Tuesday 20 October 2015

Josephine Baker (Premiata Forneria Marconi, 1987)

"Josephine Baker" is IMHO one of the finest prog songs from Italy during the '80s. Nevertheless, it is a greatly underrated track, probably because of the somewhat deceiving "Miss Baker" album it comes from or even because the band had lost in those years their progressive fandom. For sure, everything is moving and well done in "Josephine Baker", from the opening guitar to the closing violin. And in between there are a beautiful sung theme, a classy arrangement and a nostalgic set of lyrics about an African  beauty, the very icon of the Parisian dance halls, the famous Afro-American dancer quoted in the title, or - more probably - only her poster on the wall of a lonely room.

"Miss Baker" was the twelfth studio album by PFM.

The atmosphere of this song is full of melancholy but not necessarily sad, as I breathe a warm mood all along the track, combining Old Europe, Africa and some smoky cafés of a long forgotten Parisian Street. Such a pity this had to remain the last PFM's prog song until their coming back many years later...

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