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    Posted: September 27 2021 at 04:49
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

Originally posted by Saperlipopette! Saperlipopette! wrote:

Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

Originally posted by Saperlipopette! Saperlipopette! wrote:

Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

What about Photos of Ghosts?
It's Per un Amico in english and doesn't count as a unique album for me.


Its been so many years since I heard it or discussed it, but I was thinking it took music from both Per un amico and Storia di un minuto (plus one unique track perhaps).
I think its just Per un Amico plus a short track called Old Rain...


I think Celebration off it is at least based on E' festa from Storia di un minuto. But basically it is an English language remake of Per un amico.   It is an album I'd avoid (having failed to before), but some do like it.

Recently I did a detailed comparison between the PFM Italian and English albums. You can read it here.

So musically (not taking into account the lyrics), Photos of Ghosts has 3 modified/new tracks (River of Life, Celebration, Old Rain) as The World Became the World only has the re-recorded title track.

All in all, I recommend Photos of Ghosts, but feel that The World Became the World is not essential if you already have L'isola di niente.
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I'd start with Chocolate Kings, then get the albums before it.

Edited by Boojieboy - September 26 2021 at 22:14
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Their live album Cook (Aka Live in the USA). The live version of Four Holes in the Ground is fantastic.
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

I feel guilty for writing off all their work post 1974 or whatever. I'm not actually a PFM expert by any means but those early albums are so great that its hard to take the later stuff so seriously.
Just so its clear they released 4 albums on ELP's Manticore label including Photos of Ghosts and The World Became the World which were basically English language 'compilations' of tracks from the first 3 Italian releases. They are absolutely fine and the sound mixes and performances are good.  After they released their first unique English language album Chocolate Kings in 1975. It has a solid rating on PA of about 4.0 (similar to ELP's Brain Salad Surgery album). Its a more technical album but has some great tracks especially Out of The Roundabout. They were doing a lot of touring in the UK and Europe about this time including a performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test which is well worth checking out. The next and last Manticore release was Jet Lag which features a lot more shorter tracks and has a very funky/jazzy feel. The band were moving away from pure symph prog at this time (1977) but then so was the rest of the world! It's not a bad album though although there was a noticeable drop in rating to 3.1. After that its a bit sketchy for the band but they continued touring. According to PA the only album worth getting after that is Stati Di Immaginazione released in 2006. That has an average rating of 4.07 so check that one out. I own the Dracula Opera Rock and Emotional Tattoos albums but can't say that I'm a massive fan of either. Emotional Tatoos came with both Italian and English Language versions so that's interesting at least perhaps.
Thanks, Richard, good to hear from you; Chocolate Kings is my favorite PFM  album-the record is pure emotion! I have the OGWT on dvd, and it is awesome! For me, 1978's Passpartu is PFM's long lost, overlooked album, and has Italian lyrics which are really well done, as is the accompanying music.
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Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
As am I. And yes the originals are superior in some ways, but don't discount he English versions totally. I would add Cook to the list, aka 'Live in the USA' or something like that. An excellent live performance.
Yes, Cook is a great album, and was in part recorded at a university in Toronto!

Edited by presdoug - September 23 2021 at 04:17
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After l'Isola ... niente.
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I feel guilty for writing off all their work post 1974 or whatever. I'm not actually a PFM expert by any means but those early albums are so great that its hard to take the later stuff so seriously.
Just so its clear they released 4 albums on ELP's Manticore label including Photos of Ghosts and The World Became the World which were basically English language 'compilations' of tracks from the first 3 Italian releases. They are absolutely fine and the sound mixes and performances are good.  After they released their first unique English language album Chocolate Kings in 1975. It has a solid rating on PA of about 4.0 (similar to ELP's Brain Salad Surgery album). Its a more technical album but has some great tracks especially Out of The Roundabout. They were doing a lot of touring in the UK and Europe about this time including a performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test which is well worth checking out. The next and last Manticore release was Jet Lag which features a lot more shorter tracks and has a very funky/jazzy feel. The band were moving away from pure symph prog at this time (1977) but then so was the rest of the world! It's not a bad album though although there was a noticeable drop in rating to 3.1. After that its a bit sketchy for the band but they continued touring. According to PA the only album worth getting after that is Stati Di Immaginazione released in 2006. That has an average rating of 4.07 so check that one out. I own the Dracula Opera Rock and Emotional Tattoos albums but can't say that I'm a massive fan of either. Emotional Tatoos came with both Italian and English Language versions so that's interesting at least perhaps.
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While PFM, along with the other biggies,  Le Orme and Banco de Mutuo Soccorso (my fave of these three)  proved to be a great introduction to the worlds of Italian progressive music, and I still love music by PFM, it quickly fell of the radar as one of my major favourites.  The Canterbury stylings of Picchio dal Pozzo than became a favourite, and the jazzy Dedalus, Franco Battiato, IL Balletto do Bronzo, Goblin and Fabio Frizzi, and I got into Area which kind of changed my world.  And Franco Leprino's Integrati Disintegrati etc. etc.  and then outside Prog proper with 60s and 70s Morricone.  I do think that PFM, along with Le Orme, and BdMS would be good sorts of introductions to many, but I will recommend to the OP giving Picchio dal Pozzo a try with the self-titled at some time

Once you are into Area, you will be ready to be initiated into the not quite inner sanctum of the Maximo Progressivo Italiano circle, and then the fun really begins. ;) 

And sorry for the digression. Getting back to earlier discussion,  maybe those (mostly) English language PFM albums will work for you  It partially depends on how comfortable you are listening to non-English language music.  If I were you I'd peruse some of the reviews at PA (Prog Archives) for PFM and then jump right in.  I think that will be as helpful a guide as asking in the forum unless you have specified specific requirements and tastes.


Edited by Logan - September 22 2021 at 20:11
Duos for fave acts
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I only have the first three, and I don't expect to dig any deeper. As I understand, those are the better ones, and they didn't actually do so much for me. There are other RPI albums that I love much more, this ones just didn't click with me. Still, there are some things to enjoy in them, of course.
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Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
As am I. And yes the originals are superior in some ways, but don't discount he English versions totally. I would add Cook to the list, aka 'Live in the USA' or something like that. An excellent live performance.
I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I am not discounting the English versions in any way, quite the contrary, they are what I have counted on all these years; I am saying they are worth it the most in retrospect.
Opps, sorry, that wasn't directed at you. I was just quoting a fellow hoser befoe adding my own $0.02 worth.
no worries
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Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
As am I. And yes the originals are superior in some ways, but don't discount he English versions totally. I would add Cook to the list, aka 'Live in the USA' or something like that. An excellent live performance.
I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I am not discounting the English versions in any way, quite the contrary, they are what I have counted on all these years; I am saying they are worth it the most in retrospect.
Opps, sorry, that wasn't directed at you. I was just quoting a fellow hoser befoe adding my own $0.02 worth.
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Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

I just heard that Peter Sinfield wrote lyrics for Photos of Ghosts. 
Yes that sounds more interesting than it is really. Not Sinfields most memorable lyrics as far as i can remember. I'll take the gorgeous italian versions over clumsy english copies any day.
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Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
As am I. And yes the originals are superior in some ways, but don't discount he English versions totally. I would add Cook to the list, aka 'Live in the USA' or something like that. An excellent live performance.
I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I am not discounting the English versions in any way, quite the contrary, they are what I have counted on all these years; I am saying they are worth it the most in retrospect.
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Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

I just heard that Peter Sinfield wrote lyrics for Photos of Ghosts. 
yes, and The World Became the World too. ELP helped them get some visibility in the US/UK, releasing those 2 albums on their Manticore label. I’ll join the others above in advising against these albums, in favor of the Italian versions. Not because it’s “cooler” or because I’m a purist, it just sounds very awkward pasting a new set of lyrics on the songs. They don’t flow well with the music for the most part, and the mix isn’t that great.
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Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

I just heard that Peter Sinfield wrote lyrics for Photos of Ghosts. 

Yes, Sinfield wrote the English lyrics for them at that time.

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Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
As am I. And yes the originals are superior in some ways, but don't discount he English versions totally. I would add Cook to the list, aka 'Live in the USA' or something like that. An excellent live performance.
Thank you for supporting independently produced music
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I just heard that Peter Sinfield wrote lyrics for Photos of Ghosts. 
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Chocolate Kings and Jet Lag have a different vocalist (Bernardo Lanzetti) who sounds a lot like Roger Chapman from Family. Good albums, a bit more removed from the classic early style but still very progressive. Jazzy in spots.

Suonare Suonare is another later one I like. Definitely hitting pop territory here, but not quite in full-on 80s mode yet. The drummer starts taking a bigger share of the lead vocals at this point.
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I'm from Canada, where PFM were big in the seventies, and what we were mainly exposed to were the English language albums from that time, which I really like, and have a sentimental connection to, as they were the first RPI recordings I ever heard and loved. Photos of Ghosts, The World Became The World, Chocolate Kings, Jet Lag, and Passpartu are for me what has given me decades of listening pleasure and has stood the test of time for me quite nicely.  
        Is their later work worth it, or comparable in quality, I don't know as I have not immersed myself in any of it.
           
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I join the chorus saying to privilege the Italian albums and consider Photos of Ghosts a compilation album - not bad at al, and it has the splendid Il banchetto in Italian, but it remains a compilation album, imho.
I also think that the first three - Storia di un minuto, Per un amico and L'isola di niente - are the best. Somehow, I also like their live album Performance, which is not very well rated here; it has a much more 80s sound to it, more compact, but quite engaging I think.

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