Premiata Forneria Marconi
Passpartù

THE REVIEW

So King Arthur was also involved in this bizarre story, but what this unappetizing, ignored, and reportedly plagiarized album really wanted to talk about remains a mystery.

Surely, nothing seemed to go right after the great Jet Lag performance, thanks to the cursed '78, the departure of Bernardo Lanzetti, and the sudden closure of Zoo Records, the new record label. To top it all off, there was a brief television appearance with the most detached track from the rest of the album, the seductive and slightly melancholic Se Fossi Cosa, the only short call back to a now-distant past.

Better to take a long pause for reflection, performing live with one of the greatest interpreters of Italian song, before diving into the '80s with the right album and a completely renewed sound.

But Passpartù, with its enveloping, entirely instrumental title track, was nonetheless a turning point album and as such worthy of consideration, but not only that; it's an honest, light, crystal-clear album, with which Premiata opens up to new collaborations in the music field. Indeed, the project involved George Aghedo, Roberto Colombo, Roberto Haliffi, Claudio Pascoli, and Claudio Fabi but especially Gianfranco Manfredi concerning the writing of the lyrics. Everything moves in an evocative atmosphere rich in irony, a tangle of surreal stories well illustrated by Andrea Pazienza's drawings, which make this work a sort of real comic album.

Musically speaking, the result is impeccable, with a great Mussida in an acoustic version and the splendid interventions of Premoli at the electric piano giving the album a very particular and immediately recognizable sound, almost dedicated, enriched by Aghedo's percussion, Dijvas's harmonic lines, and the ever-gritty vocals of Lanzetti.

Di Cioccio, holding the precious key, was already meditating on the future leadership of the group. He would succeed two years later.

So what rating to give this work on the eve of its fortieth anniversary?

I should be impartial, but fans have a big heart, and feeling particularly attached to these tales of plastic mannequins and blue plots, I can't help but confirm the four balls in homage to the last chapter of an unrepeatable and somewhat bizarre story, like life.

MrBlueSky

Tracks:

Viene il Santo

Svita la Vita

Se Fossi Cosa

Le Trame Blu

Passpartù

I Cavalieri del Tavolo Cubico

Su Una Mosca e Sui Dolci

Fantalità