Premiata Forneria Marconi
Serendipity

'Serendipity': the pleasure of those who, wandering in search of something, manage to discover what they could not have even remotely imagined. This is the philosophy that flows through this CD by P.F.M.

The desire to continue, despite age, the praise received over time, to constantly put themselves back in the game, honors these eternal "boys" and leaves me fascinated by what they have managed to create: a lively, current, rock CD. I believe that from "Suonare Suonare, from 1980 to 2000, this is one of the most beautiful "albums" by Premiata. The sounds of guitar and drums, bass and keyboards, shout to the listener that the group can still give a lot, and above all show how one can still play good music. Many important names in the Italian music scene collaborated on this CD in terms of lyrics. The first, in terms of the number of songs written, is certainly Daniele Silvestri, who signs five of the eleven tracks on the CD. The immense nonsensical field is entrusted to the poet Pasquale Panella. Nuvole nere is written by Franco Battiato, while Domo Doso, the ace of spades of Serendipity, is signed by the great Fernanda Pivano. The rest is taken care of by Premiata, writing all the music and the lyrics of "Ore" and "Sono un Dio" and as co-authors with Silvestri the tracks "K. N. A.", "Automaticamente" and "La quiete che verrà".

The record opens with "La Rivoluzione", an anthem to joy, participation, and celebration (the lyrics actually contain a quote from "E' Festa" when it sings: "and as always the celebration will be of a very light bird that goes", thus linking a bridge to the past. For a few years, this song has been included in the live setlist of the group's concerts. The second track is titled "K. N. A." (Kaleidoscopic Neutronic Accelerator) which starts with Premoli's keyboards emitting "visionary" distorted sounds, giving the sensation of being inside a vortex of strange "confused" emotions. The track is dedicated to that myth of John Lennon and this should give a sense of the quality of the piece. The next track is entrusted to the poet Pasquale Panella, who manages to write a text about love as only he could. The music exudes far too much "Battistian" atmosphere, causing those who did not expect this type of thing from Premiata to raise an eyebrow. Nuvole nere, along with "Polvere", is the least brilliant and somewhat banal track of the CD.

The group makes a great comeback with the wonderful ballad "Ore" completely written by the four members. Mussida's guitar plays with a very touching sound while Di Cioccio sings and plays very heartfelt. The electronics once again leave you "amazed" in the next "Automaticamente": another "misstep" by the band which here winks at "dance" music. The "always" P.F.M. emerges in "La quiete che verrà", a "progressive" track where Mussida and Di Cioccio bring the group back to paths more suitable for the P.F.M. everyone knows. "Domo Doso" is the track where Mussida's guitar goes down "heavy" and where the lyrics, with a mix of languages, is a hymn to peace, entrusted to the pen of the great Fernanda Pivano. In the same track, there is a part "sung" by Nanda herself. "Polvere", as I said before, is one of the missteps of this continuous search for "Serendipity". The CD closes with two incredible and beautiful tracks: "Sono un Dio" and "Exit". In "Sono un Dio" Mussida pulls out a stunning accompaniment from his hat with a guitar that leaves you breathless while the great Di Cioccio makes use of a drum machine!!!!!! "Exit" is truly the instrumental apotheosis of the CD. The solo is entrusted to that great guitarist named Corrado Rustici (by the way, I forgot to mention that this work was produced by Rustici) and it is a very fast solo, enough to make your skin crawl with Di Cioccio and Djivas answering in kind.

I think one of the most beautiful compliments given to this CD was by Daniele Silvestri saying: "I found myself in a house on the banks of the Po, walls and landscapes from other times, writing, discussing, and suffering with four gentlemen who made records when my mother went to buy them and to whom I could have addressed formally and perhaps asked for an autograph. Small, wonderful pranks of history that in an instant show you that between 2000 and the 1970s there is just a difference of some hard disk, but the guitars and emotions are the same."

I believe that if some "fashionable" group with a bit of popularity had recorded this CD, it would have surely been hailed as a miracle. Recorded by P.F.M…. Folks, records should be listened to and judged for what they are and not let oneself be influenced by the "name". 'Serendipity' is a good work, it is certainly not at the levels of Premiata's last effort, "Stati di Immaginazione", nor comparable to the recordings of the 70s albums, but it is certainly a great CD. A CD especially not dated, original, and played, as always, with class and professionalism. The courage of certain choices should be rewarded, whereas this CD, apart from the poor distribution of the label, was criticized without sufficiently reflecting on the music contained within.

"Four horsemen are behind you, chasing you"... citation… Passpartù.