L'ISOLA DI NIENTE

At time of its release sometime in the 70s, this legendary album from Italian PFM was quite hard for me to digest comparing to those of other legendary albums like 'Fragile', 'Selling England', 'In The Court of Crimson King', or even 'Free Hand' from other prog bands at that years. For some reason, the main problem with me was the tagline melody which was not quite familiar to my ears compared to other 70s albums by the same band like 'Photos of Ghost' or 'Storia..' or 'Jet Lag' or 'Per Aminco'. The opening track which happened to be the album title was quite hard for me to digest. But it then grew on me at later stages where I listened to various kind of prog music not just symphonic but also Canterbury, Eclectic and RIO. I then started to enjoy the music like the other albums.

Musically, this album is really solid as it has excellent composition combining good notes and sounds of many instruments that contribute to the music. The bass lines are really tight and solid, the flute-work is really excellent. I especially enjoy the flute sounds and styles on the second track "Is My Face On Straight" (6:38). It's like Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) in symphonic prog setting. It's really nice. The other instrument that plays excellent is guitar. Piano and keyboard are also quite dominant throughout the album. The third track "La Luna Nuova" (6:21) starts nicely with violin work followed with excellent keyboard solo that later brings the music into crescendo with nice drum work and ...of course dynamic flute-work! The music than moves into a complex arrangement combining excellent work of all musicians involved. "Dolcissima Maria" (4:01) is a mellow track that serves as a ballad. The concluding track "Via Lumiere" (7:21) starts with an ambient mode using bass guitar solo. The music gradually moves into complex and heavier style. It's an excellent track to close the album. I love the piano solo combined with guitar part in the middle of the track.

It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW