Chocolate Kings

PFM's international fortunes had greatly improved, thanks to major bouts of touring in both the UK and the US, and their record deal with Manticore Records now encompassing Asylum Records in the US. Chocolate Kings was the first of two albums the group would record solely in English. True to their resolve, the band recruited vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti, previously in Italian progsters Acqua Fragile. Educated in Texas, Lanzetti had a distinctive voice, somewhere between Roger Chapman and Peter Gabriel. That wasn't the only change; gone was Pete Sinfield, with Marva Jan Marrow contributing English-language lyrics, and Claudio Fabi now sat alone in the producer's chair. From the opening bars of "From Under," the album presents a harder and more dynamic PFM, anchored in the roar of Flavio Premoli's Hammond organ and the breakneck rhythm of drummer Franz Di Cioccio and bassist Patrick Djivas. The elegant opening guitar lines of "Harlequin" and "Out of the Roundabout" offer some escape from the manic, almost forceful meters that the tracks erupt into. "Chocolate Kings" continues the pace with a jig-like tempo. The longer tracks on the second side are similarly hard-driving. There's little subtlety throughout the recording, but the new edge is more than welcome. The album was a critical and commercial success—especially in Japan, where the band embarked on their first tour, and in England, where the Queen Mother even paid them a visit before a Royal Albert Hall performance. However, the group claims that the album was "boycotted" in the US market because of their performances at benefits to support the PLO. Nevertheless, for their next album, the band headed to Los Angeles to record. [US release date]