STATI DI IMMAGINAZIONE

In 2006 there was some kind of earthquake, all over our beloved Progarchives.

PFM's STATI DI IMMAGINAZIONE appeared and reaped one ecstatic review after another. At the time of writing (November 2007) it is listed not only as the most popular prog album of 2006, but even as PFM's best effort ever.

I only began to discover PFM less than a year ago. I thoroughly enjoyed their early albums, so you can imagine I was keen to hear STATI. Much to my amazement, this turned out to be a collection of totally conventional instrumental rock. It contained a few urgent, passionate guitar solos (the one on "Cyber Alpha" will please you if you enjoy Santana-style histrionics) and some charming, folksy passages for violin, but there was no trace of the "wow"-factor which typifies the band's classic albums.

Some of the pieces sound so bland and sentimental I wonder how many prog-freaks would pay attention to them if they weren't by PFM. Take "Il mondo in testa", for example. Semi-acoustic guitar, grand piano, vibes and violin perform something not very different from elevator music. Furthermore, the ballad-style guitar solo on "La conquista" sounds no more surprising than a thousand other prog solos (although it is followed by a fairly interesting Camel-like synth solo), and the main theme on "Il sogno di Leonardo" is so sickly sweet it actually makes me feel unwell.

I can only conclude dozens of weathered PFM-fans were SO happy to witness the return of one of their favourite bands that they felt obliged to give their heroes the best possible rating. If you really want EVERYTHING by PFM, by all means give this album a try. If you do not, just don't bother. The year 2006 alone produced loads of prog albums far more exciting than this one.