Search - Pfm :: Serendipity

PFM continues to make good music

woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 02/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a thoroughly listenable and enjoyable 2000 album by PFM, with well-written songs, at least half a dozen of which are so catchy I can't get them out of my head. PFM fans and prog-rock fans should enjoy it, though the songs don't take the twists and turns of 70s PFM. This album sounds much more up-to-date than the 1997 comeback album "Ulisse", with electronic noises and beats as ear candy. "La Rivoluzione" sounds like Wetton-era King Crimson, and the single "K.N.A." has a rhythm and Eastern flourishes reminiscent of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows". "L'Immenso Campo Insensato" is gradually becoming my favorite song on the album, a ballad with a pulsing chorus and impassioned singing by Franz Di Cioccio. "Sono un Dio" has a driving beat and begins with a Mike Rutherford-style guitar riff. Some of the other songs, such as "Nuvole Nere", wouldn't sound out of place on Yes' "90125" album. And "Automaticamente" is a first: dance-club PFM! The album was produced by guitarist Corrado Rustici, who plays on "Exit", a short instrumental coda to "Sono un Dio", which closes the album. Keyboardist Premoli is relegated to the back of the mix on most songs, perhaps because a guitarist was the producer. Four songs include a string quartet to good effect, especially on "K.N.A.", where real strings alternate with Mellotron. This is a song-oriented, not jam-oriented, PFM. There are no long instrumental sections or extended soloing, except for "Exit", and even that's only a couple of minutes long. All lyrics are in Italian, except a strange "I dig you, you're so groovy, baby" bridge on "Domo Dozo" (I hope they don't think this is still hip American slang)."

Sorry but...

Georges Poulin | Canada | 05/31/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Although a long time PFM fan, who has ''adapted'' to the various styles of PFM during more than 3 decades, SREENDIPITY just not appears to be my cup of tea at all. I have tried and tried over and over again, but this album rarely goes on my CD player anymore. A couple of tracks that I like, and that's about it. These guys have used us to much better stuff than this relatively uninspired, pop, heavy and predictable album. Not up to what these guys are capable of doing. At the time that I'm writing this review, PFM is still working on a new studio album to be released in October of 2004.Rumor has it (coming from people close to the band) that it should be a great (and more on the progressive side) one this time."