Record Reviews

PFM ~ THE EVENT AERESTELLA 1008 (Barcode: 8034094090953) ~ ITALY ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is a live album by the legendary Italian Prog group PFMFind albums by this artist, recorded at the Lugano Jazz Festival in 2022. Co-led by the founding members: vocalist / drummer Franz Di CioccioFind albums by this artist and bassist Patrick DjivasFind albums by this artist, the band also includes violinist / keyboardist Lucio FabbriFind albums by this artist, keyboardists Alessandro ScaglioneFind albums by this artist and drummer Eugenio MoriFind albums by this artist. Since the regular guitarist of the group, Marco SfogliFind albums by this artist, was not able to appear, two guest musicians were invited to join, both young rising stars on the Italian music scene: guitarist Matteo MancusoFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Luca ZabbiniFind albums by this artist. The album presents sixteen tracks, which span the entire output the band in the last five decades. The music is, not surprisingly, a brilliant display of Italian Prog at its best, full of gorgeous melodies, typical Italian lyricism and brilliant instrumental parts by all the musicians. It is plainly obvious that this music is absolutely ageless and sounds as good today as it sounded decades ago. There is not much innovation or new discovery herein, but sometime the best things are better left untouched. I have recently attended a Prog Festival, where I had the opportunity to see many veteran Prog musicians perform and had also the opportunity to talk to them at ease. I was surprised by the energies and vitality of these people, not that time did not leave a mark on them, but despite the fact that it did. Even if they play the same music they played half a Century ago, they still do it with passion and total dedication, and the least we, who enjoyed the fruits of their labor for so long, can do, is to respect them for going on, which is anything but obvious. This album lasts for almost eighty minutes and there is not a dull moment here. The music flows briskly from one tune another and the melodies seem to be as heartbreaking as they were the first time I heard them, which is pretty incredible. Overall, this is a superb live album, which summarizes perfectly the PFM phenomenon, but also the Italian Prog in general, proving it is still some of the best music one can hear today, as long as these great musicians are alive. Hearing the two “youngsters” on the stage certainly opens hope for the future as well. Absolutely not to be missed!

Updated: 07/08/2023Posted: 07/08/2023

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend