PFM- Per Un Amico LP Original '72 Italy Prog

$

56

Ever since I got to listen to this album for the first time, and by that I mean entirely, I couldn't believe my ears. Before "Per Un Amico", my Italian symphonic prog rock perspective was based merely in some other well known exponents of this sub-genre such as BMS, LE ORME and MUSEO ROSENBACH, and I don't know why I haven't listened to anything regarding PFM in the first place! and the way I got to know them was quite funny. When purchasing BANCO's album "Di Terra" over this famous music website, I noticed that there was this offer about purchasing two albums and paying just for one, and the other album within the BANCO's CD pack was actually "Per Un Amico". and ever since I got this recording, I cannot picture the Italian symphonic scene without it.

Besides getting to consider this album as one of my favorites throughout the 14 years I've been listening to prog rock, I think that many other subsequent Italian or not Italian bands, whether they play symphonic prog rock, psychedelic prog or art rock, they owe most of their musical accomplishments and success to bands like PFM that due the inevitable pass of time they're still present upon the nowadays prog scene.

Thanks to this album you will get to experience several comfortable and inexplicable situations like the feeling of sorrow, happiness or even madness, and I mean all that in the progressive intended way provided by this unique masterpiece. "Appena Un Po' " explains all this by its own means, this almost 8 minute track contains way too many contrasting profiles of the style that the bands to come through the next ten, maybe fifteen years, adopted and implemented perfectly; this melody has got it all: musical arrangements resembling a renaissance époque all the way through punchy, signifying drum preludes, and most important, marvelous rhythmic guitar playing by signore Franco MUSSIDA. Also, you might as well think of "Per Un Amico" itself as one of the most representative PFM's songs, and you won't be mistaken because far beyond from what the band actually did with its first album, "Storia Di Un Minuto"; they also proved that they could be more than a single, and created some other meaningful prog pieces like "Photos of Ghosts", "Prime Impressioni" and "Passpartú" with their own representative singles as well. Simply magnificent!




After making such a great entry with their stunning debut album 'Storia di un Minuto', the amazing Italian quintet Premiata Forneria Marconi proved that they could do even better with their second effort "Per un Amico", which, after more than 30 years from its release, remains as one of the most definite masterpieces in Italian prog history. Their prog sound, based on a typically Mediterranean melodic sensitiveness exquisitely seasoned with influences from early KC and Genesis, remains quite the same, but it is obvious that the band has progressed as an ensemble and that the cleverness of the arrangements to shape their musical ideas has been improved: to put it in other words, they have become more confident performers and better writers. The opener 'Appena Un Po'' starts with a mesmeric, dreamy intro with a featured mellotron layers that expands as a vision of a distant horizon; then comes a delicate Baroque-styled motif led by the classical guitar - soon joined by flute and spinet -, then followed by a brief yet effective rocky interlude (great interplay between electric guitar and violin); finally arriving to the main section, which alternates introspective passages and majestic ones. The splendid chord progression a-la-Beethoven that comes at the ends is the properly fantastic epilogue to an outstanding song. But none of the remaining repertoire gets overshadowed by this gem. On the contrary, "Per un Amico" is, strictly speaking, a treasure chest in which each and every item is a gem that shines with a brightness of their own. The jazz-rock oriented spirit of 'Generale!' is translated into an overtly complex motif and a catchy rock variation; the joyful martial interlude is simply delicious, and so is the reprise of the opening motif. The namesake track also contains some jazzy hints, but this time, in a more folkish context: maestrissimo Mauro Pagani shows his finesse on both violin and flute to a 100 % level, but again. he does so all the time! It is true that PFM are not only a most excellent ensemble: but it is also undisputed that each individual element is pure virtuoso genius. That being said, Pagani and drummer DiCioccio are, IMHO, the most notable musicians in the fold, or at least, the ones who show their prowess and inventiveness more often. But, of course, it is Mussida's versatile efficiency (equally distributed on both his electric and acoustic guitar interventions) and Premoli's lucid orchestral vision on his use of multiple keyboards that provide the main focus for PFM's overall sound. Now, back to the repertoire. The vinyl's B-side starts with 'Il Banchetto', another folkish spirited composition that may somewhat remind us of the most bucolic side of JT, until the multi-part interlude arrives and takes the listener to unsuspected places. The 6/8 synth-and-mellotron driven interlude built on a 12-string guitar sequence, the extravagant synth fanfare and the piano solo follow one another as a surrealistic pastiche, until the folkish first motif is retaken and reprised until the song's conclusion. When the song is over, you don't know how to explain what happened, who the hell came up with the notion of putting all these diverse ideas together in one song. but it worked, it worked tremendously well (not even Peter Sinfield dared change a bit of it for the first English PFM album), like the most bizarre scenes in a Fellini movie. The closure 'Geranio' is another monster track, perhaps the most similar to the stuff comprised in the debut album. The classical guitar and the flute marry together with the keyboard serving as a master of ceremonies during the opening Renaissance-like motif. The up-tempo interlude gets things in a sort of compromise between old fashioned jazz and folk: the interlude is finished with a carnival motif, which introduces the first motif's reprise. The sinister, almost martial instrumental litany seems to conjure images of myriads of splendorous flowers bursting out from the soil of some inscrutable paradise - once again, I think of Fellini from the very moment this section kicks off headlong into its fade-out. Overall balance: an absolute masterpiece.

(progarchives.com)

Original 1972 Italian pressing

Numero Uno Reocrds (Italy/1972) DZSLN 55155

A1. Appena un Po' (7:43)
A2. Generale (4:18)
A3. Per un Amico (5:23)

B1. Il Banchetto (8:39)
B2. Geranio (8:03)

Line up:

Franco Mussida- vocals, guitar (12 String), chitarrone, mandocello, guitar
Franz Di Cioccio- drums, percussion, vocals
Mauro Pagani- flute (alto), piccolo, vocals, flute, violin
Giorgio Piazza- bass, vocal
Flavio Premoli- spinetta, keyboards, organ (Hammond), vocals, Moog synthesizer, Mellotron, tubular bells, clavicembalo, piano


LP and jacket in EX condition

Will ship worldwide via USPS.  Postage determined by destination.



Welcome to my auction of rare (and not so rare) items.  Over the coming years, you'll find lots of LPs, CDs, magazines, and other items that I've been lugging around for the past 30+ years posted here for an appreciative future owner.  I'm getting too old these days to move this stuff around any longer, and to be quite honest about it, I can better utilize the space left with their vacancy.

Please include my seller ID in your favorites because if you dig the out-of-the-ordinary, chances are good that I'm selling something you may covet.

I've kept my items in the best shape possible over the years, with plastic sleeves over the jacket, and in many cases, I've replaced paper LP sleeves with high-quality rice sleeves.  If an LP included any sticker on the shrink-wrap, I usually cut it out and stuck it in with the LP sleeve.  I rarely took any inserts out of the jackets if they were included, so any additional item you may get with an LP won't have thumbtack holes or taped corners.

I've loved my music collection as if they were a part of me, and I think you'll see this should you win any item I sell.

I'm brutally honest in my grading.  I don't believe in "Mint" quality, however I will say that many of my LPs designated VG+ would likely be another seller's "Near Mint".  Over my years of ownership, I used a Keith Monks LP cleaner, cleaned albums with a 10% vodka/90% purified water solvent, and used an anti-static gun and mat, along with near-audiophile cartridges and tonearms.

Why are my LPs priced so low when another seller is charging a three-figure price for the same items?  Simple.  I believe in the spirit of the auction.  I may not make the money some have on the same item, but then I usually don't have to post an item 20 times before someone finally buys it at a collector's price.

My grading system:

EX: Vinyl is (nearly) perfect.  Only noise during play is from dust or dirt specks you didn't clean before playing.  Jacket is (nearly) perfect- almost like you took it out of the wrapper a few minutes ago.

VG+: Obviously played, but vinyl still has almost-new luster.  Some small scuffs or light scratches, not affecting or barely affecting play are evident.  Jacket has some small scuffs or light ringwear.  No seam splits, but edge/corner wear is evident.  Possible small sticker or man-made mark visible.

VG: These and below are almost always LPs I've bought from a used bin at some time during my collecting days.  Vinyl is well played, and background noise is becoming evident.  Occasional scratches may affect play, but no groove skipping.  Jacket may have a small notch/corner cut. Ring wear is evident, but does not affect cover notes.  Light corner bend or wrinkle in jacket surface.

VG-: This is usually the lowest grade I will sell without going into great descriptions.  A bit noisier than above.  Still no groove skip.  More scratches affecting play.  Jacket is definitely showing signs of wear.  Some seam splitting is evident.  Large sticker or factory imprint mars jacket cover or notes on back cover.  Bends or creases are more evident.  Man-made spotting/writing.  Overly-ambitious notch/corner cut or outright damage to cover.

G: I have maybe a handful of albums that fit this category.  You'll see detailed descriptions on any album like this.

Last thoughts:  Return bidders get postage discounts, based on a percentage of total postage.  I will combine orders, but please don't expect me to hold items or delay total payment longer than 2 weeks past the time of first winning bid.  A note to me over plans to bid on later listed items is always a good thing!  I usually mail out the weekend following the sale of an item due to my work schedule, but occasionally, I can mail out during the week.

Good luck and good bidding!