Jet Lag

Recording again for the American label Asylum, our Italian friends took off for Los Angeles to produce another English-language album, the appropriately-titled Jet Lag. Inside the West Coast jazz-rock scene, PFM struck up some friendships, including Frank Zappa and Jaco Pastorius; and even added an American, Greg Bloch, ex-Mark-Almond and It's A Beautiful Day, to replace Mauro Pagani. It should be no surprise then that the resulting album completely ditches the band's prog rock styling for something a lot closer to jazz fusion. The album opens with "Peninsula," a solo acoustic piece from Franco Mussida; but once the title track kicks in, things really take off. Strong and melodic, the nine-minute track is a showcase for the band's brisk and effortless pacing. Flavio Premoli's keyboards, meanwhile, had made a sonic shift, with the Mini Moog and electric piano sealing the band's new direction. Bernardo Lanzetti's voice was never a stronger fit for the band than here, and the lyrics are worth noting as well (again, Marva Jan Marrow contributed). This track segues into "Storia in LA," which features Bloch on violin; while "Breaking In" sustains the vigorous pace. Side two opens with the Italian-language "Cerco La Lingua" ("Search for the Language"). The instrumental "Meridiani" features Mussida on electric guitar, a real treat. "Left-Handed Theory" is another vocal track, while the long coda of "Traveler" concisely reprises the album. Certainly, a nod must be given to Patrick Djivas's previous band Area for the new direction; but by now, quite a few Italian bands had taken their music down this route. Blending their Mediterranean muse with jazz-rock, PFM offers something fresh, without ever forgetting that they were a rock band; Jet Lag remains one of the most classic albums in the timeline. However, commercial success did not follow, and this was to be the end of an era for the band. PFM (without Bloch) returned to Italy to produce their next album, Passpartù, and again changing their focus, this time back to both their Italian language and musical roots. It would be the last for Lanzetti as well; and subsequent albums in the 80s would have little to do with their progressive past.