NOSTALGIA

Reliving the good old days

After Satellite's superb 2007 album "Into the night", expectations are naturally high for this new release for 2009. The line up remains unchanged, with the intriguingly named Amarok adding some extra keyboard sounds and a late guitar solo. The album was recorded in the home studio of drummer Wojtek Szadkowski, who writes all the material including the English language lyrics. The album is loosely linked by a concept of "coming to terms with the past, about the need for a change, starting anew, distancing oneself to one's own past". Such a concept fits in well with the style of the music, which harks back to the heydays of prog from a contemporary perspective.

With just seven tracks on the standard edition of the album (the digipak has 2 more), each piece is developed well with every track running to between 7 and 10 minutes.

As the opening fanfare of the 9 minute "Every desert got its ocean" bursts confidently forth we are immediately reassured that the band have lost none of their passion and energy. The structure of the song is reminiscent of Yes during their "Fragile" days, with a powerhouse sound supporting symphonic keyboards and virtuoso lead guitar. Even the vocals have a retro feel to them, the overall result being a wonderful blend of neo-prog and classic symphonic prog.

The following "Repaint the sky" softens the mood slightly, the track having hints of the early post Gabriel Genesis era, especially in the Banks like keyboards. "Afraid of what we say" starts out with Phil Collins style relationship lyrics, but soon develops into a wonderful guitar led instrumental blending Santana, Clapton and Hackett. Szadkowski's drumming is a real feature of the piece as it alternates between synth and guitar.

"I want you to know", which is the track which lyrically supplies the album with its title, is essentially built around a simple piano motif. The song resembles the work of Neal Morse, both with Spock's Beard and solo, with even the vocals sounding distinctly Morse like. I love the bass work on this track in particular; it complements the guitar solo perfectly. "Over horizon" reverts to the Genesis style, but interestingly this track is actually more like Ray Wilson's period with that band. The track is however allowed to reveal itself far better than Genesis achieved anywhere on "Calling all stations". The song, which is the most commercial of the set but still runs to over 8 minutes, contains the wonderful lyric "If you scrumble for love", whatever that means!

"Am I losing touch" is very much along the same lines as the opening "Every desert got its ocean", the piece moving through numerous sounds and styles to form a epic and exciting whole. The Yes similarities can be heard again here, especially in the brief vocalised harmonies. The closing "Is it over" winds down the mood for a reflective ballad with a fine guitar solo to finish.

This is an easy album for me to enjoy and to recommend. This is my sort of music to begin with. The fact that the album contains such fine examples of the style simply renders it indispensable in my book. With this their fourth album, Satellite have established themselves as the current leaders in their field and raised the bar a bit higher in the process. Those who enjoy their prog most when it has plenty of lead guitar, lush keyboard sounds, and most importantly supreme melodies are advised to indulge in a little "Nostalgia" without delay.

With thanks to Metal Mind Productions for facilitating this review.

Nostalgia by Polish band Satellite is one of the first albums of 2009. Really strange album. In fact, is not quite strange, but a normal one. I mean, before I begin listening to progressive rock music ordinary something like this album is what I imagined, when I have heard the word progressive; but not it's not what I imagine, when I hear progressive. And that is, because this music has not enough imagination. There are not any surprises here. If you hear Nostalgia three time you will know every little note that have to follow the previous one. The sound is very sterile. It has no volume in it. There are some saturated-sounding moments, but the feeling is too mainstream rock-like. Frankly, even there are a few quite weak songs like I Want You to Know and Is It Over. I think I listen to Bon Jovi in that moment.

Of course, there are interesting moments and the musicianship is very good. The feeling of the album is nostalgic like the title and it create calmness in you. The other positive motif here is expressiveness; I believe most of the ideas are developed completely. As I mention the negative and the positive characteristics, my final rating is almost 3,5 stars!

I was quite surprised to hear there was a new album from polish band Satellite. Those guys are quite prolific. but since their previous one was a notch or two below the quality of the first two CDs, I was afraid there would be some loss of quality. But since Satellite is one of the most important prog groups of the world, I had to have the album anyway. And fortunately Nostalgia shows the band in great form! In fact , leader and drummer Wojtek Szadkowsk does some of his best ever playing. Robert Amirian´s vocals are also more varied and versatile. And Krzysiek Palczewski´s personal, symphonic keyboards are simply as marvellous as ever.

Like all Satellite´s output this one is a little different from the others. There are new elements here and there to make an interesting collage (sorry for the pun) of sounds. The CD starts very well with Every Desert Got Its Ocean, a very strong tune that is set to be a classic. The second is more experimental and reminds me of the Into The Night style. But the real gem is the third: Afraid Of What We Say is a fantastic piece that has a incredible guitar solo a la Santana, plus a lush keyboard solo much in the vein of Tony Banks around the Trick Of The Tale era. The remaining tracks are not as powerful but are still very good. Unlike Into The Night, Nostalgia is very even and enjoyable all the way through. I bought the Digipack version with two extra tracks: they are not really outstanding, but are nice additions anyway (including the first ever Satellite instrumental, Relaxed).

Conclusion: another winner by this Polland´s greatest band nowadays. Maybe their very best since Satellite´s classic debut. It may take some hearings to really sink in, but well worth the effort, like all great prog records demand. Excellent addition to any prog collection.

Satellite is like a great restaurant, they keep feeding the clientele with great cuisine, the kitchen staff never changes but the menu always contains some new marvels. Some have begun to find the rather easy road to criticize Wojtek Szadkowski (the chef!) for repeating the same music since the sparkling debut but I beg to differ! Each subsequent album has offered different recipes with "Evening Games" introducing a harsher climate and the previous "Into the Night" even daring to be futuristic (the stellar "Forgiven & Forgotten"). On this new album , there are unending alterations (check out the incredible Santana bliss -out solo on "Afraid of What We Say") to their classic sound, while singer Robert Amirian has never sounded better as one of the best prog vocalists anywhere, Szadkowski is arguably one of the finest drummers in music period, the keyboards are even more luxuriant than ever before , a new solid bassist keeps it all grounded and now guitarist Sarhan Kubeisi has definitely grown into a masterful six-stringer even though the sound is clearly more "nostalgic"! What are we bitching about, hmmmm? Is it too commercial? Well, the debut was pretty ear-friendly and its one of the "neo" jewels, almost universally applauded by the prog illuminati, so I see no point to complain (the disease of our times, everyone's a Lance Ito judge it seems!) about quality music like this! So let's get the CSI lab in here and analyze this sucker, will we? Under the microscope, the record starts off with a long and languid piece -"Every Desert has Its Ocean"- that has all the usual suspects: the choppy orchestral concussions, the marshalling beat pounding forward propelling the melody, Robert singing with conviction especially when he gets soft and sweet and then explode into raging passion, the guitar is now razor sharp, slicing majestically through the maze with unabridged decorum, searching out a new oasis of expressed pleasure (that first solo is breathless!) and elevating the piece to neo-classic status (ooops!) . Again, this is far from wimpy wanderings, so wake up and smell the heady nostalgia! Amazing track, OK! Next up, a slithering synthesizer motif, a synthetic almost trippy drum beat and a "oh so cool" Amirian vocal , this is another breezy affair that induces genuine admiration and the massive orchestrations are exalting, the bass beep-beeping like the Roadrunner, squealing guitar howls from Sarhan "Slowhand" Kubeisi , a strychnine-infused very chill solo and more sweet synths. Oh, I love this, one of my faves, close to previously lauded "Forgiven". The third track is the stunner here, the mega classic "Afraid of What We Say", probably one of the best sonic asteroids this band has ever recorded, pure perfection from the achingly poetic beginning with its pop-blues intonations to the lights-out "Every Step of the Way, Carlos baby" guitar that just takes over the rule like a mad dictatorial junta while Szadkowski does his best "Michael Shrieve in Woodstock fury" imitation. Una maravilla! Hilariously good, I laughed giddily in awe while listening to this the very first time. "I Want You to Know" reverts to the more conventional formula, a guitar-led piece of melancholia that gracefully keeps things simple, as if discussing a simpler, gentler time (the essence of Nostalgia) and gives Amirian that platform to shine, modulating his voice to fit the urgency as the synth dances eagerly in the back ground. Sarhan then tosses in a "classic" prog-guitar solo but the bass is really the prime motivator as it pushes the mood relentlessly forward. The piano takes a predominant role here and that is another new twist on the orbital menu, so much for the stagnation claims! A very pleasant ride, indeed ("songs that I wrote, they always meant so much to me", now that is really not pretentious!). "Over the Horizon" is the HAHA "pop song" here (all 8 minutes of it), twirling synth patter locked in with minimalist drum beats, gloomy moods and drenched atmospheres that suddenly metamorphose into a classic neo delight (yeah, love is the theme, yawn?), with a friendly chorus that does stray very far from the complex experimental sonics some adore (still better than recent Genesis though!). Sombre tones, mournful intonations, crying guitars and sweaty symphonics are the hallmarks of the splendid almost cinematographic "Am I Losing Touch", whispered eloquently by the drunken/drugged vocals that suddenly but not unexpectedly get angry and bitter! The venom gets intense and this again is no wimpy stuff as the lads swerve into bleeding fast runs that showcase their skills, the manic drumming in particular is quite impressive. This is another fantastic piece where Michalski fretless bass really sticks out and the cello patches swoon with the depressed piano lines. Yummy in my tummy! The Satellite crew like to finish off their craft with some placid balladry and there is no omission here, "Is it Over" becomes a bluesy guitar adieu featuring Amarok (Michal Wojtas), who made his name as a deft Mark Knopfler/Mike Oldfield/David Gilmour fan/virtuoso and he gives a nice performance with Sarhan . Pfff! I am a sucker for these long melancholic, painfully teary-eyed bluesy rants and this is no exception. Amazing! The two bonus tracks are worthwhile especially "Relaxed", a cool instrumental track that shows why these guys are so good: it sounds so natural, so er..relaxed! Our Easy Livin is correct in his appreciation that this is one hell of a talented crew, so they have a good restaurant going with lots of famished diners, featuring a great ever-evolving menus, fantastic service, great spirits and a sumptuous décor. Why close the kitchen? 5 orbital reminiscences

Whatever lyrical themes Wojtek Szadkowski may be exploring, the real nostalgia herein is the homage paid to progressive and non progressive artists of bygone days, stamped with Satellite's own penchant for constructive and reflective music. But they also return closer to the style of their debut than on any of the last 2 outings, and while "Nostalgia" doesn't quite reach the heights of "Street..." or "Evening..", mostly due to slightly weaker overall songs and no gamebreaker, it marks a decided return to form after the overwrought "Into the Night".

Satellite has wisely re-evaluated itself and determined where its strengths lie, and how it distinguishes itself from so many of today's hard edged neo bands - strong melodies, smooth relaxed and drawn out guitar solos, extended instrumental jams with only a few metallic edges, multilayered waves of vintage style keyboards, and a remarkably nimble percussive attack. The latter two features are particularly in evidence here, with string synthesizers providing lead and background atmospheres on "Every Desert Got its Ocean" and "Repaint the Sky" just for starters, and the lovely "Is it Over". The sweet "Afraid of What We Say" showcases fine acoustic guitars and Wojtek's battery technique. Sarhan is back playing in a way that best compliments the group, mostly in a mellow or symphonic vein. The most adventurous track is "Am I Losing Touch" as it explores breathy vocal stylings, very hard rock, Yes-like vocal harmonies, an almost Latin sounding ensemble sound, and plucked acoustic guitars all in under 10 minutes. There really isn't a weak track here, even if the catchy "I Want you to Know" seems nostalgic for FOREIGNER more than anything. The bonus cuts are both worthy of the main event, particularly "The Colour of the Rain", which has heavier overtones but a great tune and fine synth work.

The battle for neo prog supremacy in Poland rages on, and it may not be mere coincidence that, after BELIEVE's "Yesterday is a Friend" upped the ante, SATELLITE has responded with the synonymous "Nostalgia". It will hopefully be a long time before all that is left is to reminisce about the past glories of SATELLITE.

Lately in the forum I subscribed the opinion of the topic that Satellite produced the fourth album in more or less the same style and sound. I need to be more specific about that because it's true where the big picture is concerned but looking more closely in detail I have to say there are differences between the four albums they made so far. The debut A Street ... was a quite cheerful extremely melodic album, to me still their best effort to date. The successor Evening Games was a bit darker and more gloomy. The third Into the Night was much heavier, almost a progmetal album. Funny enough the fourth Nostalgia is more or less a blend of the earlier three but it comes closest to the debut if you ask me.

Every desert got its Ocean is a magnificent opener, brilliant composition, splendid melody and one of their best songs ever. 5*.

Repaint the Sky is much more laid back than the strong opening track but a lovely ballad getting a bit rougher towards the end. 4,25*.

Afraid of what we say also starts as a ballad but this one distinguishes itself by very interesting guitar play by Saharan Kubeisi. He plays very fast in a restrained way. Very nice, another beauty. 4,75*.

I want you to know is a great accessible track with again superb instrumentation and also wonderful melody on this one. 4,5*.

Over Horizon is not really the very best on this release. It's a song with emotional vocals by Amirian but starts getting repititive and monotonous in the second half of the song. 4*.

Am I losing touch ? Is another perfectly crafted song starting with beautiful violin in the first minute creating a romantic atmosphere. Later on the song gets rougher to go quiet again towards the end where the violin returns in the same way. Brilliant song. 4,5*.

Is it over ? suggest a blues loaded track, not really the case. Satellite plays just prog, no blues. This is a bit of a gloomy track, a true ballad this time and another very fine performance. 4,25*.

The Color of the Rain is the first bonus track, starts really heavy making me wonder: Is this a leftover from Into the Night ? Good song again. 4*.

Relaxed is a very nice instrumental track to close the album. 4*.

As much as I would like to hand this fantastic band another 5 star rating I think it would be lightly overdone. I will have to leave it at 4 but strongly rounded down from 4,5 (bonus tracks excluded).

In My Not So Humble Opinion:

"Nostalgia", the latest release by Polish proggers Satellite, is not very good. I do have all four Satellite albums and this one is a disappointment compared to the other three.

The CD starts out with "Every Desert Got Its Ocean", and my very first impression is that Wojtek Szadkowski pulled out his circa 1992 Sound Canvas and picked a factory preset and went to town. For the non-keyboard players amongst us, he took fifteen year old technology and ran with it out of the box. The keyboards sound cheap and tinny. As we're still reeling from the initial cacophony Robert Amirian's vocals come in and they sound as good as the keyboards do. The key was too high for him, so instead of dropping it, they doubled the recording. Unfortunately this doesn't sound terribly good.

Unfortunately the same formula is repeated again and again for the next four songs with much the same result, the vocals are too high for Amirian, and the poor production does not cover it up. I don't know if there just wasn't enough money to do this album properly or what, but the production is far weaker than the other three Satellite albums.

On the bright side, the last four songs (I have the Digipak) are a notch up. While not quite enough to save the album, they do try their best. In general, the patch selection fits the music and the vocals are a much better representation of what Amirian is capable of.

My personal favorite is "Am I Loosing Touch" which starts off with the melancholy feel of a high school slow dance, awkward in all the right ways. This segues into a disco bit that is far too short and a madrigal before returning to the initial slow dance. This is a great song.

The last three are pretty good as well, "Relaxed" is a neat little showcase piece with further echoes of disco. "Is It Over" and "The Color of the Rain" continue with the general melancholic, one could even say nostalgic, feel that pervades the rest of the CD.

All in all, the production and vocal mix of the first five songs start this CD off at about a one with the last four songs salvaging this up to about two and a half stars which rounds up to a three.

This is a really strange album to me. On the one hand, there's a bizarre blend of styles, but mostly what one will find is progressive rock-tinged rhythm and blues music (in other words, stuff any suit could rearrange for a generic pop icon and make it a radio hit). There is no reason to be fooled by the lengthy track times, as these merely accommodate long solos over repetitive chord progressions or the reiteration of a chorus for about a hundred times. I can see why this album appeals to some, as it is not without merit, but for me, it's a tiresome ride with few thrills.

"Every Desert Got its Ocean" I was surprised with the sudden dance music that exploded from my speakers the first time I heard this album, and even more surprised by the sudden quiet acoustic guitar interlude. In my opinion, this is the strongest song on the album for several reasons, not the least of which is that there isn't much greatness in the rest of the album. Both the guitars and synthesizer are really exceptional, and I must say this is quite a mature composition.

"Repaint the Sky" This has a definite R&B feel to it, even with the synthesizer (especially with the synthesizer, really), and I could even imagine someone rapping over this. Heavy guitar and keyboards take over just over halfway through, giving way to a juvenile guitar solo (with a horrible tone, really).

"Afraid of What We Say" This song is okay, but only just. It has some lazy synthesizer, and again, a guitar tone that just doesn't fit. The lyrics seem to be ridden with cliché, and so does the music. Essentially, it sounds like 1980s progressive rock music, mainly due to the synthesizer serving as the key rhythm instrument. The problem is this business drags on for quite a long time without anything particularly fresh ever happening, until the Fleetwood Mac- like two chord chorus returns to be played ad nauseum under a really irritating synthesizer lead.

"I Want You to Know" A pleasant piano riff begins this track, which sounds great until the verses begin, and then it sounds a bit generic, a bit silly, and generally strained. The riff used in the song sounds like it belongs on a Britney Spears track.

"Over Horizon" Percussion and a variety of instruments gives this a somewhat exotic flavor, as though it could be a part of the soundtrack for a movie like 300, at least at first. For the most part, this track reminds me of Billy Sherwood music, but not quite as good; the ending sounds like a throwback to the mid 1990s anyway. If someone is in love with Yes's Open Your Eyes, he will be in love with this.

"Am I Losing Touch?" The title of this track might apply literally, as this song goes from more bland R&B-inspired music to more Sherwood-like hard rock. Later, the piece becomes a blend of disco and game show music (no joke), that tapers off suddenly to bring in something completely unrelated: Acoustic guitar over electronic R&B percussion.

"Is it Over?" That is the question I find myself asking by this point. This is another dreary, synthesizer-laced R&B song, one that just drags along, but does have a rather tasty little guitar solo early on. The music cuts off halfway through, making one think it really is over, but then it begins again. This track is literally the same tedious chord progression for a solid seven minutes, and the bass and drums that finally end the song just make me gesture emptily, and, despite my boredom, say, "That was it?"

SATELLITE move further away from Prog with every new release. I can easily tolerate this; the problem is that their music bleaks too. It sounds so soft and perfect, just like Michael Bolton ballads. Everything is smooth, emotions are thrown on the background, arrangements are rich, but one can hardly tell a real instrument from a virtual analogue.

It's like a brand new AOR, with no "Rock" in it. I like Pop Music, don't get me wrong, and as I've learned from Woitek's interview, he likes it too, even more - he writes some songs for Polish Pop-industry. I guess, on "Nostalgia" Woitek simply forgot that this is not another radio-friendly Mariah Carey-like set of ballads. Seriously, this album is the worst one from all SATELLITE releases, and all SATELLITE releases together can't beat even the least interesting COLLAGE release in my book! Anyway, it's all up to Woitek, and if there are people who still like what he's doing, he's a happy man

Well, let's say that this album is full of disappointments, each one in different (and quite inventive) way, striking directly at spots that I hate. There are these little things that makes you annoyed, stressed and nervous. Wanting to get over with it. Every Desert Got Its Ocean first shocked me with dance (let's stay safe and stick with "dance", because I don't know which form of electro music it resembles), which I used to listen (from time to time) when I was little child. And another thing, I normally likes strings, but these sounds quite synthesized. Then Repaint the Sky with its horrible drumming. It's suppose not to be programmed drummer (or some electronic crap), but it really sounds like it.

And not only half of these instruments sounds artificial, but songs are average mostly, while I have to admit that I quite a like some of them. But I even I like some guitar solos and vocals aren't so bad, this record is so over-synthesized, that advantages are simply too little in total count, that it's disaster.

3(+) for something that could be good, very good, but it failed.

Nostalgia is undoubtedly a very well looked-after album. Production- and sound-wise, the mastermind behind this album has done a very good job. Neat arrangements, clear sounds, polished melodies, professional result. The album consists of 7 tracks of average duration of 8 minutes and range somewhere between the softer side of neo-prog and crossover prog. There is a strong commercial approach about this album, found especially in the easy-listening (but often quite strong) melodies and the mature-sounding vocals.

Satellite have brought together a number of influences from AOR (see the energetic opening track), soft crossover prog and the pioneers of neo-prog (Marillion, IQ). The musicianship levels are high but there is a feel that they have been compromised in search of a "commercialised" result. There is a pop and often a ballad-like feeling throughout the album. At the same time, a few great melodic and more complicated passages, usually mid-track, seem to compensate for this (see Afraid of what we Say, Am I Losing Touch).

On the positive side, the album flows pleasantly from start to finish. Special mention needs to be given to the vocals of Robert Amirian that really fit with the music and help produce a solid outcome. However, even when the vocal performance is outstanding (Over Horizon) the compositions appear weaker than expected. The album has only a few moments of challenging music and could not be recommended to demanding prog fans.

Having read various comments, it seems that previous Satellite albums might present more musical challenges and this is where I will be heading next. As for Nostalgia, it is a very pleasant album that lacks that extra touch to make it a memorable release. The musicianship and the compositional skills are certainly there, but evident in only a few minutes of each track within the album. Fans of softer aspects of neo- and crossover prog might enjoy this album.

Satellite's first three albums formed a sort of trilogy of day, evening and night, so Nostalgia marked the start of a new era for the band, being their first album outside of this context. Once again, Satellite put an even bigger emphasis on drawing on more non-prog influences to spice up their sound, as is particularly notable in the keyboards and drums on this release. Recorded in Wojtek Szadkowski's home studio, it's entertaining enough, but to my ears the mix is a little off - particularly with regards to the drums, which I feel are a little overwhelming. Still, fans of the band's combination of dance music rhythms with neo-prog will find it entertaining.