PFM

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Feb 16 12:20:56 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит PremiataForneria_Marconi_(PFM)/(1976)_Chocolate_Kings_(Remastered_2010Plus)

Заапгрейжен диск ПФМ. Ремастер 2010 года, кроме основного диска содержит ещё и запись концерта тех же времён, с почти тем же набором треков. Концерт ОЧЕНЬ интересный и заводной (насколько это слово применимо к прогрессиву).
Весьма рекомендую!

---
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Nov 17 12:40:20 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит PremiataForneria_Marconi_(PFM)/(2017)_Emotional_Tattoos(2CD)

Прошло ещё 10 лет и, снова, новый номерной (!) альбом от основоположников РПИ.
Альбом вышел буквально несколько дней назад в двух версиях: на английском и на итальянском языке, у нас обе.
В группе не осталось почти никого из старых участников, и это, к сожалению, чувствуется. Нет, стиль, в основном, поддерживается, но это - уже совсем не тот, "классический" ПФМ, который мы знаем и любим.
Достаточно короткие, достаточно попсовые песенки. Постоянно возникает чувство, что "мы это уже когда-то слышали, причём НЕ у ПФМ".
Так или иначе, надо его прослушать - хотя бы из уважения к старым заслугам, которые, прямо скажем - неисчислимы.

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PFM? PFM?! No not PFM! Far from PFM. The world monitors their activity for almost half a century and knows very well that there's PFM where and when there's Franco Mussida. No Mussida means no PFM. Mussida was their creative driving force for their best decades and wrote most of their best music. Mussida is missing on Emotional Tattoos - and, as a result, PFM is in fact missing on their newest album... as figuratively so literally. Only one original member participated, the drummer Franz Di Cioccio, and another long surviving (since 1973) member, the bassist Patrick Djivas. I don't know who wrote those 11 primitive and musically lightminded songs, but they clearly show that now, instead of Mussida, the leader of the band is Miss Baker. No matter if she is just a virtual character from long gone 1987, her spirit is still alive, revived and brought back into activity with the PFM's new release. Only Freedom Square reminds music; the rest is straight FM rock mixed with straight FM pop slightly camouflaged with prog of moderate quality. What a pity that this album was released under the holy name of Premiata Forneria Marconi.

(c) proghaven, PA
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Инджой!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Nov 18 13:47:22 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит PremiataForneria_Marconi_(PFM)/(2005)_Dracula_OperaRock

А вот вам ещё один ПФМ! Как-то мы пропустили эту, написанную на волне ревайвала группы, рок-оперу...
Что сказать? Джизуса Крайста не получилось, но, собственно, никто и не ждал.
Много красивых, "классических пфм-ных" вещей. Хор, симфонический оркестр, солисты - в общем всё, как у больших.
Резюмируя: если не ожидать шедевра, то всё прекрасно.

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Line-up / Musicians

- Franz Di Cioccio / vocals, drums, percussion
- Franco Mussida / guitars, vocals
- Patrick Djivas / bass
- Flavio Premoli / piano, organ, synthesizers, vocals, orchestrations

With:
- Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra
- Natale Massara / orchestra director, orchestrations
- Emanuela Trane (Dolcenera) / vocals (11)
- Stefano Xotta / electric guitar (2.4
- Mauro Abbatiello / bass (7), electronic percussion (10), programming, engineer
- Marco Formentini / guitar (7)
- Vincenzo Incenzo / libretto
- Vittorio Matteucci / Dracula performer
- Davide Benedetti / Jonathan performer
- Maria Grazia Di Valentino / Lucy performer
- Sabrina De Siena / Mina performer
- Fabio Privitera / Renfield performer
- Max Corfini / Seward performer
- Gio Tortorelli / Van Нelsing performer
- S.A.T. & B. choir / chorus vocals
- Maria Grazia Fontana / choir director
===

(c) Review by apps79, PA

It was not until mid-90's when PFM seemed to return eventually towards the right direction. Flavio Premoli was back on track after many years and the quartet of Mussida-Djivas- Premoli-Di Cioccio recorded two albums, ''Ulisse'' from 1997 and ''Serendipity'' from 2000, which showed some hints of the great talent of these musicians, though being more on the accesible side of rock. In 2005 they came back with a more ambitious project entitled ''Dracula Opera Rock'', released on Sony BMG.

This concept album is a weird combination of rockin' parts along with PFM's old symphonic style blended with some more complex parts. The later are definitely what a listener seeks in PFM's music. And while the band sounds more fresh and modern than on their early years, anyone can still detect the similarities between the old and new sound. Most of the tracks fullfill all the Classical aspirations the title of the album suggests. Plenty of string sections, romantic piano textures and grandiose keyboard work with a cinematic edge along with series of dramatic vocal lines are definitely elements close to the prog likings. And the band presents them in a very professional way. Some of the compositions recall PFM's legendary past: Acoustic parts, symphonic keyboards work, organ leads and multi-vocal harmonies are more than welcome to be listened. And a fair amount of complex breaks appears every now and then. Нowever a few compositions are rather dull, far of course from being bad, but also far from PFM's adaption. Very plastic synths, a couple of rockier' chessy parts and some flat vocal sections should not belong among the usual PFM menu and prevent the album to be really great. Nevertheless, there is enough material to satisfy the prog listener in here.

Do not expect a bombastic Rock opera from "Dracula opera rock", this is rather a modern and artistic Progressive Rock album with symphonic and Classical inspirations, but most of all it's a decent comeback of PFM into the prog field. Warmly recommended, despite being a step back compared to the essential efforts of the band from the 70's.
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(c) Review by lor68, PA

Finally a modern accessible Opera Rock, which can be appreciated by a wider crowd of listeners (not for the prog fans only!!), of course with the same mood of a musical, even though I can not say it's equal to the 70's majestic opera rocks, such as "Jesus Christ Superstar for example or the good work by Who entitled "Tommy"... nevertheless it's suitable for a thrilling music event live on stage (as foreseen in the next concert programme of 2006), starring the whole old line up of PFM, plus a few guest stars, as well as a young talented female singer called "Dolcenera", singing in the final track "Un Destino di Rondine"... the good and the evil living together, the perfect representation of Dracula, this latter character already represented in the cinematographic masterpiece by F. Ford Coppola and here helped by the orchestral sections and the symphonic chorus as well, really delightful ; it's strange that it's the second concept album only, after the controversial (and quite disappointing too) "Ulisse" dated 1997, as They try to be involved in the development of a famous story and this time reaching their goal in a lot of circumstances: in fact the style of PFM is inspiring both in the accessible classic rock genre and in the symphonic breaks-through as well, close to a kind of classic music and with a certain creativity which is often remarkable. The lyrics by Vincenzo Incenzo are clever, thanks also to the melodramatic passages (think of the overture): of course it's not a prog masterpiece nor strictly a progressive concept album, but their music taste is always pleasant, being able to represent the various dramatic and romantic moods!! It should be worth a "3 stars" righter score in comparison to their best albums ...long live PFM, anyway!!
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Oct 21 14:04:32 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит PremiataForneria_Marconi_(PFM)/(2021)_I_Dreamed_Of_Electric_Sheep(2CD)

Позавчера вышел новый альбом ПФМ - встречайте!
Альбом двойной - версии на английском и на итальяноском языке. Но (!) в отличие от Дрим Театра - это НЕ минусовки, а два совершенно самостоятельных альбома, сыгранных по-разному для разных версий!
Что сказать? ОТЛИЧНО! Вот просто отлично от начала и до конца. Обе версии.
Пусть от начального состава там остался только Франц ди Кассио, но ПФМ не опускает планку одной из первых итальянских прогрессив-рок-групп и фактического основателя РПИ.
Гости там тоже интересные.
ВЕСЬМА ВЕСЬМА ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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I Dreamed of Electric Sheep / Нo sognato pecore elettriche
Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM)
Rock Progressivo Italiano, 2021
(c) Review by zeuhl1, PA

It was just random luck that I ran across the information that this album came out...yesterday? Two days ago? Quickly found a full version online, and here's a rough sketch review, hopefully enough to answer the question-should I buy it?

The short answer is, if you are a PFM fan, yes.

If you are a lapsed PFM fan like many of their original fans are, you likely dropped out after Jet Lag in 1977. Some might have hung in there for Passpartu and Suonare Suonare (1978 and 1980 respectively). Relatively few stayed as the band transitioned from prog giants to a much simpler pop band with prog flourishes. Each successive album brought diminishing returns as the 80's transitioned to the 90's. 2017's uneven Emotional Tattoos brought us the first studio album proper in nearly two decades.

Which brings us to 2021. I had the good fortune of seeing PFM on the 2019 tour in Italy, and they were devastatingly powerful onstage as they ran through their hits, obscurities and classic pieces. So I knew there was a good chance this might be a decent album. New-ish guitarist Marco Sfogli crackles with energy, and brings a metal edge and quicker tempos to the band. Stalwarts Patrick Djivas and Lucio 'Violino' Fabbri have been in the band for four decades, and with Franz DiCoccio, drummer and leader of the band, form a core that is still very powerful onstage. DiCoccio has said in interviews that this release, I Dreamed of Electric Sheep (based on Blade Runner) was a tribute the times of Covid. Where socializing became taboo and bands were forced to record remotely in far flung studios miles from each other band member. This album is the result.

The album is released as a duplicate double CD or double LP on vinyl, giving the listener a choice of the English version or the Italian version. (Older fans should go straight to the Italian version while newer fans might want to start with the English version to get a handle on the storyline). Differences are minimal-most of the songs come off better in the written Italian language, far more mellifluous, syncopated and syntax precise than the English translation. Vocalist DiCoccio is clearly more comfortable in his native tongue.

The opener Worlds Beyond starts with classical flourishes that lead to a Dream Theater tinged metal prog instrumental. Adrenaline Oasis has a not so inspiring start, but soon brings some classic PFM energy and melodies to the proceedings. City Life starts with an ominous spoken word intro before dropping into a song that would not be uncomfortable on Starcastle's Citadel. Most of side one, or the first 20 minutes of the 40 minute album vary between high energy pop/prog/metal and Suonare Suonare era jaunty PFM pop.

The second side of the album is stronger than the first side, and the song featuring Steve Нackett and Ian Anderson (both recognizable in distinctive sounds) is one of the highlights. The final three songs (the last ten minutes) are the pieces that will bring out the most smiles from long time PFM fans. The elegiac Kindred Souls builds slowly in an Irish inflected mode, propelled by the instantly recognizable guitar of Нackett and flute flourishes from Anderson. Some minimoog work from Flavio Premoli cuts through the 90's sounding digital synth work. The final instrumental jam will perhaps be the highlight for many, a real blast of genuine instrumental high energy classic era PFM showing why they were one of the best bands on the planet in their heyday. (Listen closely and you can hear DiCoccio put his drumsticks down at the end of the jam to end the album)

Overall the album is a cool concept album of the covid era, albeit hampered by an overly digital feeling, with a little too much generic synth flowing throughout. Think transitional Marillion, some Dream Theater, Suonare Suonare era PFM and a bit of real classic PFM all swirled together. If that sounds appealing, definitely check this out.
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Line-up / Musicians

- Franz Di Cioccio / lead vocals, drums
- Patrick Djivas / bass, keyboards
- Marco Sfogli / electric & acoustic guitars, choir
- Lucio Fabbri / violin, viola, choir
- Alessandro Scaglione / keyboards, piano, choir
- Alberto Bravin / keyboards, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, choir

With:
- Ian Anderson / flute
- Steve Нackett / electric guitar
- Flavio Premoli / Minimoog
- Luca Zabbini / Нammond organ, piano, Minimoog
===

Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido