PFM - Rock Messengers of the Good News

La Premiata Forneria Marconi was the most celebrated band of Italian progressive rock, and the only one to achieve any real success internationally, particularly in the United States. Across the varied evolution of its musical path, Pfm managed to combine near-"pop" refrains, jazz-tinged improvisation and compositions with a classical bent. On top of that, it added a dash of melodicism, with a distinctly Mediterranean flavor, which helped set its sound apart from the prog models coming from across the Channel.

The first embryo of what would become Pfm took shape in the Sixties, right in the middle of the beat era, in I Quelli, a lineup that featured Antonio "Teo" Teocoli and Pino Favarolo, both singers and guitarists, drummer Franz Di Cioccio and bassist Giorgio "Fico" Piazza. Later on, keyboardist Flavio Premoli joined, along with two more guitarists: Alberto Radius and Franco Mussida, known as "Yoghi". Thanks to their constant live shows, marked by a particular attention to arrangement, I Quelli quickly stood out on the Italian beat scene, releasing numerous 45s for Ricordi, most of which were Italian versions of songs already written and performed by foreign artists: "La bambolina che fa no no no" and "La ragazza ta-ta-ta", both originally by Michael Polnareff; "Per vivere insieme", the Italian version of "Happy Together" by the Turtles; "Tornare bambino", i.e. "Hole In My Shoe" by Traffic; other notable singles include "Pensieri" (Nice), "Hip Hip Hip Hurrah" (1910 Fruitgum Co.), "Questa città senza te" (Tremeloes) and "Lacrime e pioggia" (Aphrodite's Child). This period also saw important studio collaborations with Mina, Celentano, De André and Battisti.

The band's history, however, was soon marked by decisive changes: after the departure of Teocoli, who went on to a brilliant career as a comedian, and of Alberto Radius, who joined Formula Tre, in the summer of 1969 the group recruited a musician of real substance, with whom they immediately clicked: Mauro Pagani. Leaving his own band (Dalton) behind, Pagani, who played classical instruments such as violin, flute and piccolo, instantly left a defining mark on the group's sound, helping steer, alongside Mussida, a drastic shift in genre. From beat music, interest moved toward British-style progressive rock, led by bands such as King Crimson, Yes and Jethro Tull. Improvisation and long suites thus replaced the short songs of their early days. Meanwhile, I Quelli became Krel and kicked off a season of hard work, with recording sessions running eight hours straight. Di Cioccio also briefly joined Equipe 84, with whom he even took part in the Sanremo Festival.

Only at the end of 1970 did Franco Mussida, Flavio Premoli, Franz Di Cioccio and Giorgio Piazza officially found Premiata Forneria Marconi (Pfm), the name taken from a bakery in Brescia located near the studios where the band used to rehearse. After various disagreements, the four decided to leave Ricordi, soon landing a deal with Lucio Battisti and Mogol's label Numero Uno, and with manager Franco Mamone, thanks to the excellent reputation they had built for their technical skill. In 1971, Pfm supported several leading bands of the era on Italian tours, including Yes, Procol Harum, Black Widow and Deep Purple.

Inspired by King Crimson, Pfm recorded what would become their signature song: "Impressioni di settembre", an evocative ballad with lyrics written by Mogol and plenty of progressive touches, marked by the use of the Moog, an instrument introduced in Italy only shortly before. The simple chords played on acoustic guitar sketch a delicate, absorbing atmosphere, especially in the verses; the chorus, by contrast, is more fiery, buoyed by a memorable synthesizer arrangement. The poetry that shines through Mogol's words only heightens the song's epic melody, which remains to this day an evergreen of Italian rock.

"Impressioni di settembre" propelled to success Storia di un minuto, Pfm's debut album, released in the early months of 1972. The seven tracks, all written by the Mussida-Pagani duo, are built on typically progressive structures in which the classical-composition side of things prevails, especially in the second half of the tracklist. It's a baroque progressive rock, at times almost medieval, vaguely reminiscent of Genesis's "Nursery Cryme", but compared to the British models it grafts on a melodic streak and musical influences with a distinctly Mediterranean flavor. The only weak point is the vocals, which suffer from the lack of a truly distinctive "voice", though they're adequately propped up by rich, if never overly redundant, arrangements. "Impressioni di settembre" is preceded by a short instrumental piece ("Introduzione"), marked first by subtle vocal harmonies over an acoustic-guitar backdrop, then by an electric-guitar riff as the drums push forward. Among the tracks, "E' festa" also stands out, a sort of "progressive tarantella", likewise built around a virtuoso Moog riff but set over a hard rock structure; the tempo shifts are numerous, with a spontaneous slide from harder rock into more classical forms, shaped by acoustic guitars and Pagani's delicate flute. It's precisely this instrument, together with violin, piccolo and harpsichord, that lends a strong classical flavor to Pfm's early progressive sound. The album's second half leans even more heavily into that classical attitude, in an ongoing succession of different sonic forms.

The symphonic piece “Dove…Quando…” is divided into two parts: the first is a sung fairy tale of extraordinary sweetness, introduced by Premoli's mellotron and backed by acoustic guitars, flute, harpsichord and mandocello; the second takes up the same theme, first with Premoli's organ and Pagani's violin, then breaking loose into an elegant, classically inflected piano performance. The same experiment is repeated on the other hit single, the Genesis-esque “La carrozza di Hans”, which starts out as a ballad in 5/4 before erupting into a masterful guitar solo (reminiscent of King Crimson's “21st Century Schizoid Man”) and a brilliant jazz-prog improvisation, with Pagani's violin sketching the classic “variations on a theme”. The track, written by Mussida during a van trip between Turin and Milan, won the Festival di Avanguardia e Nuove Tendenze di Viareggio, and was released as the B-side of the single “Impressioni di settembre”.

The album closes with “Grazie Davvero”, one of the most experimental pieces of the lot, in which a sweet acoustic guitar dictates the main melodic line, accompanied by a vividly colored mellotron that simulates a brass orchestra.

Storia di un minuto is one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian rock, and it's the album that launches Pfm into orbit as the standard-bearers of an Italian progressive scene that also includes bands like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, Osanna, Area and New Trolls.

At the end of 1972, Per un amico is released, a twin album to the first, albeit with some notable differences. The tracklist consists of five songs in extended versions. This time Pagani co-writes every track together with the Mussida-Premoli duo. The classical elements, highlighted by flute and violin, are slightly toned down here due to the increased use of synthesizers, which bring Pfm's music closer to that of Emerson, Lake & Palmer: a more detached but technically solid brand of progressive rock; the sung parts, wrapped in more conventional song forms, are still very much present, especially on “Via di qua”, “Per un amico” and “Il banchetto”; “Generale” shows off a festive intro soon followed by a little march redolent of English brass-band tradition; overall, there's a considerable expansion of rhythmic shifts, often in odd time signatures, and of instrumental passages. Particularly worth noting are the sounds of the overture “Appena un po'” (with a softer texture built around the flute-guitar-harpsichord trio and a more robust keyboard refrain that recalls “Impressioni di settembre”) and the idyllic “Geranio”, with a brilliant performance first on piano and then on violin, followed by a long closing coda. Overall, Per un amico confirms the fine instincts shown on its predecessor, even if, on the whole, it feels slightly less sharply focused.

The album's success, in any case, is exceptional. On December 20, 1972, Greg Lake himself attends the album's live presentation at the PalaEur in Rome, and comes away stunned. At this point, the band moves to London and signs a contract with Manticore, the record label owned by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. At the height of their success, Pfm manage to score another coup when Pete Sinfield, the magical lyricist of King Crimson, writes the lyrics for the album Photos Of Ghosts, which collects English-language versions of tracks drawn from their first two records. Thanks partly to this move, the band breaks into the international market, earning considerable acclaim from both critics and audiences. It's precisely during this period that the acronym Pfm is officially adopted for the first time, owing to the difficulty of pronouncing the full name (although the acronym could already be glimpsed on the cover of Storia di un minuto). And yet, a certain wariness toward the band had initially emerged in England, precisely because of their Italian origin, seen as almost incompatible with the tradition of international rock. On the night of March 24, 1973, at the ABC Fulham Theatre, some English critics remarked: “These musicians aren't bad at all. The trouble is, they're Italian”. They would soon be forced to think again. Pfm's success, in fact, spreads across all of Europe and, surprisingly, the album even makes it onto the American Billboard chart, a feat that's hard to achieve even for an English rock band. Pagani, who drew inspiration from the likes of Ian Anderson and Darryl Way, is nicknamed “Paganini”.

The band, however, changes shape once again. At the end of 1973, Giorgio Piazza is replaced by Jan Patrick Djivas, of Greek descent and already a bassist with Area, with whom they record L'isola di niente in London. The album will be released for the international market as The World Became The World, with English lyrics courtesy of Sinfield. Among the five tracks, the title track stands out above all (it would become “The Mountain” in the English-language version), a long, eleven-minute suite, opened by sacred-sounding choirs that surge over relentless drumming and a vocal performance with strong theatrical overtones. Also worth noting is “Dolcissima Maria”, a spectacular ballad brimming with tenderness, built for the most part around voice and acoustic guitar, but with instrumental passages embellished by flute that prove crucial. Also worth remembering is the lively dance of “La luna nuova” (along the same lines as “E' festa”) and the markedly guitar-driven jazz-rock tour de force of the closing instrumental, “Via Lumiere”.

Pfm embark for the first time on a tour across the ocean: in Canada and the United States, they play as the opening act for the likes of Santana, Beach Boys, Poco, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock, Eagles and others. American critics, torn between skepticism and admiration, coin the term “spaghetti-rock” for Pfm.

In 1975, the band's lineup expands with the arrival of Bernardo Lanzetti, vocalist of Acqua Fragile and one of the finest voices on the Italian rock scene of the time, alongside Demetrio Stratos (Area). Lanzetti is chosen over Ivan Graziani, because his voice is considered better suited to the hard, direct compositions of the upcoming album, unlike that of the singer-songwriter from Abruzzo, which was better suited to ballads. Chocolate Kings, written entirely in English, still echoes the sound of Genesis, but almost completely abandons the dreamy, romantic atmospheres of their early days. Snubbed in the United States, the album earns considerable acclaim in Japan, where Pfm will embark on a thrilling tour and where appreciation for Italian progressive rock will always remain strong. The lyrics are written by Pagani in collaboration with Marva Jean Marrow: the title track's lyrics recall the arrival in Italy of American troops who threw chocolate from their tanks (“Quando sono nato loro vennero a liberarci/ a curare le nostre ferite di battaglia/ con le foto della grande, grassa mamma/ i re di cioccolata arrivarono…”). These very lyrics, together with the cover art depicting a crumpled American flag, and the band's participation in a Rome concert for ethnic minorities, the PLO included, would create some “political” problems for Pagani and his bandmates with American record executives. Musically, on Chocolate Kings what stands out most are Premoli's Hammond organ and synth, which wrap the closing coda of “From Under” in prog textures, and Mussida's delicate acoustic guitar lines, which sketch out the soft “Harlequin”. The album's real tour de force, however, comes in the nearly 8 minutes of “Out Of The Roundabout”, where electric piano and guitar remain in the background, leaving more room for Lanzetti's vocals.

In 1976 the band sets off on a world tour that takes them to the USA, Canada, Japan and England. Memorable moments include their performance at the Royal Albert Hall and an unexpected visit from the Queen Mother during rehearsals. At the end of the tour, Mauro Pagani decides to leave the band to devote himself to study and teaching. He would later embark on a solo career, also collaborating on “Creuza De Ma”, Fabrizio De André's “ethnic” masterpiece (1984). Pagani's departure strikes Pfm right at the heart, and the band will rarely manage to find the thread of its music again in the future.

After recruiting Greg Bloch, the violinist from Mark Almond and It's A Beautiful Day, the band heads off to California, where they record Jet Lag and embark on their fourth and final American tour. During this period Pfm come into contact with figures like Frank Zappa, Jaco Pastorius, Billy Cobham, Lenny White and many other figures from the West Coast rock-jazz scene. Jet Lag is the band's last progressive album, even though the jazz-fusion influence is quite evident. It's a combination that seems, for a moment, to revive the band's sound, as shown by the effective interplay of electric piano and violin on the long title track (9'13”) and the renewed verve of the instrumental “Left Handed Theory”. The times, however, are not favorable: the first prog era is about to breathe its last, punk is looming on the horizon, and the record market is dominated by dance rhythms. Even so, critics reward the courage of an original project aimed at an unprecedented blend of Mediterranean essence and West Coast rock-jazz language. And the cover of Jet Lag finds a place in the book “The illustrate history of the Rock Album Covers”, which collects the most beautiful album covers in the world. With Jet Lag, Pfm's own label is also born, Zoo Records, intended to serve as a laboratory and meeting point for new currents in Italian music.

1978 is the year of Passpartù, produced by Zoo Records. The album takes on a more acoustic character, with a return to writing lyrics in Italian. For its creation, Pfm draws on the collaboration of important musicians such as Roberto Colombo and Claudio Pascoli, as well as the artwork of Andrea Pazienza and lyrics by Gianfranco Manfredi. The tracks are shorter, but show an even more “free” approach, especially in the flute-violin interplay, which sometimes tends to take precedence over the usual carpets of piano and keyboards. The results, however, don't live up to expectations, and Zoo Records is forced to shut down.

It's the first sign of a decline in the band's popularity, which starts focusing mainly on collaborations with other artists, such as Gianna Nannini and Fabrizio De André himself, whom they meet in Sardinia. With the latter, in particular, a remarkable partnership develops, leading to the release of two live albums: in them, the Genoese singer-songwriter's songs, rearranged by Pfm, take on an entirely new flavor. From that point on, in every subsequent concert, De André will insist that those songs be played exactly that way, without changing a single comma. Lanzetti, who wasn't part of the tour with De André, decides to pursue a solo career, making way for Lucio Fabbri, a great vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. The latter makes his debut precisely at the memorable concert held in honor of Demetrio Stratos.

In the Eighties, Pfm scales back their ambitions, producing just a handful of albums steeped in a thoroughly Italian atmosphere, both in the lyrics and in the music. In 1980 Suonare suonare is released, an autobiographical album of refined pop-rock, marked by a concentration of electric guitars and keyboards, in which the song form is respected one hundred percent. Among the tracks, worth noting are “Si Può Fare”, with its steady beat and its arrangement for guitar, violin and synth, “Topolino”, an amusing Mussida number with a charming melodic line, and “Sogno Americano”, buoyed by a lively chorus.

The main vocalist becomes Franz Di Cioccio, who would soon also show off his qualities as a frontman in live performances. Performances that feature Walter Calloni on drums, alongside the already mentioned Lucio Fabbri on vocals.

It's precisely during this period, however, that another of Pfm's fundamental pillars, Flavio Premoli, departs. A loss that will weigh heavily on the band's subsequent path over the following decade. The next album, Come ti va in riva alla città, also produced by Numero Uno and written entirely by the trio of Di Cioccio-Djivas-Mussida, is built on the same standard-rock structure as its predecessor, and recounts youthful unease through a series of small urban vignettes, among which the single “Chi ha paura della notte” stands out, achieving decent commercial success. The overall result, however, is decidedly mediocre. The album is panned by critics, but proves a solid success with audiences in live performance, thanks in part to the energy of Di Cioccio in his now well-established role as the band's frontman.

The double live album Performance (their third), which gathers many gems from the Seventies, came out in 1982. After the release of P.F.M.? P.F.M.! (1984) and Miss Baker (1987), the members of PFM decided to give up live performances in order to focus more on their solo work and collaborations with other artists. In reality, though, PFM never officially broke up, and throughout the Nineties they sporadically resumed playing live.

In 1996, the band's comeback was heralded by the release of "10 anni live", their first official bootleg, a quadruple box set that was very well received by critics. Also published was "Due volte nella vita", a book in which Di Cioccio recounts the history of PFM, both on stage and behind the scenes. Finally, in 1997 (after a full ten years!), an album of new songs came out: Ulisse. For the occasion, the quartet of Mussida, Di Cioccio, Djivas and Premoli himself was reunited. Ulisse is a sort of concept album in which each member of the band tells his own story. It was awarded a gold record, presented to the band during a huge concert in Rome.

After more concerts and a live album, www.pfmpfm.it, the band recorded the studio album Serendipity (2001), produced by Corrado Rustici. The album brought the group's experimental streak back into the spotlight, with a concentration of new sounds that updated their more traditional ones and showed a rediscovered creativity. The track "K.N.A.", for instance, revisits the Beatles-esque sound in a thoroughly distinctive way. Also significant are the contributions of some exceptional guests: Fernanda Pivano, Franco Battiato and Juri Camisasca, Daniele Silvestri and Pasquale Panella.

2002, the thirtieth anniversary of the band's formation, was a year packed with concerts on an international scale. The final leg of the tour, in Tokyo, was recorded for an album and DVD titled PFM Live in Japan 2002.

On August 29, 2003, during the "Siena: la città aromatica" event, PFM played a concert in Piazza del Campo alongside their old partner in crime, Mauro Pagani. The show was a success and was released as a live album in January 2005, titled Piazza del Campo.

2021 was the year of I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep, an ambitious concept album devised by Di Cioccio and Djivas aimed at examining today's world, now tangibly governed by technology, the undisputed protagonist of every aspect of daily life.

Just as Philip K. Dick once wondered (directly invoked in the album's title), Di Cioccio and Djivas also raise a number of existential questions, comparing today's reality with what once seemed like mere scenarios glimpsed in films or read about in books, encouraging us to keep alive the hope of returning to a life of genuine emotions and real relationships, leaving behind the virtual approach that has come to govern even areas no one imagined it could ever reach.

With prestigious guest appearances by Steve Hackett and Ian Anderson ("Il respiro del tempo") and the temporary reunion of Flavio Premoli on the jam "Transumanza", the standout sections are the instrumental ones, where the band's class comes through intact.

Driven by constant sonic experimentation, spurred on also by the ongoing changes in its line-up, Premiata Forneria Marconi has by now become an institution of Italian progressive rock. And their venture beyond national borders has also earned them a place in the universal encyclopedia of rock.

(Contributions by Claudio Fabretti, Cristiano Orlando)

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