Premiata Forneria Marconi
Photos Of Ghosts

"Celebration
You've spent a long time waiting
For a perfect yesterday,
Now fill your heart with celebration
For that's love's way"

In 1972, ''Per Un Amico'', the second work of Premiata Forneria Marconi, was released in stores.
The subsequent tour was quite successful, and given the undeniable talents of the PFM members, fans and curious onlookers began to gather even from abroad... one of these was none other than Greg Lake, singer and bassist of the supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Particularly impressed, Lake decided it was time to introduce them beyond our borders, and particularly in his England.

Signed with Manticore Records, Premoli and company were supposed to play a new version of ''Per Un Amico'', created specifically for the Anglophone audience... however, the first problem arose: given their poor knowledge of English, no one in the band was able to translate the lyrics. Then the lyricist Peter Sinfield was brought in, who had gained a good reputation for having worked on the first four King Crimson albums (he would also support EL&P from ''Brain Salad Surgery'' to ''Love Beach'').
By mutual agreement, it was decided that Sinfield would write new English lyrics, with no apparent connection to the Italian counterparts, to add to the musical bases.
Sinfield's poetic philosophy is very similar to that of our D'Annunzio. That is, great importance is given to the power of the word in itself and to the musicality of the verse... all seasoned with a good dose of hermeticism and abstractionism. Despite the lyrics straying quite far from the ''Mediterraneanness'' present in the originals, the result is far from negligible.
(Obviously, the Sinfield-D'Annunzio comparison should not be taken literally... it was written just to convey the idea).

Now let's move on to the track analysis.
The opening is entrusted to "River Of Life" (based on the music of "Appena Un Po'"), a track characterized by a sudden change of rhythm: the first minute and a half of acoustic guitar and flute is followed by a powerful break for keyboard and violin... but it's only for a moment. It then continues with a jesting motif, which flows into a slow and melancholic finale adorned with keyboards. The next "Celebration" (a revisited version of "È Festa") is instead taken from the first album ''Storia Di Un Minuto'': defined by many as the meeting point between tarantella and prog-rock, it represents one of the creative peaks of the album. The cheerful rhythm, generated by a powerful guitar riff to which Premoli's great keyboards are added, paves the way for the central piece (where the verses here in the page introduction are sung)... after ten seconds of sheer wonder, where Pagani's flute duets with piano notes, PFM resumes the initial theme, to which they add a masterful choir.

Another great piece is the title track "Photos Of Ghosts" (corresponding to "Per Un Amico"). The melody is gentle and delicate... due to its evocative beauty, it remains etched in your mind from the very first listen. There is an atmosphere that oscillates between the medieval and the Victorian à-la ''Selling England By The Pound'' by Genesis.
Additionally, we can appreciate another great display of Sinfield's pen, which opens the dance with the verses reported below.

"Black roses laced with silver
By a broken moon.
Ten million stars
And the whispered harmonies of leaves."

The next "Old Rain", a track composed anew and not present on the Italian version, is a top-tier instrumental... The evident references to the calmer moments of the early King Crimson (at times reminiscent of "Lady Of The Dancing Water") combined with a slight jazz vein, suggest suggestive imagery: imagine being near a small, calm, and peaceful pond, with a slightly yellowing grove behind you, and suddenly a melancholic light rain begins to fall... that's what comes to mind when listening to this track.
The fifth track, "Il Banchetto", is the only one presented in Italian... a progressive light and velvety as we saw it in the previous ''Photos Of Ghosts. After this return to Italian roots, we return to singing in English with the propulsive "Mr. 9'Till 5 (which features a drum solo, which, combined with the flute, emulates a marching band... not coincidentally, the original is titled "Generale").
It closes with the excellent ''Promenade The Puzzle" (equivalent to "Geranio"), where PFM manages to perfectly fuse, in the first five minutes, progressive and pop. The track then, thanks to keyboards with dark sounds and piano touches (reminiscent of funeral bells), masterfully veers towards unsettling atmospheres... this gives this last composition an additional added value.

After this long and careful examination, I feel compelled to evaluate this album in a decidedly positive way... I would say a 9/10.
To be listened to, perhaps after a strenuous activity, to relax with some excellent music...

"Clocks join hands to dance the polka.
Sweep the carpet under the carpet
Promenade the Puzzle."