ORIGINALNA KISELINA: 35 GODINA KASNIJE

POP MASINA is a very interesting band, one of those rare progressive (ex-)Yugoslavian names to step into wider experimentation. 35 years after the original release of Kiselina (Acid), this limited edition appeared. After working on the complete remastering of the songs, including some unreleased outtakes, Robert Nemecek (the band's bass player) finally finished the job. What we have here is a remarkable YU prog-album, which was apparently ruined for the original release because of various reasons. Now the tracks are in a correct order as well and both lyrically and musically give an impression of a LSD trip.

Probably the most interesting song on this album is the title track Kiselina. In five minutes there's a lot of mood and rhythm changes, which make the song interesting. This is the song that also reminds of an (other) underground Serbian/Yugoslavian psychedelic rock outfit, Igra staklenih perli. You can also compare it to some Pink Floyd works (e. g. Meddle album). A brilliant composition indeed.

I would also choose Trazim put (Looking for a Trip) and Na drumu za haos (On the Road to Chaos) as my favourites. These songs include a bit of hard rock sound typical for that time, reminding me of Deep Purple.

Song no. 6, Jark / Kraj (Dne Eht / The End), includes the first half played backwards. Only this part of the song was released on the original release. However, for a second half the music starts going forward and continues into the final tracks. The last chapters of this psychedelic story are mostly comprised of acoustic / instrumental passages, sometimes including wordless vocals.

The enjoyment you get with this disc is a nice booklet, including complete lyrics, a storyline behind the album recording and an info on each of the tracks. I know, the album contents are more important, but this little 'gift' also leaves an impression.

All in all, it's definitely an excellent addition to any prog music collection, but sure is a masterpiece of progressive music too. All the mistakes from the original Kiselina have been repared / replaced / finished etc., so now you have a real thrill of a listen. If you have a chance to get a copy of this, take it - you won't be disappointed!

One of favorite albums of my teenage years,Kiselina sounds pretty lame today,due to poor production values(despite decent remastering job)and psychedelic meandering,very uncommon for a usual Pop masina style,a high energy hard-rock.That said,best songs on this uneven record are rockers Na drumu za haos i Sjaj u ocima,while more complex and ambient pieces,although interesting,have somewhat unfinished feel and lower overall quality of the album.Despite all this,album is still extremely interesting,mostly as a document about pioneering times and birth of Yu-rock scene in early seventies.It's too bad career of this band went nowhere with subsequent records.While reforming itself in mid 70's as a heavy-metal outfit called Rock masina,band never regained popularity it had few years earlier.As a prog- hard-rock record of historical importance and,mostly,for the nostalgic reasons,album deserves 3 stars.

This CD is a thoroughly remastered version of the original album. "Kiselina" ("Acid") LP appeared in late 1973 and despite many technical and production weaknesses remained influential as one of the early uncompromising rock albums released in ex-Yugoslavia that did not strive to make any alliances with the established easy listening pop music. Heavily influenced by British blues-based acid/hard rock of late 1960s (CREAM, JHE...), POP MASINA also pioneered open-air free concerts at "Hajdučka česma" in Belgrade vicinity 1972-73 on the American West Coast model - such as GRATEFUL DEAD lengthy jam sessions - and the Woodstock counterculture.

Album recording circumstances were rather poor and the band was disappointed by total lack of support from the record label PGP and studio staff, who was complete novices to the rock music and was incapable to properly record the songs. In addition, PGP did not have any trust in the band's commercial potentials did not have sufficient understanding of their ideas and tried to save resources as much as possible at the expense of "Kiselina". LP appeared thus in a cover design different from the original idea, pressed on poor quality vinyl and printed in small circulation of 2500 copies. Finally, when PGP executives learned that the topic of the album was about drug experience they refused to sign any contract with the band and never re-issued LP on vinyl.

After the band split in 1977 and shortly re-formed in early 1980s as a heavy metal act under the name ROK MASINA, since 1983 they practically disappeared from the rock scene. In the meantime guitarist Bozinović passed away, drummer Popović moved to North America, while the only remaining member, bassist Robert Nemeček decided to try to remedy the old unjust done to the album. The result appeared in 2007 and although presents certain improvement in sound quality against the old vinyl original it still may sound outdated and musically "naive". True merit of this remaster lies in the conceptual sphere - originally conceived order of tracks was restored so we can now follow the theme of "Kiselina", expressing the acid trip of a young man wishing to explore "the other side of reality". Another gem is CD booklet with original "psychedelic" red-yellow cover image and extensive liner notes about the story behind "Kiselina" and song details.

Certain songs do sound noticeably better however, such as an earlier version of "Trazim put" ("Looking for a Trip"), complete version of psychedelic instrumental "Jark/Kraj" ("Dne Eht/The End"), slowed-down version of acoustic instrumental "Mir" ("Peace") and the vastly improved version of excellent "Slike iz proslih dana" ("Images of Yesterdays") with added parts of flute and organ, which were composed but not recorded for the original issue. "Svemirska priča" from the vinyl LP was dropped because it never fit the concept in the first place and instead the early recording of "Sjaj u očima" ("Gleam In Your Eyes", otherwise issued as a B-side of the first 7" single "Put ka suncu" in 1972) is now included and it fits nicely in the tracking order.

"Original Acid: 35 Years After" is nice and welcome addition to its long-lost older "twin brother" and is particularly interesting for fans of POP MASINA and collectors of Yugoslav rock music. Others would love to check the roots of Yugoslav progressive rock no matter how naive or underdeveloped it may sound today.

PERSONAL RATING: 4/5

P.A. RATING: 4/5