Glenn Williams
MUSIC WRITER IN JAPAN
Prog Rock Essentials
The Rise Of Medici, was one of my favourites of 2023. I wrote at the time that it was “littered with drama” and that it was a magnificent opus, heaping praise on it to the point of grovelling. Before listening to Siege, I had another listen to The Rise Of Medici just to see if I had overdone it – I hadn’t, it really is that good. So how does Siege compare? Well, this marvellously well-matched duo of Clive Nolan and Laura Piazzai, have done it again.
This time, it’s less of a concept album although there is a theme running through it; the clue is in the title. The opening track at just under eight minutes long, throws everything into the mix. It moves from a gentle statement into a powerful proclamation. Laura’s vocals build and build to a beautifully constructed guitar solo after which they race to a crescendo - opening tracks don’t get much better than this. The last track, Blood Moon, is in a similar vein and in-between there are eight songs that all happily stand-alone but as a whole, create a gorgeous tapestry.
The word ‘siege’ conjures up images of chain-mailed soldiers scaling medieval castles or modern-day military operations of tanks surrounding towns but this is not all epic, thunder and war stuff. There are some delightfully sweet parts, notably the opening of When My Eyes Are Closed, a song that then moves into a Pop song, reminiscent of 80s power ballads by vocalists such as Martika and Carol Decker’s T’Pau whilst Deep, would not be out of place on one of Kate Bush’s earlier albums. It’s tempting to write a breakdown of each song but suffice to say, each track has its own character that plays its part in the whole. It’s quite an accomplishment to be able to do that, more so to make it appealing to a wide audience. This album isn’t just Prog, it’s an album for people who appreciate all kinds of music.
The album is available in three different formats, two of which have a bonus album containing seven of the tracks in simpler form and alternate ideas. The creativity of this duo is evident in the different versions of All There Is To See. Both work beautifully and it must have been a difficult decision, which to add to the actual album. Personally, I prefer…* Also included on it are two versions of Dorian Grey, a track that was only released as a bonus on the Japanese edition of the Shadowland album, Ring Of Roses. That’s the music dealt with but there’s more. The advent of the Earbook goes a long way to correcting the lack of appreciation of vinyl artwork and this is one you shouldn’t miss as the thirty-two pages of images that complement the music, are luscious and add much more to the overall experience.
This is only Imaginaerium’s second album. Time will tell if there will be a third but this and their debut, will stand the test of time.
Track list
Cry Boudicia!
The Final Redoubt
Footprints
All There Is To See
When My Eyes Are Closed
To The Victor Go The Spoils
Never Burn The Cakes
The Last Arrow
Deep
Blood Moon
Bonus Album
Dorian Grey (Re-visit)
The Last Arrow (Acoustic guitar/vocal)
Cry Boudicia! (Instrumental)
When My Eyes Are Closed (Piano/vocal)
All There Is To See (Duet version)
The Final Redoubt (Instrumental)
Deep (Pure strings)
Dorian Grey (Acoustic Guitar mix)
Footprints (Viking Walk)
*I’m not telling you
ALBUM
IMAGINAERIUM
SEIGE
BOX SET
PFM
THE MANTICORE STUDIO ALBUMS
Cherry Red
The origin of Premiata Forneria Marconi goes back to the mid-1960s when some of Italy’s top session musicians got together one day and decided to form their own band. Franco Mussida (g,v), Flavio Premoli (k), Luciano Dovesi (b) and Franz Di Cioccio (d,v) called their band I Quelli but success eluded them and in 1970, after several band member changes which included adding different instruments, became PFM. They signed to the Italian label, Numero Uno, the RCA Records division of Italy and released their first single in 1971, Impressioni di Settembre; it was the first record in Italy to feature a synthesizer – a Moog. The following year, they released their debut album, Storia Di Un Minuto, which topped the Italian charts and swiftly followed it with a second album Per Un Amico. Well established in Italy by now, what they needed was to be heard outside of their native country. Enter Greg Lake from Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Greg became aware of them whilst on tour in Italy. He signed them to ELP’s newly formed Manticore label and set about making them more accessible to an English-speaking world. Enlisting his good friend and co-lyric writer, Pete Sinfield, to come up with the words, they re-recorded the vocals on a selection of tracks from their two albums and released it internationally, in 1973, under the title of Photos Of Ghosts. For those hearing the album and the band for the first time, they seemingly came from nowhere with a brilliant debut. Debut or not it’s a masterpiece, with beautiful playing and arrangements that cover every aspect of Prog without being overzealous.
PFM’s third Italian release was in 1974 and titled L'Isola Di Niente. Whilst recording it, with a second international release in mind, they also recorded English vocal tracks in the same sessions. The World Became The World is the complete third Italian album plus their first single - the title track and also from their Italian debut. It should be noted that all the lyrics on these two albums are not translations but new ones written by Pete Sinfield. It’s more ambitious in composition, two big steps forward rather than one which at the time was said by some to be too much. In hindsight, it’s not, it’s PFM learning and not standing wishing to stand still.
1975 saw the release of Chocolate Kings. No Italian title and no Italian lyrics, there is only one version, the English lyrics being written along with the music and once again, PFM seemed to have shifted direction. In essence, they had as it’s more political. The title refers to the liberation of Italy in WWII, the soldiers with chocolate in hand, freeing the country from fascism. Musically, Prog-wise, it is much better constructed with faster, more aggressive passages that link better with the quieter ones.
Their last outing on Manticore – and Manticore’s last release as it turns out – was Jet Lag in 1977. Moving more towards Jazz, it’s a far cry from Photos Of Ghosts even though both open with exquisite classical guitar pieces. Jet Lag is also their last album with English lyrics. After the Manticore years, the band continued to swap, change, evolve and morph in all sorts of ways and are still going but these are arguably the four most important four albums PFM ever released in that they established the band internationally.
Housed in a clamshell box with replica sleeves and a new poster, this set is the perfect start for anyone discovering classic Prog outside of the English giants.
Track List
Disc 1 - Photos Of Ghosts
River Of Life (Appena Un Po) *
Celebration (È Festa) †
Photos Of Ghosts (Per Un Amico) *
Old Rain (New track)
Il Banchetto (remixed) *
Mr 9 ‘Til 5 (Generale) * ‡
Promenade The Puzzle (Geranio) *
* from L'Isola Di Niente
† from Storia Di Un Minuto
‡ originally an instrumental
Disc 2 - The World Became The World
The Mountain (L'Isola di Niente) *
Just Look Away (Dolcissima Maria) *
The World Became The World (Impressioni di Settembre) †
Four Holes In The Ground (La Luna Nuova) *
Is My Face On Straight?
Have Your Cake And Beat It (Via Lumiere) *
* from L'Isola Di Niente
† first single from Storia Di Un Minuto
Disc 3 – Chocolate Kings
From Under
Harlequin
Chocolate Kings
Out Of The Roundabout
Paper Charms
Disc 4 – Jet Lag
Peninsula
Jet Lag
Storia In “La”
Breakin’ In
Cerco La Lingua
Meridiani
Left-Handed Theory
Traveler