POZOROVATELNA (THE WATCH-TOWER)

A1. "Pori 72" (13:00) a four-part suite of mostly slow, spacious, tension-filled KING CRIMSON-like bass and drum interplay with pensive electric piano and electric guitar intermittently adding some chords or notes. I really love the creativity of bass player Vladimír Padrunek. Just after the start of the third movement, one that is much more active and dynamic, if rock-oriented--around the five minute mark--Lubos Andrst begins a guitar solo that is right in league with any of the wildest eruptions that John McLaughlin ever did in the previous three years! Martin Krtochvíl even gets into the frenzy with his Fender Rhodes while the rhythm section creates a kind of SANTANA "Waves Within" (from Caravanserai)-like foundation beneath. And then in the second half of the fourth movement he does it again, this time with some more latest-greatest effects on his electric guitar--this time the sound that Robert Fripp on "Book of Saturdays." Outstanding: both of Lubos' solos. Overall, this is a very unusual, intriguing, and definitely interesting song--one that I like very much. (24.5/25)

A2. "Pozorovatelna (The Watch-Tower)" (6:45) the first half is jazz-fusion of the bluesy type, Martin Kratochvíl's Fender Rhodes often bending the sound toward the contemporary J-RF direction but then riffing off some bluesy runs to make one question that commitment. Guitarist Lubos Andrst's guitar play (and tone) on this one is definitely all blues- rock/blues. I like the chunky bass: it reminds me of someone playing underwater. (13.125/15)

B1. "Trifid" (9:20) an intriguing start that seems to offer tons of potential, but then the bluesy solos begin and with it the rather simple foundational play continues, making me sad for the missed opportunity. The long electric guitar solo sixth and seventh minutes sounds a lot like the work BUDDY GUY (which is not a bad thing, just not your usual J-R Fuse finding). Then, out of the blue, at the 7:11 mark, the singing voice of a woman comes into the picture telling us that she loves [somebody] so in a very polished, seasoned alto voice. Wow! Weird! Especially when she starts to go into her own Clare Torey "Great Gig in the Sky" vocalese. Not a bad song just an odd mish-mash of seemingly disparate parts and missed opportunities. (17.5/20)

B2. "Klobásové Hody (Sausage Feast)" (5:38) opens as a slow, plodding MILES/HERBIE-like spacious adventure into space with chunky bass and spacey reverb-treated Fender Rhodes being the most conspicuous instruments in the field. Midway through the song (at 2:35) the music turns raunchy raw R&Blues rock just like JEFF BECK's with rolling bass line, two-step drum beat, and loud, in-your-face blues-rock guitar play--sounding like a reworking of "Freeway Jam" (a song that wouldn't be coming out to the public for another couple of years. (8.75/10)

B3. "Kartágo (Carthage)" (4:28) the presence of plaintive violin in the background of this slow, background cinematic music is pretty cool as I keep expecting the appearance of a Max Schrek-like vampire from behind the shadows. Martin's Fender Rhodes takes over the lead in the second half of the song, feeling as if channeling his own improvisational internal world, playing as if almost introspectively. Very cool song. My second favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)

Total Time 39:11

Very nice rendering of the individual instruments (though, admittedly, the field is rather sparse with usually only four or five tracks being occupied) though I am not always a fan of the sounds the band and its musicians (and producer and engineers) have chosen for the instruments. The first and last songs are huge winners (I am choosing, as usual, to review only the songs that were released on the 1973 vinyl album release

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of what amounts, at times, to creative, adventurous Jazz-Rock Fusion, at others more Blues-Rock or R&Blues-Rock music. Definitely a wonderfully intriguing listening experience!

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