influences substantially with a greater emphasis on more avant-prog angular outbursts as well as infusing the world of jazz into its crafty melodic recipe of Italian prog. While the band retained its trademark characteristics of yore, the album expanded the scope of PFM's limitations on its first phase and crafted a series of five distinct tracks that run the gamut of powerful classical choral sections, heavy charged rock and symphonic prog to full-on jazz fusion and funk attacks. Much of the reason for this more eclectic approach resulted from replacing bassist Girgio Piazza with Jan Patrick Djivas who played bass on Area's debut classic "Arbeit Macht Frei." His musical diversity gave the PFM team a much more expansive experimental approach which the band boldly followed along as the prog complexity ratchet was turned ever higher as each year passed.

The title track opens with a sonorous choral performance that makes you wonder exactly what you accidentally put on before the track erupts into a series of jangled guitar riffing sessions that feature a rather subdued vocal style for PFM standards. After over two minutes of what seems like a church service, the band breaks into a heavier rock riffing with bantering bass heft and then a series of time signature-rich guitar antics. The track sets the tone of the album's gist of rotating musical motifs that include the band's usual sensual vocal-led symphonic prog as well as moments of pastoral arpeggiated guitar with full symphonic backing. The track continues through a melodic labyrinth of variations with the return of the jangly guitar rock as well as a second choral interpolation. The track ends with a dreamy outro with melodic space guitar licks offering a taste of Pink Floydian space rock.

"Is My Face On Straight," the first English language track to appear on the usual Italian-only home release is identical to what would appear on the international counterpart "The World Became The World" with the same mix of various motifs that recur with varying instrumental timbres, tempos and dynamics. Staring as a dreamy romantic symphonic prog number that evokes a sense of familiarity, the track suddenly shifts into a jazz-funk number with a feisty energetic flute performance however as the lyrics start a beefy bass groove ups the rock heft and organ prowess into some sort of bridge that takes ushers into high speed guitar licks and eventually morphs into the same motif that began the album after a series of heavy time signature-rich prog workouts. The track ends with a sense of whimsy as the English lyrics narrate a goofier than usual mood setting more reminiscent of England's Canterbury Scene of Frank Zappa.

Side Two begins with "La Luna Nuova" which features a dominant folk dance groove that finds an endless series of virtuosic variations riffing off. The track undergoes a series of groove changes, time signature workouts, key shifts and bouts of chaotic complexity before finding resolution as the opening melodic dance groove which is interpreted throughout its run. The penultimate "Dolcissima Maria" offers a respite from the crazy complexity the album engages in up to this point and offers a light-hearted ballad of sort with a steady melodic flow with few surprises and the most like the romantic symphonic prog that was predictable and less starting on the band's debut. The album closes with the all-instrumental "Via Lumiere" which turns up the prog spigot even further with heavier infusions of jazz and avant-prog bombast and provides an exhausting yet satisfying rotisserie of hi-brow prog workouts for the serious musicians out there. The album mercifully ends though in a repetitive closing sequence that offers a nice soothing recurring melody that pacifies the listener's shattered nerves after such daring and enthusiastic performances that L'ISOLA DI NIENTE unleashes in full fury.

Of the first three albums of PFM, this is the one that takes the longest to warm up to as its simply so convoluted and chock filled with musical ideas that it's impossible to digest it in its entirety without repeated exposures. While melodic in nature, the motifs are steeped with twists and turns and complexities that throw you off but after you have time to digest it all and let it all sink in to that deeper level, the majesty of the album is revealed and then it's utterly addictive as it's an album that you literally want to return to again and again. By far the creative peak of PFM as the band would slowly descend off its high and mighty throne as one of the top dog's of early 70s prog with ever increasing watered down versions of itself. In fact L'ISOLA DI NIENTE offers one of the highlight achievements of the entire world of prog with an insane fusion of rock, jazz, classical and folk music all under one roof with an incessant rotisserie of pacifying melodic hooks punctuated by an uproar of brutal prog complexity. This one has become quite a favorite over time but it certainly took many years for it to percolate to the top ranks of my favorites list.

That said, maybe the issue isn't with the vocal performances so much as it's with the mix - the vocals are a little overwhelmed at points, and Flavio Premoli's keyboards are given a lot of prominence. The band seem to be leaning into the ELP association here, presenting the material in a somewhat more brash manner than on their studio albums and with the keyboards of Premoli and Franz Di Cioccio's frantic drumming given a lot of prominence, and there's hints of the more jazz-oriented direction they'd evolve in after this.

With the recording quality being serviceable but not stellar, I'm left feeling that PFM weren't especially well-served by this live release; it comes across as being hastily recorded and knocked out in a hurry (and the artwork doesn't exactly contradict that impression). The raw ingredients here are good, but deserved perhaps a more pristine presentation than it gets.

The album is sustained by the vertigo and anxiety of its bipolar developments, as in the demanding "From Under" and Lanzetti's vocal dalliances, or in the allegorical and initially acoustic "Harlequin" and its intense instrumentation featuring Mauro Pagani's violins and flutes and Flavio Premoli's vertiginous keyboards, or in the accelerated "Chocolate Kings" where, once again, Premoli and his keyboards (with a very present Hammond), engage in a colourful dispute with Mussida's guitars.

And without a pause for breath, two tracks of Genesian lineage to complete a very good album: the splendorous "Out of the Roundabout" and its superb instrumentation, shows, as on the whole album, a decidedly energetic Franz Di Cioccio on percussion, before moving on to the heartbroken "Paper Charms", with Pagani's schizoid violin standing out, with Lanzetti pushing his vocal chords to the limit until the epic finale.

The controversy surrounding the band's support for the Palestinian cause at a very sensitive time meant that they had problems with the proper dissemination and distribution of "Chocolate Kings" in the North American market, limiting their chances of success on a wider scale. A pity.

3.5/4 stars

From the experimental piece that gives its name to the album "L'Isola Di Niente", and its prolonged instrumental interlude featuring Franco Mussida's screeching guitar and Franco Premoli's keyboards, and preceded by a disturbing choral arrangement courtesy of the Accademia Paolina Da Milano, the Italians show a robustness in their musical proposal that is reinforced with the very progressive "La Luna Nuova" and all the textures that Premoli extracts from his keyboards, headed by the stellar moog.

Without leaving aside its Mediterranean roots with the beautiful "Dolcissima Maria" and its melodious and rhythmic acoustic tempos, and since the incorporation of Jan Patrick Djivas on bass replacing Giorgio Piazza, PFM also delves into deep jazzy atmospheres as with the watery "Is My Face On Straight", the English-sung piece on the album, but especially with "Via Lumiere", where Djivas' bass and Franz Di Cioccio's dynamic drumming carry most of the disparate instrumentation until the festive and luminous closing with the full band.

"L'Isola Di Niente" ratified PFM as the Italian progressive band with the greatest repercussion and international success and, with the help of the record label of their referents E,L&P, they spread their talent beyond the peninsular borders.

Very good.

4 stars

Although "Per Un Amico" shows more dynamics and elaboration than its predecessor "Storia Di Un Minuto", once again the melodious developments are the ones that set the pace of the album. As in the pastoral "Appena un Po'" and its restful acoustic landscapes lulled by Franco Mussida's vocals, Mauro Pagani's flutes and Flavio Premoli's genesian organs and melotrons, passing through the chromatic "Per Un Amico", an exercise of Mussida's rhythm guitars with Pagani's violins, fused in symbiosis with Premoli's all powerful moog, to the crystalline "Il Banchetto" where after an opening rhythm guitars, Premoli again shows off his arsenal of Keith Emerson-style keyboards. One of the best on the album.

And this generalised atmosphere, at times more introspective, at times more luminous, is momentarily contrasted by the combative "Generale". An instrumental maelstrom, where Mussida's electric guitars are unleashed in a compulsive screeching and Franz Di Cioccio's doubled percussion resembles a military march, to round off the album's most contrasting track.

The success of "Per Un Amico" crossed the Alpine borders to such an extent that Greg Lake became interested in PFM to the point that the Italians became one of the star bands represented by the "Manticore" label, founded by E,L&P.

Excellent.

4/4.5 stars

Generally reflective and melodic landscapes are sustained by a neat and impeccable instrumentation, as in the autumnal "Impressioni di Settembre", which as soon as the brief and crimsonian "Introduzione" is finished, plunges into an arpeggiated acoustic development and Franco Mussida's whispering singing, where the flutes and the moog, a novelty for the peninsulars, add a misty and dramatic effect, or in the medieval and sentimental "Dove.... Quando... (Part I)", or in the atmospheric "La Carrozza di Hans" that although it follows the same introspective acoustic path, towards its progressive epilogue introduces electric guitars and genesian melotrons.

But "Storia Di Un Minuto" also has its own festive moment with the lighthearted and successful "E Festa", a piece developed in the best Italian tarantella style in prog rock mode and driven by the extroverted keyboards of Flavio Premoli. The same Premoli, very much in the style of Keith Emerson on the keyboards, also stars in the interesting "Dove... Quando... (Part II)", a jazzy improvisation supported by a hesitant flute and violins, both played by Mauro Pagani.

The upbeat "Grazie Davvero" and its calm beginning and subsequent instrumental development, which includes experimental orchestral sounds, up to its arpeggiated acoustic ending, closes the album peacefully.

With no low points to overshadow its content, "Storia Di Un Minuto" is an unbeatable starting point for Premiata Forneria Marconi, one of the iconic bands of the Italian progressive movement and the one with the greatest international repercussion.

4.5 stars

In the late Seventies I discovered the captivating Classic Italian Prog, my first LP was The World Became The World (from 1974) by PFM, I was absolutely delighted, and it was the start of my eternal Italian prog quest, old and new. In 2016 a prog dream came true when I witnessed a PFM gig in the Dutch 'prog temple' De Boerderij. And anno 2023 I got PFM its new album The Event Live In Lugano to review, full circle!

This live record features two special guests: the very talented Matteo Mancuso (born in 1996) on guitar and Barock Project member Luca Zabbini on the mighty Hammond organ. It contains 16 tracks, spanning the time between the first album Storia Di Un Minuto from 1972 until their latest effort, the acclaimed Ho Sogna Pecore Elettrica (2023).

My highlights.

The orchestral sound in the dynamic and varied Mondi Paralleli.

From dreamy with wonderful native vocals, fragile electric guitar work, an intense violin and electric guitar sound and tender piano to halfway a slow rhythm with rock guitar and cheerful violin, then gradually more lush with Hammond and Minimoog, and in the end a fiery guitar solo in Il Respiro Del Tempo.

Spectacular work on a wah wah drenched violin, swirling Hammond, flashy Minimoog with pitchbend and heavy guitar solo in the exciting instrumental Transumanza Jam.

The ballad Impressioni Di Settembre (6:32) that features twanging guitar and beautiful violin and vocals in a dreamy atmosphere, halfway fat Minimoog flights and inspired vocals, how compelling, goose bumps!

A blistering guitar solo with wah wah in the varied and tastefully coloured (Hammond, electric piano, acoustic guitar) La Carrozza Di Hans.

Impressive guitar play in the instrumental Cyber Alpha.

Between classical themes on the violin and heavy electric guitar in the instrumental La Danza Dei Cavalieri Con Il Potere Dell'Amore e Gli Amanti Di Verona.

Virtuosic work on guitar, piano and drums and great interplay in the eclectic Mr 9 till 5.

A wah wah drenched violin sound and propulsive drums beats in Violin Jam, as a prelude to the Ouverture William Tell, what an exciting rendition, with the focus on the violin.

And finally the cheerful Minimoog flights in the swinging 'crowd pleaser' Celebration, again goose bumps!

If I compare my live albums from PFM Live In USA (1974) and Piazza Del Campo (2003) with this 2023 live album I notice that each era PFM delivers quality, skills, passion and, last but not least, inventive musical ideas, like the integration of the heavy guitar by Matteo Mancuso, wow, what a band, still after all those decades!

Introduzione - Sets the stage for this album nicely 8/10

Impressioni di Settembre - Instrumentally, I like the song a lot. I'm not as fond of the vocals on this one. It sounds a bit thin to me. I love the ending the most. Epic. 8/10

E' Festa -Straightforward start, but the keys bring variety to the song. It jumps all over the place in tone and style. And I like that. 8.5/10

Dove... Quando... (Parte I) - Beautiful song. Well played and quietly paced 8.5/10

Dove... Quando... (Parte II) - A mishmash of styles on this one. As on an adventure. Still, it sounds a bit outdated to me 8/10

La Carrozza di Hans -Another song that everything but the kitchen sink. Pleasant, a good listen, but not knocking me off my feet 8/10

Grazie Davvero- Nice closer. No more and no less. 8/10

I don't see the appeal for this one. It pales in comparison with contemporary work. I rate it 3 stars. Which means it is good.

Appena un Po' - is a great opener showing all the skills this band has 9/10

Generale - A bit more funky but still very varied. Another nice pone 8.5/10

Per un Amico - Very delicate but still nicely developing song 9/10

Il Banchetto - The highlight of the album for me 10/10

Geranio - Perfect closer of the album 9/10

This is a must-listen for the prog fan. Easy 5 stars album.