STORIA DI UN MINUTO

Pastoral, symphonic Italian masterpiece. To think that this was their first album and they used not just the basic guitar, bass and drums but flutes, violin, some brass and the mighty melotron is just incredible. And speaking of the melotron, they use it for dramatic effect as well as King Crimson and Genesis. Song-wise, there isn't one over seven minutes but they use every second magnificently. Take "E-festa" for example, for a song under five minutes, it incorporates numerous time changes, uses many instruments, yet rocks and is extremely memorable, if it's not one of the greatest prog songs under five minutes you'll have to prove it. "Storia di un Minuto" and the next two albums by PFM are at the pinnacle of symphonic prog rock, wholely original, beautiful, and essential. For those who want to try out the Italian scene, give it a spin and tell me you're not impressed. A no-brainer five star album.