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Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) - Quelli (pre-PFM) CD (album) cover

QUELLI (PRE-PFM)

Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM)

Rock Progressivo Italiano


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federico2_bar
5 stars REALLY: 4,87 (ESSENTIAL!!! The masterpiece of Prog Music!!! ESSENTIAL IN EVERY DISCOGRAPHY!!!)

It knows I give so high vow to this album? Why in the stage Italian Beat I Quelli are the band more Prog! Not only because this is the first unit of PFM (Franz Di Cioccio, Franco Mussida e Giorgio Piazza) and plays too Alberto Radius (Formula 3), but because this is Prog! Is true that the Italian law allowed to translate foreign songs without problems, however the Italian versions of "Rain And Tears" (Aphrodite's Child, translated in "Lacrime E Pioggia"), "Hole In My Shoe" (Traffic, translated in "Tornare Bambino"), "Dizzy" (Tommy Roe, translated in "Dici"), "1-2-3 Red Light" (by 1910 Fruitgum Co., translated in "Hip Hip Hurrà) and (Even The Bad Times Are Good by Tremeloes, translated in "Questa Città Senza Te") are nice (pratically, make a will translated to part, is equal at the original!). Hush then is sung in English. That to say some original songs? It is are a lot of Prog (are lacking however the keyboards) and calmly we can affirm that this is the first album of Italian Prog (Proto-Prog, of course). I Quelli, before they changed name in Krel (ore 7"), then, always for contract problem with changed label, in PFM. Whose all story we know.

Report this review (#67076)
Posted Friday, January 27, 2006 | Review Permalink
ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
1 stars Lots of songs from this album were released on singles and are quite forgettable to say the least. I guess that the worst has been achieved with "Tornare bambino" (a silly cover from Traffic).

Early (but genuine) debut from some prog giants were average. But to include this work into the "PFM" discography is a big mistake IMHHO. If ever this work has to be include into the archive, it should sit under the "I Quelli" umbrella. But I seriously doubt that someone can find any relation with prog here. Nor proto. Nor anything, but weak.

Only a few covers are worth. One of the best is "Lacrime e pioggia" from the greek band "Aphrodite's Child". A fantastic pop song with an incredible melody.

The best one is a cover of a cover. A faithful rendition of the great Purple one: "Hush". What was the purpose???

Yours truly has listened to this "work" with a lot of patience and will try to get it out of the "PFM" discography as soon as possible. Once this achievement being reached, I will delete some lines from this review.

I can only recommend to avoid this work as the pleague. One star.

Report this review (#243355)
Posted Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | Review Permalink
Ivan_Melgar_M
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars From I Quelli to the Revelation

I have always felt there's a lot in common between GENESIS and PFM, starting with that Symphonic Pastoral style so unique in the Italians but also in the first two GENESIS albums, but after listening I Quelli, I'm more convinced of this similarities. As in the case of the Charterhouse School band, three classic era PFM members were in the Italian group (Mussida, Di Cioccho and Piazza) and like in From Genesis to the Revelation, the I QUELLI album is a collection of short simpler songs with a clear Psychedelic influence and 60's melodic music, where hints of their future magic can be heard.

Of course I will never try to compare this cute album with masterpieces as Per Un Amico or Historia Di Un Minuto, but I like it, there's naive charm with no pretensions that captured me from the start, but most important we can listen some very clever instrumental arrangements and nice vocals by Di Cioccio.

I won't try to make a song by song review because the music there's not much to comment, except in a couple of tracks like the cover version of Rain and Tears by APHRODITE'S CHILD called Lacrime E Pioggia, which maintains the original spirit but a very unique sound that only an Italian band can add.

It's also interesting the "silly" cover of Hole in my Shoe by Traffic (Tornare Bambino), soft, melodic and with a very beautiful vocal work and nice sitar. Of course there are weaker songs like Hush (Cover from Deep Purple), that really demonstrates us that they were born to be an Italian Symphonic band and not a Heavy Prog one.

From their original material I was impressed by the dramatic and elaborate Nuvole Gialle, that has really spectacular moments and the romantic Sigillato Con Un Bacio, which was poorly covered in Spanish by a Peruvian band that hated when I was a child but really loved with the excellent arrangements and the orchestral passages of I QUELLI.

To summarize: Don't expect a Prog or a really complex Psychedelic album, it's a cute collection of songs with ups and downs that deserves to be listened as part of the history of the most recognizes Italian Prog band, just as in the case as From Genesis to the Revelation.

The rating is only an anecdote in this case, but I won't go with less than three stars.

PS: The version I bought has 23 tracks, but as usual, I base my rating in the original release.

Report this review (#1005052)
Posted Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | Review Permalink
3 stars The record "I Quelli" is an album of a band that later becomes the marvelous Premiata Forneria Marconi. It was released back in the happy psychadelic sixties, 1969 and we se a cover with five members in a frame of red and black. And it features at least two musicians from later PFM: Franz di Cioccio on drums and Franco Mussida on guitar. The others are Pino Favarolo on guitar, Tony Gesualdi on bass, Teo Teocoli on voice, Alberto Radius on guitar and voice and Giorgio Piazza on bass.

The album contains twelve short songs which almost all is rather pleasant to hear. It's sweat with this light pop in Italian with some psych flavors and also some interesting instrumentation that goes beyond the very common rock theme. Many of the songs are covers and those are the least interesting tracks. Deep Purple's "Hush" for example is quite correct played but the vocals aren't great. That song is better covered by Swedish Tommy Körberg at the same time for example. But many songs here are nice and fine and prove it's an interesting band playing here. I also like the pure rock sound from these early days. "Dici", "Marilù", "Lacrime E Pioggia", "Tornare Bambino", "Pensieri" and "Sigillato Con Un Bacio" is worth hearing and I liked what I was exposed to(6/10). Other songs like "Nucole Gialle", "Mi Sentivo Strano", "Hush" and "Questa Città Senza" was OK and quite enjoyable light pop(5/10).

Two tracks were though rather annoying. "15 Anni"(3/10) and "Hip Hip Hurrà"(4/10) wasn't good at all in my ears.

Finally I must say this is a safe record it is a big chance you like because the sound of these early days is very accessible. But please don't compare this to Premiata Forneria Marconi. I would be totally pointless. This is one form of music(not exactly RPI) and PFM is another. Three weak stars.

Report this review (#1106161)
Posted Friday, January 3, 2014 | Review Permalink

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