Customer Reviews

Miss Baker (Mlps)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had a credit burning a hole in my pocket after an unnamed site couldn't provide PFM's "Suonare Suonare", so I bought this. This album shows a band desperately searching for a style. The sound is pop, with not a trace of progressive rock. Many of the cuts have a funk-lite style comparable to Steely Dan's "Gaucho" period. Some songs have a brass section adding punches, like the Earth Wind & Fire horns on Genesis' "Paperlate", and a couple of songs have female backing vocals. Still, on the whole, this is a lot more listenable than I would have figured, though none of these songs will be on any greatest hits album. Guitarist Franco Mussida and drummer Franz di Cioccio still sound good here. "Prima Che Venga la Sera", "Finta Lettera d'Addio di una Rockstar per Farsi Propaganda", "La Chanson d'un Aviateur", and "Colazione a Disneyland" are all decent cuts. The title cut, a tribute to dancer Josephine Baker, is the weakest track. Just about every keyboard sound used on the album is an adult contemporary cliché, like pre-sets on a synthesizer built specifically for the wedding/bar mitzvah circuit; I assume Fabbri is to blame.

This is a mystery album. The CD has no credits except for songwriting, and these include both violinist Mauro Pagani, who had left before "Jet Lag" and violin/keyboardist Lucio Fabbri. The CD bears a 1981 date, but PFM's own web site calls this a 1987 album. And the only English-language fan site that had a good PFM discography has shut down. Whichever date is correct, keyboardist Flavio Premoli would have left the band by then.

If you are the kind of prog-rock snob who thinks "Per Un Amico" is a more "authentic" listening experience than "Photos of Ghosts", sleeps with a worn copy of "Cook" beside their bed, thinks Genesis never made a good album after Gabriel left and Yes never made a good album after "Topographic Oceans", stay far, far away from this album. You will hate it, and hate it big-time. For others, if you want to hear what PFM sounded like after they stopped releasing albums in the US, go with 2000's "Serendipity" or 1998's live ... instead. This album is at the low end of the "pretty good" range.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

I have a really worn out cassette of PFM's Miss Baker I bought in a bazaar long time ago. By that time I wasn't sure if the regular listener of albums like "Per un amico" could find MB really satisfying because of the more pop oriented tunes, instead of their heavy duty progressive style of the early 70s. Well, many years have passed and I still think that besides the fact that some songs could inevitably remind us of the usual corny italian ballads, this album is (watch out for a long list of praises): brilliantly produced, original, daring, creative, surprising, crafty, hearty, and very much apt for the prog rock, pop, fusion, and maybe not too rigorous jazz and classical music lovers. But most of all the players are incredible, each note is perfect. The last tune "Colazione a Disneyland" is a colorful instrumental piece that displays so much energy, passion and virtuosity that you may want to shed a tear or two.

I had a credit burning a hole in my pocket after an unnamed site couldn't provide PFM's "Suonare Suonare", so I bought this. This album shows a band desperately searching for a style. The sound is pop, with not a trace of progressive rock. Many of the cuts have a funk-lite style comparable to Steely Dan's "Gaucho" period. Some songs have a brass section adding punches, like the Earth Wind & Fire horns on Genesis' "Paperlate", and a couple of songs have female backing vocals. Still, on the whole, this is a lot more listenable than I would have figured, though none of these songs will be on any greatest hits album. Guitarist Franco Mussida and drummer Franz di Cioccio still sound good here. "Prima Che Venga la Sera", "Finta Lettera d'Addio di una Rockstar per Farsi Propaganda", "La Chanson d'un Aviateur", and "Colazione a Disneyland" are all decent cuts. The title cut, a tribute to dancer Josephine Baker, is the weakest track. Just about every keyboard sound used on the album is an adult contemporary cliché, like pre-sets on a synthesizer built specifically for the wedding/bar mitzvah circuit; I assume Fabbri is to blame.

This is a mystery album. The CD has no credits except for songwriting, and these include both violinist Mauro Pagani, who had left before "Jet Lag" and violin/keyboardist Lucio Fabbri. The CD bears a 1981 date, but PFM's own web site calls this a 1987 album. And the only English-language fan site that had a good PFM discography has shut down. Whichever date is correct, keyboardist Flavio Premoli would have left the band by then.

If you are the kind of prog-rock snob who thinks "Per Un Amico" is a more "authentic" listening experience than "Photos of Ghosts", sleeps with a worn copy of "Cook" beside their bed, thinks Genesis never made a good album after Gabriel left and Yes never made a good album after "Topographic Oceans", stay far, far away from this album. You will hate it, and hate it big-time. For others, if you want to hear what PFM sounded like after they stopped releasing albums in the US, go with 2000's "Serendipity" or 1998's live "www.pfmpfm.it" instead. This album is at the low end of the "pretty good" range.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

I had been used to hearing early PFM, the progressive stuff. I had heard that these later recordings were getting very hard to find so i picked it up in a Virginia Beach music store...a rare find. When i popped it into my car CD player i recoiled from the sounds, thinking "this really sucks!" But after a few listenings i now find the first track irresistible. It is great. This album has a kind of Latin dance music sound, due to the horn section. It has a few tracks i still don't like at all, but most of it is ok. The title track is particularly bad. If you are expecting something progressive in the vein of early PFM you will be dissapointed. Still I find myself playing it, especially that first song.