Premiata Forneria Marconi
Photos of Ghosts

Many times when talking about music - perhaps due to an innate love for things foreign (prevalent in Italy), - people look at the neighbor's grass as if it's greener, disregarding our own beautiful garden. It's understandable for what happened in Italy in the '60s with the British invasion (and not only, let's admit it ...), but the early years of the following decade - with the advent of new compositional geometries that confirmed a growth path for music which took shape in what was soon defined as progressive rock - represented a reversal of this trend. In this regard, with the beginning of the seventies from the north to the south of the boot, we witnessed a colorful and abundant array of new proposals (Circus 2000, Flea, Osage Tribe, and many others) that achieved less recognition compared to the posthumous mea culpa from those information sources that were indisputably considered official. The landscape was still dotted with prodigious presences, able to absorb the predominant lessons from across the Channel, optimizing them and giving them a personal touch, as was the case with Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, and Premiata Forneria Marconi, among the numerous leaders. PFM demonstrated with STORIA DI UN MINUTO and PER UN AMICO (both released in 1972) that Italy could also contribute to the change in what had been Italian music up to that moment. A profound willingness to research capable of fostering a desire for exploration and at the same time musical expansion, able to lead to a more complex structure of the songs, taking advantage of the song form and the all-Italian sense of melody.

The meeting with Greg Lake (EL&P) who was pleasantly impressed by a concert of the band, resulted in the contract with Manticore which from that moment would take care of the publication of the records overseas starting from PHOTOS OF GHOSTS. The opening of "River of Life" immediately takes us determinately among symphonies of a classical style (which in PER UN AMICO were called "Appena un po'") guided by Flavio Premoli's organ and counterbalanced by the peculiar guitar work of Franco Mussida, able to alternate refining notes and rhythmic parts in which the professional craft on the violin, never simply as a take, of Mauro Pagani is built in. "E' Festa" is internationalized with the name "Celebration": a true progressive tarantella that closely looks at the British teachings of the time, also allowing the adapted lyrics by lyricist Pete Sinfield (already known for his work with King Crimson) a lyrical expression perhaps more convenient but certainly more melancholy compared to the original words (Celebration, You’ve spent a long time waiting for a Perfect yesterday - Now fill your heart with celebration, For that’s love's way vs E' festa, come sempre è la festa di un leggero uccello che va Come sempre è la festa di chi è - E tu?). The reworking of the title track (placed as third also on the previous album ...) retraces through evocative atmospheres, a rhythmic structure that leaves space for the sinuosity of flute and violin, embedding melodies that are much more than an ornament to the whole. The conclusion of the first part is left to the only new track, the instrumental "Old Rain" (Premoli) where the familiarity with certain impressionistic atmospheres will not disappoint, preparing for the listening of the ebullient majesty of "Il Banchetto" and the new clothes of "Mr. 9 'till 5" and "Promenade the Puzzle" (originally respectively "Generale" and "Geranio"), different yes, but excellent examples of the natural evolution of the burgeoning atmospheres of the previous records, able to coexist with influences from English mastery and a personal form of Mediterranean rock.

POG, despite being the third work of a – until then – rosy discography, is the debut of PFM on foreign soil. An album that, relying on already-tested tracks, acts as an elegant passe-partout (oooppss) towards the English and American markets with supremely competitive material, to which even Melody Maker and Billboard could do nothing but bow in front of what was and surely remains the crowning jewel of the first example of export rock Made in Italy.