Unique compilation from the best of italian progressive
08/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I strongly reccomend this compilation. You will get some of the finest italian progressive groups ever! This excelent group was even signed to ELP's manticore records in the seventies. This double cd reunites the best of the first records they made, sung in italian, with extraordinary musicianship and composition. If you like ELP, genesis, Yes, crimson, buy it inmediatly."
"Greatest Hits" CD
kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 04/26/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very expensive greatest hits CD. The first disc is 40 minutes long and the second is 52 minutes. The sound quality is very good. The packaging is very cheesy looking. This is the second cover. The earlier cover showed photos of the band playing live.
While the music on this CD rates 5 stars, I only give it one star because it is another misleading BMG product and because it so expensive. At this price, you would be better off buying the first 3 PFM CD's.
Gli Anni Settanta translates to "The Seventies". If you know Italian, you might guess that this is a compilation CD, but wouldn't know for sure. With the cover, especially the original, you might think this is a live CD (which I did when I bought it).
BMG can be a very evil record company that repackages music with misleading covers, so you end up buying music you already have. Their biggest scam is the "Extended Versions" series, which is just repackaged live albums. No wonder CD sales are down.
The CD contains tracks from all of the Italian PFM studio albums from the seventies. Some of the PFM albums were reworked for the English market with new English lyrics written by Pete Sinfield, of early King Crimson. However, none of those English versions are included on this set. I prefer the Italian versions, as the English lyrics were dumb, and the group did not speak English or understand what the lyrics meant.
I would recommend buying one of the early PFM CD's, like Impression de Septembre instead of this and seeing if you like it. If you do, you will want to get the rest.
PFM's studio music was lush, rich and multi-layered. It is very beautiful.
PFM was a totally different group live. They were a jamming and rocking band. You might want to check out Live In the USA (called "Cook" in the US) or the great boxset Gli Anni Live."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1