Excellent album, even if Lanzetti sounds like some kind of half man-half goat hybrid.it works!.
Excellent album, even if Lanzetti sounds like some kind of half man-half goat hybrid.it works!.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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Yes, I own that one, but will have to revisit. Honestly, I found the composition weak-too straightforward and surfacey, without depth-more like jams than great composition. But sometimes if I hear something in the proper mood, I'll connect with it where I didn't before, so I will try again.
Great album, period. I was very glad with the Esoteric reissue a while back. Haven't played the live-bonus-cd though (and I own this album since this reissue was released). Should I be ashamed?
I don't think I have actually ever heard this one. I am usually turned off by English lyrics in Italian bands (my least fav track is the "Face" track on L'isola), but maybe I'll give this one a test drive due to the praise here. I have been bingeing on the first three which are just absolutely phenomenal albums.
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
Recently bought Jet Lag , really enjoy. The track Traveler is my favourite on that album. Does anyone know the time signature? And also unique sounding Moog tone on the outro solo, very interesting.
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
Oh man, Chocolate Kings has some great moments. It’s not quite as high up there as the first three (for me), but it’s well worth having/hearing.
I’m not nuts about the lyrics and singing in “Is My Face On Straight” from L’isola, so I can understand. Although musically I love it. It gets spine-tinglingly good towards the end.
I did side one of Kings last night....quite good! Vocals are OK but musically these cats were/are monster players and the writing is still quite good, albeit more fusiony. But yeah you're right - definitely worth hearing and I won't be afraid to lump it in with the rest when a PFM mood pops up.
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
PFM are an odd band for me. Per Un Amico is literally desert island disc stuff...I just adore every second and after having Photos of Ghosts for a number of years it was one of my favourite musical discoveries (in the old flagship HMV in London) that there was an Italian version. With a WAY better mix and vocals (to my ears at least).
I quite like the two albums either side but nowhere near to the same degree. And Chocolate Kings is probably level with them. That bit in Harlequin around 3:15 where it starts speeding up is magic
Matt.
I bought the Manticore box and the first two last year. I dig 'em all.
I much prefer the first three PFM's albums.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
I concur with the majority here that the first 3 are classics. CK is (to my ears) an attempt to sound like Yes when (to my ears) the first 3 albums are lightyears beyond anything Yes ever did
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Say what you will about Peter Sinfield, but it’s pretty obvious to me that he wasn’t giving PFM his “A” material. IMFOS is a pretty ham-fisted attempt at satire (and I agree that it’s excellent musically, nice accordion solo! I’m being sincere!) but at least that’s better than something like “Promenade the Puzzle,” where he’s clearly just pulling random imagery out of his ass.
At some point he just quit caring. It’s a slippery slope from something like this to “Taste of My Love,” Bucks Fizz and Cher.
CK was Marva Jan Marrow, right? A singer-songwriter from Colorado, displaced in Italy. She had already worked with Acqua Fragile and Banco. Of course, in Italy itself she’s probably best known for “Our Dear Angel,” her English version of Lucio Battisti’s “Il nostro caro angelo”:
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
Compared to the previous PFM's albums, "Chocalate Kings" is an extremely frantic and it's maybe the most remarkable thing about this record. So many driving rhythms, hectic disturbed lines, lots of crisp bass runs and groovy instrumental parts. As a result, the wonderful rapturous moments that characterized PFM so much in their previous records are largely lost, but the tendency towards this could actually be foreseen already on "L'isola di niente". In any case, I still enjoy the fine instrumental work on this album, sometimes I even feel a bit reminiscent of early Yes, especially on "Harlequin" and the title track. To be honest, I miss their pastoral atmosphere which only shimmers through here occasionally, but "Chocolate Kings" still offers a solid prog-rock in which I especially like the powerful violin parts.
Lanzetti's singing takes some getting used to, sometimes it slips too much into a pressed grumbling. The change to singing in English doesn't suit me either. Maybe the problems with singing are also due to the fact that in a foreign language singing often seems troubled and unnatural. Normally, I prefer Premiata Forneria Marconi stuff sung in Italian. The singer Bernardo Lanzetti (ex-Acqua Fragile) was new on the board on this record, he was often referred to as "Peter Gabriel of Italy" and although for my part I don't want to agree, there are certain vocal similarities in the quiet passages (yes, a few seconds of quiet passages can already be found on "Chocolate Kings").
Overall, "Chocolate Kings" is an okay album that has a really great title track, as well as "Harlequin" and "Out on the Roundabout" that are classics often perfomed during the band's live performances. However, if you don't have anything from PFM yet, you'd better buy their ultimate masterpieces "'Storia di un Minuto", "Per un Amico" or "L'Isola di Niente".
I always found the debut a bit overrated but 2 and 3 are stonkingly good and I struggle to choose between the two.
CK I go back to periodically but have never loved. I find my attention wandering. The sound is much thicker but commensurately less attractive.
Lanzetti's singing in English is in my ears less-than-desirable, difficult to ignore, where as his singing in Italian on Passpartu doesn't bother me at all.
Interestingly, it's kind of the reverse for me -- L'isola I'd rate as good as Per un Amico, with the debut just slightly behind them. However, Storia has "Impressioni di Settembre", which is one of the most wonderful songs anyone has ever made IMO.
I'd never call Storia di un Minuto overrated. It's lovely.
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