''L'isola di niente'' ("The Isle of Nothing") is the third studio album by

Italian progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

band

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

, released in 1974. Like the group's previous albums, it is sung in Italian and performed well in Italy. An English version of the album, ''The World Became the World'', was recorded in the same session. It features the same track list along with an English version of the band's first single "Impressioni di Settembre". English lyrics were written by

Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...

. ''L'isola di niente'' is a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

album which has been described as being more complex than their previous records, additionally incorporating elements of

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

. In a retrospective

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, the album was given a positive review, being deemed PFM's last masterpiece, yet was rated slightly lower than their previous records. Tracks such as "La Luna Nuova" and "Dolcissima Maria" continue to be performed in their live set.

Composition and critical reception

''L'isola di niente'' is a

album at its core, yet shows greater influences from

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

music. Described as more complex and confusing than their previous records, it ranges from

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

-oriented progressive songs ("La Luna Nuova") to jazz rock-influenced pieces ("Via Lumiere"). The lyrics are also sung in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, with the exception of the second track, "Is My Face on Straight?". The album contains the presence of long tracks, especially "L'isola di niente" which is 10:48 minutes long, and makes use of a synthesized

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

. In an

review, François Couture wrote positively on the album, giving it a four out of five star rating, and labelling it a "masterpiece" and "one of the first

wave's finest records", despite deeming it more "confusing" than its predecessors and "more of an acquired taste".

Track listing

Personnel

Franco Mussida Franco Mussida (born in Milan, Italy, on 21 March 1947) is an Italian guitar player, composer, and singer. Biography He is best known as a founder and prominent member of the Italian progressive rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), establ ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, lead vocals *

Flavio Premoli Flavio Premoli (born 1949 in Varese) is an Italian musician and composer, one of the four founding members of the Italian progressive rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM). Premoli is currently endorsed by Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, lead vocals *

Mauro Pagani Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian musician and singer. Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 as violinist and founding member of the progressive rock band Pre ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, vocals *

Patrick Djivas Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

– bass, vocals * Franz Di Cioccio –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isola Di Niente Premiata Forneria Marconi albums 1974 albums RCA Records albums