Premiata Fornaria

PFM were already Italy's premiere progressive rock band when Emerson, Lake & Palmer signed them to the British trio's own Manticore label in 1972 and turned to King Crimson alumnus Peter Sinfield to write English-language words (sung phonetically) for this, the Italian group's debut international release…

The debut recording from Italy's favorite sons of progressive rock. The band had been appearing as special guests in support of bands such as Procol Harum, Deep Purple, and Yes, in addition to playing several festivals. Their hard work paid off, and the result is this excellent recording…

This album marked a continued maturing of both PFM's style and their presence in the Anglophone market. It benefits from Premoli's high-speed Hammond organ and synth runs on such all-out prog assaults as the conclusion of "From Under," as well as Mussida's gentle acoustic guitar lines on slower numbers like "Harlequin." The reissue of Chocolate Kings contains a bonus disc with several songs from previous releases, next to the material of Chocolate Kings. The recordings from a gig at the University of Nothingham, May 1st 1976 contains live versions of Four Holes In The Ground, Mr. Nine Till Five and Alta Loma Five’Till Nine/William Tell Overture.

This excellent live recording served as my introduction to the wonderful Italian-flavoured progressive rock of PFM back in '74. The songs represented are all superlative, and the musicianship is amazing…

This is PFM's brilliant follow-up to Storia di un Minuto, and both albums are considered progressive rock classics, for good reason. The diversity, complexity, and integrity of the music here is as fine as anything produced during the early '70s from other prog rock giants such as Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. The lyrics are in Italian and, while used sparingly, make a valuable contribution to the session's integrity. The music is constantly shifting in style, tempo, and tone, but held together by recurring themes. Mauro Pagani's airy flute is the perfect antidote to Francone Mussida's aggressive guitar, while Flavio Premoli's keyboard work rivals that of contemporaries such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. The music ranges from avant-garde to hard rock and everything in between. Always intelligent, but without pretension, this is progressive rock in its most literal definition.

Premiata Forneria Marconi is considered to be the best Italian progressive rock band ever. PFM recorded excellent progressive rock in the seventies as we can hear on albums as Photos Of Ghosts (1973), The World Became The World (1974) and Chocolate Kings (1975). During the golden era of prog rock they also assisted a good friend who made music with hardly any relation with their own musical style…

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the 1975 live album from the Italian Prog band. Features the original live album on Disc One plus an additional two CD live set recorded in Central Park in 1974. A successful act in their home land, they came to international attention when they signed to ELP's label Manticore in 1973. In 1974, the band toured the United States and Canada to great acclaim, recording material at concerts in Toronto and New York City. The following year edited highlights were released as the live album Cook.
Recorded when the band was in the peak of their international fame, PFM Cook is one of those great live albums of the 70s.

Their new project, In Classic: Da Mozart A Celebration (2013) is a very special one, to the fans and to the band. The double album released by Immaginifica takes PFM to the Classical world! On the 2 discs of In Classic: Da Mozart A Celebration (2013) we have the band celebrating great classic composers such as Mozart, Dvorak, Prokofiev and Verdi with a full orchestra. Not just that, on the second disc they take their own music and give them the full orchestral treatment too…

Limited three CD edition. Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the 1975 live album from the Italian Prog band. Features the original live album on Disc One plus an additional two CD live set recorded in Central Park in 1974…