THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY

Exodus are another band that I and probably most Westerners don't know much about, mostly because their heyday was spent behind the Iron Curtain. Like so many great Polish and other Eastern bloc bands from that era they had to wait for a freer and more tolerant world for their music to be made widely available. But that's good for us today now that the Wall is gone and these albums have most all been reissued on CD.

This particular album is a delight, with three bonus tracks to boot. I was skeptical of their symphonic prog claims after hearing the opening "Ci wybrani" which sounds a bit more like discordant avant-garde music influenced by the likes of Zappa and maybe Vanilla Fudge. Good music, but not what I was expecting for sure.

Things change dramatically with the opening strands of "Stary Noe", and the rest of the album shows a band quite skilled and comfortable with making the most of their collective skills. The delicate 12-string guitar and brassy percussion blend beautifully with the ranging alto vocals of Pawel Birula and keyboard sounds of Wladyslaw Komendarek. I've no idea what the Polish lyrics are all about but it really doesn't matter as the band delivers a solid composition with more than a little folk influence.

The nest two tracks "Zloty promien slonca" and "Widok Z góry najwyzszej" are more energetic with plenty of electric guitar and at times a pair of synthesizers, while Birula continues to strum along on acoustic guitar and provide lead vocals (though there are at least two other vocalists on both songs).

The original vinyl release closed with the nearly twenty-minute long "Ten najpiekniejszy dzien", a driving epic with enough tempo shifts to make your head spin while delivering complex electric guitar riffs, lush keyboard forays and plenty of heavy organ passages. This one is truly a classic symphonic rock composition and is worthy of inclusion in just about any collection that represents mid- to late seventies symphonic prog rock.

As far as the bonus CD tracks go, "Ponury Pejzaz" and "W Kalendarzu mojego Zycia" are heavier than most of the rest of the album and sound a bit Krautrock-influenced, while "Uspokojenie" qualifies as a rock ballad with just a bit of electric guitar bite to keep things interesting.

I wish I knew more about these guys and will definitely seek out some of their other recordings. As for this one I recommend it highly to both classic symphonic rock fans as well as students of Soviet-era Polish music. Four stars out of five for sure.

peace