Condensed 10 Anni Live
kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 02/19/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a condensed version of the four CD set "10 Anni Live". I would recommend buying those (especially the last two volumes) over this one. While this condensed version is very good, most of the material that was left off is on par with the very best of what was left on. The sound quality of these CD's isn't perfect. As might be expected, it is very poor on the first few tracks that represent the very early days of the group. These first tracks are very rough, noisy versions of King Crinsom and Jethro Tull tunes that aren't really anything special. The poor quaility of the sound and the playing get the CD off to a bad start (not really bad, just not 4 star material). But then the CD breaks into some incredible jams and there is only a mild tape hiss that can be heard between tracks. PFM's early studio albums were kind of a mellow progressive rock while the later albums (up to 1980) tended to be more jazzy. But PFM was always less pretensious and overblown than most progressive bands. Playing live, they were completely different. They would play a few studio tunes with incredible jam sessions in between. Each of the sessions would usually feature just one instrument, mostly guitar, keyboards or violin. The violin jams were in the classical/progressive vain, but many of the others were more straight ahead rock. There are alot more of these jams on the 10 Anni Live series."
Great music but poor sound
kireviewer | 10/30/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Celebration, a live album, contains a lot of great pieces from PFM, and very much of the improvisation that has always characterized this band during their shows. Most of the tracks on this recording are from the era when the band was making no commercial concessions. A few tracks are not available on any other CD ("Spanish Jam" for example). A few exceptional tracks like "Alta Loma 5 till 9", with extraordinary guitar performance by Mussida, and "4 holes in the Ground", one of PFM's classicals, are worth the expense by themselves. But the sound, rather poor, distant and lacking some relief , is like that of a bootleg, although this album isn't one, and this makes the listening harder. Collectors will enjoy. Others will find PFM in great shape, but will regret that it's not been recorded properly. This explains my rating of 3 stars, which would have been 4 or even 5 stars otherwise. Georges P."
Great live playing, not that you'll be able to tell
woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 01/26/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This is a 2-CD condensation of the 4-CD live retrospective "10 Anni Live -- 1971-1981". While the playing is strong, the recording sounds like a mediocre-quality bootleg. Recordings sometimes start or end in mid-song. Instruments (especially Mauro Pagani's violin) get lost in the mix. For some reason, there are 2-1/2 renditions of "Four Holes in the Ground." The most interesting material is the earliest (which, oddly, also has the best sonic quality), with covers of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and Jethro Tull's "My God." Fans of PFM's live improvs will find several long jams here."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1