4 out of 5 Stars!

Storia di un minuto is the impressive debut album of a band many Prog-Rock fans (and friends of mine) deemed to be “the Italian Gentle Giant.”

Okay, I’ll concur with that, but to only a marginal extent. Sure, PFM occasionally incorporated “unconventional” instruments (woodwinds, violin, etc.) into its overall sound, bringing about much of the “Giant comparisons” from my friends. But PFM had actually created its own rather unique and theatrical style and so—to me, at least—truly sounded nothing much like Gentle Giant.

Regardless, Storia di un minuto was one of the first albums I investigated by this band, and I remember coming away with a smile on my face.

With its riotous and ever-changing tempos, chunky guitar and bright synth riffs, not to mention the inclusion of flute and the glorious Mellotron, the track “E’ festa” is where I viewed the most Gentle Giant comparisons. Similarly, the opening section of the instrumental “Dove… quando… (parte II)” offered some additional comparisons.

But that was about it. On other tracks such as “Impressioni di settembre” and “Dove… quando… (parte I)” the group’s more pastorial side came through, offering something completely different. Additionally, in the second half of the aforementioned “Dove… quando… (parte II),” when the band dove headfirst into Jazz-Rock territory during a free-styling flute solo, I realized that the seamless merging of genres was a trait not many other groups shared with PFM, and I was hooked. And as if to further intrigue me, the band also tossed in “La carrozza di Hans,” where again, the merging of numerous genres, of shifting styles and widely varied instrumentation within such a short time span (the track is just shy of seven minutes) gave PFM a unique character and enduced me to investigate even more groups with Italian heritage.

Unfortunately, in its heyday during the ’70s, the talented group could never quite break big into the booming “American market”—although it came damned close—therefore, PFM remains shamefully obscure even now.

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