by Paul Collins
This album marked a continued maturing of both PFM's style and their presence in the Anglophone market. It benefits from Premoli's high-speed Hammond organ and synth runs on such all-out prog assaults as the conclusion of &From Under,& as well as Mussida's gentle acoustic guitar lines on slower numbers like &Harlequin.& The weak point, as in some of PFM's other productions, is in the vocals. Bernado Lanzetti's voice is overwhelmed by the sheer force of the band; indeed, it could be removed to leave behind perfectly acceptable instrumentals. On &Harlequin& and the superb &Out of the Roundabout,& the instrumentation of rippling electric piano and delicate nylon-string guitar allows his quavering vocals more space to breathe; but lacking the vocal harmonies that other prog contemporaries relied on, his voice doesn't really stand on its own.