Pfm - Chocolate Kings
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Artist: PfmBrand: PFM
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 1998-12-04
Music Label: Sony Bmg/RCA
Soundtracks:
- From Under
- Harlequin
- Chocolate Kings
- Out On The Roundabout
- Paper Charms
Free Music Notes for Chocolate Kings
Free Music Review: "Kings" is Aces
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm slack jawed with amazement to read the disrespect this INCREDIBLE lp gets from some of my fellow reviewers. For those who have been curious enough about this band and LP to read this far, let me state up front that this recording is ABSOLUTELY one of the greatest prog-rock masterpieces of all.
To summarize as quickly as possible, let me first praise the incredibly skillful musicianship of ALL. To single out any of the quintet for plaudits obscures another, but suffice it to say that even causual listening will quickly amaze you with the dexterity with which the group tears through some incredibly complex material.
I'll be the first to concede that being a great musician alone doesn't guarantee a great record, but in this case, the considerable maestro-horsepower is harnessed to a chariot of five INCREDIBLE songs that seriously thrust "Chocolate Kings" into the upper echelons of progressive rock. A previous reviewer correctly pointed out the haunting violin/keyboard theme of the opening track, "From Under;" strong stuff indeed. Even more impressive to me is track 2, "Harlequin," certainly one of the most tightly-compacted lyrical/instrumental expressions of human anguish ever committed to record. The gentle acoustic guitar & flute opener is garnished with light keyboards, ramping up tension to the furious middle section full of propulsive drumming/bass with snarling keyboard/guitar/violin riffs trading lines with Lanzetti's totally in-the-moment vocal delivery.
Here I must take SERIOUS exception to any slagging of Bernardo Lanzetti's vocal prowess. YES, his command of English was rudimentary, but what an expressive, forceful set of pipes he brought to PFM. I know that our personal appreciation of singers is highly subjective, but from the very first hearing, his powerful voice IMMEDIATELY grabbed me and still moves me now.
To my ears this album has NO weaknesses, except to concede that much of the power of the EXCELLENT lyrics is lost in Bernardo's shaky phonetic rendition. Some vinyl LP's do come with lyric sheets, and they truly do enhance the experience by enabling our full appreciation of the highly insightful lyrics of Marva Jan Morrow, who I never heard of before (or since, to the best of my knowledge). I wonder whether Morrow wrote these lyrics first as stand alone poems and Pagani (flautist/violinist) and Mussida (guitarist) wrote the music around them. The lyrics certainly stand as potent, fully realized works of art independent of the music they were fused to, so it's unfortunate that Bernardo's expression-over-enunciation delivery obscures them so badly. (Write me if you're interested in seeing a lyric sheet.)
The credits reveal that this LP was very much the compositional brainchild of flautist/violinist Mauro Pagani, and unfortunately it proved to be his swan song with PFM. He left the band to do a very mediocre solo album, and PFM replaced him with another violinist, Gregory Bloch, who could bring none of the compositional fire to the band that Pagani provided for "Chocolate Kings." I vividly remember how anxiously I anticipated the follow-up to "Chocolate Kings" back in 1976, and how DISSAPOINTED I was by the all-too aptly titled "Jet Lag" that abruptly brought the band halfway down the pinnacle they'd ascended in '74 with "Chocolate Kings."
Of course PFM still soldiers on, as a quartet, (Bernardo is long gone, unfortunately) and they certainly command respect among us prog-heads as they continue to record and tour, though I confess I haven't kept up with them since the mid 1980's. Still nothing can ever obscure the blinding brilliance of "Chocolate Kings." I say with ABSOLUTE conviction that if you're interested enough to give this underappreciated band a try, THIS IS THE CD TO BUY.
Chocolate Kings Poster
Original Release Date: January 1976This item is not a re-mastered version.
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