pier_paolo_farina

Thank you, Lector.
Killed by the shitty family, like so many others.
Singers are born, and she was one.

Edit to the review: "Syntax further improved." See the old version Paranoid - Black Sabbath - recensione Versione 2

I've never quite felt the charm of this original, respectable, radical yet tedious musician. I struggle to listen to Rock Bottom every now and then. The hardcore group of his admirers, a true cult artist if there ever was one, seems to hold strong.

I don't know the entire vast discography of Uriah Heep, but I own about fifteen of their CDs. The must-haves are the first four, from this one up to Demons & Wizards, passing through Salisbury and Look at Yourself, and the fifth, which is a 90s work, fearfully packed with great tracks and produced like a god, titled Sea of Light.
Perhaps only a rock musician can fully understand and love the contribution this quintet has made to the cause, in terms of sounds, choirs, the role of the organ, the bass, melodic consistency, even a charmingly campiness. Ken Hensley, Gary Thain, and David Byron are, and unfortunately were, musicians to whom I owe my affectionate gratitude.
The great songs on this debut album start with the famous Gypsy, a world unto itself as an icon of progressive hard rock: Hensley’s muscular, flamboyant, yet epic and historical solo is something to be etched in the minds of anyone who appreciates the loud and over-the-top nature of hard rock.
Then there's Come Away Melinda, which is also unique in its approach both as a song and in arrangement. Dreammare showcases the "Scandinavian" choruses typical of Uriah Heep and should be noted, along with Real Turned On, which contains Mick Box's very first killer guitar solo, another trademark that would last forever.
But my favorite is Wake Up, progressive, ever-changing, where Byron's unrefined yet special voice shines in all its nuances. The fourth or fifth album I ever bought: I love it as much as I love my niece.

Rece ok, group ok. I've always liked their singer (especially compared to LaBrie). I'll buy it.

Majestic.
They brightened my late seventies and early eighties, along with Supertramp, Steely Dan, Toto, Boston, and many others.
This album is the least successful of their discography, along with their last one, which came out in the nineties.
Prince is one of the best drummers I've ever seen and heard.
It's a joy to revisit their repertoire every now and then.

My shop as a virgin teenager and a bit of a nerd was called Sella and only sold records. Now in its place, there’s a Danish store for knick-knacks for the home. This record doesn’t interest me because the Cure hold no significance for me.

Great composer. She wasn’t pretentious, she didn’t have that spirit of fierce competitiveness, that Los Angeles syndrome of being tightly connected, of being present, of elbowing, of sniffing and drinking. Unlike others... Carly Simon for example, but she had more talent than all of them in composing. She also sought other things from life: utmost respect.

PFM in the early years: very good live, cohesive and captivating. In terms of sounds, arrangements, and rhythms, they shamelessly leaned on King Crimson and Gentle Giant, but they were widely forgiven for infusing good doses of that Italian melodic vein (through which we are known and appreciated worldwide, certainly not for our rock energy), but above all for the excellent melodic and harmonic insights that flowed one after another in these grooves, and in those of the following albums up to the fourth one, more or less.
When the album was released, I was slightly disappointed: the versions of "Impressioni..." and "...Hans" were inferior to those of the beautiful 45 RPM that had come out months earlier, perfect, heralding future masterpieces that never came (yes, the best of PFM lies in that first single). The album sounded a bit too relaxed, especially compared to the energy and beautiful chaos they could produce live.
It remains one of the best Italian music albums of the seventies, in that progressive genre that no one called that back then (it was called symphonic rock, for example). And what took place at Villa Pamphili was never referred to as a prog festival: it was an "underground" music festival, alternative, with a lot of people playing all sorts of things.
Three singers in the group and none with a convincing voice: the historic limit of PFM, never resolved. They should have looked for an English frontman in their golden years when they were always abroad. In any case, the creativity dried up in the mid-seventies, progressive music went out of fashion before it was even baptized with the name that has remained forever. PFM shifted towards fusion, influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra and others, losing the taste for beautiful Italian melodies intertwined with Anglo-Saxon rock, and it has more or less survived until today with a series of forgettable albums and the lifeline of the memorable period with De Andrè, a phase to which they still cling as to the oxygen tank.
Maximum respect! Wonderful musicians, Francone a gentleman with golden hands on the guitars, Pagani great and it’s a shame he left so soon, Di Cioccio full of energy and extroversion, a great drummer. The album is a four-star effort, relative to its time (golden, for rock). Compared to Manneskin, it rates 120 stars.

@Farnaby: you are stating the obvious. For example, you could just as well argue about how different Yes are from Genesis, but I would still emphasize that it's all progressive. The percentages of pop, muzak, jazz, soul, funky, rock, folk, new wave vary between Duran and Hall&Oates, between Paul Young and Thompson Twins, between Talk Talk and Tears for Fears, but it's all still within the realm of 80s dance pop. It's not like comparing Duran with Bon Jovi, or with Bruce Springsteen.