PER UN AMICO

In the golden era for progressive rock, the Italian underground movement somewhat resumed a bit the best that was being done, while adding a special romantic feeling, the Latins glamor. A sense that is specially true in "Per un Amico", in which PFM mastered symphonic rock as almost anyone at the time: from baroque to romantic, neoclassical to psychedelic and even avant-guard, in a elegantly layered cascade of flutes, violins, piano and organ, in the background energy of a rock act.

The compositions are always very dynamic, impressing by their imposing beauty and a tremendous sense of subtleness. They brilliantly change from inspiration to inspiration fueled by almost unnoticeable nuances. Like the opening track "Appena un Poco": starts with a growing thrilling spacey motive, moves from a subtle acoustic moment to a flute driven folk moment a la Jethro Tull, explodes then in a symphonic baroque which gives rise to the melody and subtleness and ends in a jazzy psychedelic ending. This track reinforces the idea of the eclectic amalgam they made of the progressive rock lived at the time. In "General" the instruments seem joyfully to dance together with a glorious military motive in the middle. In fact, glorious and marking moments are spread all over the album, from the acoustic ending of the beautiful subtle "Per un Amico" to the ethereal space landscapes created in "Il Bancheto" and the unexpected moments of "Geranio".

Not revolutionary, but a work of imposing beauty and creativeness, which still touches people 35 years later. A classic, perhaps timeless, progressive rock masterpiece.