STORIA DI UN MINUTO

As an Italian music fanatic I do love PFM but I have to say that I find the deifying of this group to be puzzling. Perhaps people consider them the essence of Italian because of their long history with many releases whereas many of their counterparts were one or two-shot bands. I personally find that many of those one-shots are much dearer to my heart than PFM, whose music may be more polished and sound closer to their English rivals, but in pursuing that sound have less of the intrinsic Italian traditional flavor I hold so dear. I'm less interested personally in hearing the Italian take on English influences than the actual unique qualities that draws me to those small groups that cooked their magnum opus straight from their heart and hometown, with little thought about what the foreign press were raving about. But that's just a personal impression not meant to diss PFM in any way. They're definitely one of the greats and Storia is a fine early Italian release. I just cringe a bit when people imply that to hear PFM/Banco/Orme is to have sufficiently sampled Italian prog...far from it. There is so much more out there than the big 3.

I agree wholeheartedly with Guigo that this and Per Un Amico should have been released together as PFM's White Album, the two go so well together. You will find much the same magic here as on the slightly more consistent Per Un Amico: Agile, thoughtful piano, great guitar work, flutes, superb arrangements/production, and very pleasant Italian vocals. "Dove.Quando part 1" is a perfect example of PFM in this era, rather mellow with wistful flute and finger-picked acoustic guitars. This album has a dreamy quality with lots of acoustic moments to counter the heavier symphonic portions. It is very well played with a good sound although as I mentioned I think Amico is a slightly more impressive overall composition. PFM newbies wishing to check out this band should start with Per Un Amico. If that works for you try this one, L'isola, Stati, and Chocolate Kings. The 2003 BMG mini is made in Europe and does not have the lyric sheet like the Japanese ones do. The sound seems good though. 3 ½ stars, a very good debut.

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