Chocolate Kings

This album marked a continued maturing of both PFM's style and their presence in the Anglophone market. It benefits from Premoli's high-speed Hammond organ and synth runs on such all-out prog assaults as the conclusion of "From Under," as well as Mussida's gentle acoustic guitar lines on slower numbers like "Harlequin." The weak point, as in some of PFM's other productions, is in the vocals. Bernado Lanzetti's voice is overwhelmed by the sheer force of the band; indeed, it could be removed to leave behind perfectly acceptable instrumentals. On "Harlequin" and the superb "Out of the Roundabout," the instrumentation of rippling electric piano and delicate nylon-string guitar allows his quavering vocals more space to breathe; but lacking the vocal harmonies that other prog contemporaries relied on, his voice doesn't really stand on its own. ~ Paul Collins