Rock On! Wednesday, 3 September 2025 – PFM, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Area, Fabrizio De André, Alphataurus & Le Orme

Psychedelic, heavy, prog and more innovating sounds spanning the late 60s and the early 70s – Dan’s pick of the week: PFM (Photos of Ghosts), Quella Vecchia Locanda (Il Tempo Della Gioia), Area (Maledetti), Fabrizio De André (Storia Di Un Impiegato), Alphataurus (Alphataurus) & Le Orme (In Concerto).

Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) is een van de meest toonaangevende en invloedrijke progressieve rockbands uit Italië. De groep werd opgericht eind jaren zestig in Milaan en wist zich in de jaren zeventig internationaal te onderscheiden door hun virtuoze spel, rijke arrangementen en een unieke mix van rock, klassieke muziek en traditionele Italiaanse invloeden.

Zap Niles review: “Immediately afterward, the group either re-recorded or remixed some of its past material (mostly from its sophomore album) and added English lyrics, created one additional song as well (“Old Rain”), and packaged the “new” album as Photos of Ghosts, thus giving PFM more worldwide exposure through the Manticore distribution channels.

For the most part, the gamble paid off, and countries including America started to pay attention. Unfortunately, despite the added exposure over the next few years, the band went only so far in expanding its worldwide fan base and still remains horribly obscure.

(…) Whichever preference one may have, however, the listener is treated to sophisticated, complex, and creative music from arguably Italy’s most talented Prog-Rock group in the first half of the ’70s, and Photos of Ghosts includes several of PFM’s most famous and classic tracks, including “Celebration,” “Mr. 9 Till 5,” “Il Banchetto,” and “Promenade The Puzzle.”

For those still Prog-Rock fans still unfamiliar with this legendary group, Photos of Ghosts wouldn’t be a bad place to start when delving into the band’s extensive catalogue.”

Wednesday, 3 September 2025 12:00 noon CET Brussels – 11 a.m. GMT London. Repeated: 16:00 & 20:00 hrs CET Brussels, 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. GMT London
Ends: 12 midnight CET Brussels, 11 p.m. GMT London.