L'ISOLA DI NIENTE

It always seemed to me that if Premiata Forneria Marconi were an English speaking & singing band (and didn't have such a long, foreign sounding name - but shortening it to just PFM helped that), they could have been much bigger in the prime years of prog rock in the seventies. Even back when prog was popular, I don't recall ever meeting anyone who knew of this band. And that's too bad. This album would have blown them away.

The album is a showcase for many different prog styles, all performed exquisitely. There is symphonic prog, with the album opening with a choral intro on L'Isola di Niente, and moving into symphonic prog rock bliss. Is My Face On Straight has an almost Canterbury jazz rock feel to it. La Luna Nuova begins with an almost prog folk sound, but becomes very Yes-like by it's crescendo. Dolcissima Maria gives us a bit of a rest before Via Lumiere (my favorite song by PFM), end the album with some fine bass playing.

Again, I don't speak Italian, so the lyrics mean nothing to me (even the one song with English lyrics, where they sound too buried in the mix to understand).