STORIA DI UN MINUTO

Storia Di Un Minuto is the debut album from leading Italian symphonic prog rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi. The album was released in 1972 and is clearly influenced by some of the big european progressive rock bands from that time.

I hear a strong King Crimson influence ( Early King Crimson) where especially the mellotron waves point in that direction. There are also a very obvious influence from the Dutch band Focus which is mostly due to the use of classical inspired flute playing and early Genesis is also an influence. The big difference here is of course the Italian lyrics. The quality is very high throughout the album and Premiata Forneria Marconi really know how to vary their music to keep the listener excited all the way through the album.

The album is not very long with its 34:34 minutes but it´s quality music all the way. Not a moment is wasted time. Songs like Impressioni di Settembre and La Carrozza di Hans are IMO extremely well written songs but all songs are great. Besides the symphonic prog tendencies there are also a bit of folk influences here and there and even a bit of jazz in Dove... Quando... (Parte II).

The musicianship is excellent and the use of violin, flute, moog and mellotron really adds some nice touches to the music. The vocals are pleasant and calm.

The production is warm and organic.

Until I listened to this album from Premiata Forneria Marconi I only knew the Chocolate Kings album which I bought in a used records store when one of the other customers said that they sounded a bit like Genesis. Storia Di Un Minuto is an excellent progressive rock album and it´s understandable that some people regard it as a masterpiece and give it 5 star ratings. For me Storia Di Un Minuto is a deserved 4 star rating. This one is highly recommendable to fans of early seventies symphonic prog like King Crimson, Genesis and Focus.