For close to a half century, prog has been the breeding ground for rock's most out-there, outsized and outlandish ideas: Thick-as-a-brick concept albums, an early embrace of synthesizers, overly complicated time signatures, Tolkienesque fantasies, travails from future days and scenes from a memory. In celebration of Rush's first Rolling Stone cover story, here's the best of the deliciously decadent genre that the punks failed to kill.
Compilation By Jon Dolan, Dan Epstein, Reed Fischer, Richard Gehr, Brandon Geist, Kory Grow, Will Hermes, Ryan Reed, Jon Weiderhorn for

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PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI
''PER UN AMICO''
1972
34:04
1 Appena Un Po' (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 07:42
2 Generale (Francone Mussida, Flavio Premoli) 04:15
3 Per Un Amico (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 05:22
4 Il Banchetto (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 08:37
5 Geranio (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 08:06
Franz di Cioccio/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Claudio Fabi/Collaboration
Francone Mussida/Chitarrone, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Mandocello, Vocals
Mauro Pagani/Flute, Flute (Alto), Piccolo, Violin, Vocals
Giorgio Piazza/Bass
Premiata Forneria Marconi/Arranger, Performer
Flavio Premoli/Clavicembalo, Keyboards, Mellotron, Moog Synthesizer, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Spinetta, Tubular Bells, Vocals
Gaetano Ria
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ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
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REVIEW/AMG
Robert Taylor
This is PFM's brilliant follow-up to Storia di un Minuto, and both albums are considered progressive rock classics, for good reason. The diversity, complexity, and integrity of the music here is as fine as anything produced during the early '70s from other prog rock giants such as Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. The lyrics are in Italian and, while used sparingly, make a valuable contribution to the session's integrity. The music is constantly shifting in style, tempo, and tone, but held together by recurring themes. Mauro Pagani's airy flute is the perfect antidote to Francone Mussida's aggressive guitar, while Flavio Premoli's keyboard work rivals that of contemporaries such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. The music ranges from avant-garde to hard rock and everything in between. Always intelligent, but without pretension, this is progressive rock in its most literal definition.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
Italy's leading progressive rock outfit of the early '70s, PFM would have remained a purely Italian phenomenon had they not been signed to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Manticore label. Their sound was more distinctly rooted in the pre-classical era than that of their Germanic counterparts. In addition to electric keyboards (synthesizers, etc.), they also relied on violin and flute (recorder, actually) as major components of their music. Their name, by the way, was short for Premiata Forneria Marconi, the name of the bakery that originally sponsored them.
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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
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WEBSITE
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TO THE TOP
Compilation By Jon Dolan, Dan Epstein, Reed Fischer, Richard Gehr, Brandon Geist, Kory Grow, Will Hermes, Ryan Reed, Jon Weiderhorn for
**********
PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI
''PER UN AMICO''
1972
34:04
1 Appena Un Po' (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 07:42
2 Generale (Francone Mussida, Flavio Premoli) 04:15
3 Per Un Amico (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 05:22
4 Il Banchetto (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 08:37
5 Geranio (Francone Mussida, Mauro Pagani, Flavio Premoli) 08:06
Franz di Cioccio/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Claudio Fabi/Collaboration
Francone Mussida/Chitarrone, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Mandocello, Vocals
Mauro Pagani/Flute, Flute (Alto), Piccolo, Violin, Vocals
Giorgio Piazza/Bass
Premiata Forneria Marconi/Arranger, Performer
Flavio Premoli/Clavicembalo, Keyboards, Mellotron, Moog Synthesizer, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Spinetta, Tubular Bells, Vocals
Gaetano Ria
**********
ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Robert Taylor
This is PFM's brilliant follow-up to Storia di un Minuto, and both albums are considered progressive rock classics, for good reason. The diversity, complexity, and integrity of the music here is as fine as anything produced during the early '70s from other prog rock giants such as Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. The lyrics are in Italian and, while used sparingly, make a valuable contribution to the session's integrity. The music is constantly shifting in style, tempo, and tone, but held together by recurring themes. Mauro Pagani's airy flute is the perfect antidote to Francone Mussida's aggressive guitar, while Flavio Premoli's keyboard work rivals that of contemporaries such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. The music ranges from avant-garde to hard rock and everything in between. Always intelligent, but without pretension, this is progressive rock in its most literal definition.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
Italy's leading progressive rock outfit of the early '70s, PFM would have remained a purely Italian phenomenon had they not been signed to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Manticore label. Their sound was more distinctly rooted in the pre-classical era than that of their Germanic counterparts. In addition to electric keyboards (synthesizers, etc.), they also relied on violin and flute (recorder, actually) as major components of their music. Their name, by the way, was short for Premiata Forneria Marconi, the name of the bakery that originally sponsored them.
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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP