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SBB [AKA: WOłANIE O BRZęK SZKłA AND SLOVENIAN GIRLS]

SBB

Eclectic Prog


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SBB SBB [Aka: Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła and Slovenian Girls] album cover
4.26 | 242 ratings | 8 reviews | 46% 5 stars

Essential: a masterpiece of
progressive rock music

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Studio Album, released in 1978

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła (Julia) (19:10)
2. Odejście (Anna) (19:47)

Total time: 38:57

Bonus tracks on 2003 Supraphon CD:
3. Bitwy Na Obrazach (3:48)
4. Uścisk W Dołku (3:38)

Extra bonus tracks on 2005 Metal Mind CD:
5. Muzykowanie Latem (16:50)
6. Fikołek (14:53)

Line-up / Musicians

- Józef Skrzek / vocals, Moog, Concert Spectrum, clavinet D6, electric piano, harmonica, arrangements
- Apostolis Antymos / guitars, bouzouki
- Jerzy Piotrowski / drums, percussion

With:
- Tomasz Szukalski / sax (5,6)

Releases information

Artwork: Martin Wielgus

LP Supraphon - 1 13 2218 (1978, Czechoslowakia)

CD Koch International ‎- 33721-2 (1997, Poland) Re-entitled "Slovenian Girls" and with different cover art and new track titles (inside brackets)
CD Supraphon - SU 5388-2 311 (2003, Czech Republic) 24-bit remaster with 2 bonus tracks
CD Metal Mind - MMP CD 0324 DG (2005, Poland) Remastered with 4 bonus tracks

Thanks to MarianKoniuszko for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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SBB SBB [Aka: Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła and Slovenian Girls] ratings distribution


4.26
(242 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(46%)
46%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(37%)
37%
Good, but non-essential (11%)
11%
Collectors/fans only (3%)
3%
Poor. Only for completionists (3%)
3%

SBB SBB [Aka: Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła and Slovenian Girls] reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars They really could do a movie about this band because their lives and careers were so interesting. They were constantly dealing with the communist government on one hand and the young people who were so thirsty for freedom and Rock music on the other hand. This album was recorded in Czechoslovakia where they were very popular, playing at times to a few hundred thousand young people. It just amazes me that they had the freedom to play in these European countries both communist and non-communist although they were also hassled and humiliated at border crossings because of this envied freedom they had. We get two side long tracks both over 19 minutes in length. I was surprised at all the synths and how spacey this is at times. I much prefer when they play with aggression because they play at a level that blows my mind. So lots of meandering here which is disappointing.

"Wolanie O Brzek Szkta" opens with spacey keyboards with lots of atmosphere. Cymbals before 2 minutes and vocals follow. Drums and bass around 5 minutes. Incredible sound 5 1/2 minutes in. So moving. The guitar after 6 1/2 minutes is lighting it up for almost 2 minutes. He's back again, this time with some intricate melodies. A spacey calm 10 minutes in. Drums and harmonica arrive giving this section a bluesy feel. It's slowly building and then kicks in before 15 minutes. Killer drumming and keyboard work right here to the end.

"Odejscie" opens with spacey winds as bouzouki joins in. Drums 2 1/2 minutes in followed by synths. It starts to build before 5 1/2 minutes as guitar joins in and the drums get more powerful. A spacey calm 7 minutes in. Reserved vocals after 8 1/2 minutes. It kicks back in around 11 minutes with drums and guitar. It's kind of funky here. It settles again 13 1/2 minutes in before kicking back in 3 minutes later. Some excellent drumming late.

Some great moments and sections on this one, but too much meandering for me to give it 4 stars. 3.5 stars.

Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Everyone interested in roots of Eastern European progressive rock must to listen this band! It wasn't easy to play (and record) such kind of music in dark times, when half of Europe was under the rule of Soviet Russia controlled regimes.

I grew up just one hundred miles from Polish border (ok, People Republic of Poland at that time, sounds as People Republic of China, isn't it?). But we were under much more heavy pressure, so live in Poland looked just as American dream for us. There even real rock bands existed!

S.B.B. in 70-s was quite a unique band. Mixing bluesy roots, psychedelic atmosphere and excellent rock musicianship with some dreamy, melodic and atmospheric Slavic traditions, they played music which was just as fresh air in dusty desert of culture of Socialistic realism.

I believe they were biggest name in the field of progressive rock all around Eastern Europe (there were just few more all around). Only Yugoslavia with their very democratic form of the same epidemic was a fruitful place for domestic rock culture.

This album was recorded in Czechoslovakia in April 1977 and released in the same country. It's interesting, that many S.B.B. albums were released outside of Poland ( in Czechoslovakia or Germany mostly). Sound quality is only average, sound is a bit flat, more on the standard from 60-s.

There are just two long compositions on this album (19+ minutes long each). And it is a great compositions! Trio consisting of keyboardist, guitarist and drummer, plays rich, full- bodied music. All musicians are very competent, and musicianship is very inspired. You can feel that magic in air!

The music itself is complex, but very melodic and atmospheric mix of symphonic roc, jazz rock and psychedelic sound. Listening to both these compositions, you will enjoy every second of music played.

One of the best band's works, the original LP was re-released on CD with 4 bonus tracks (two of them were recorded during the same session in Prague and released as single before, and other two were recorded in 1976 and never released before).

Very recommended, excellent entrance to S.B.B. ( and all Eastern European prog rock) music.With better recording quality, it will be a masterpiece. Not less than 4,5!

Review by friso
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars S.B.B. - st (Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła aka Slovenian Girls) (1978)

The year 1978 has been the most productive year for the eclectic S.B.B. With Follow My Dream the Polish band got itself a modern electronic sound (perhaps influenced by Pink Floyd of the second halve of the seventies) and tried to conquer the European market beyond the curtain. Though Follow My Dream is a good (but perhaps non-essential) album, the band really succeeded in creating somehting interesting with this odly titled album.

S.B.B. has symphonic, space and jazz-rock/fusion influences in it's eclectic mix. The band usually has some long compositions, and this album has only two compositions of 19 minutes. The sound of the band is totally different from the '77 'Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie', though the concept of the compositions is actually quite the same. 'Wolanie' is the most electronic album of the band with synths completely dominating the sound of the band. It's actually a shame how the guitars of Apostolis Antymos became a back-ground affair. In stead we get an enourmesly effective cooperation of the compositional master- mind Józef Skrzek on keyboards and the always brilliant and effective Jerzy Piotrowski on drums. The album is very atmospheric and the band doesn't loose it's concentration for one tiny moment. There is perhaps no band that has such a tight grip on it's own sound, on their better albums S.B.B. never looses itself.

Both compositions have lot's of spacey and symphonic land-scapes, fusion themes with improvisation and lot's of experiments (like the great use of the harmonica). The equipment of keyboards sounds stunning and the key-solo's are really good. There are some guitar- solo's, but they could have been louder in the mix. The recording is very very good. Somehow the music of S.B.B. is just so exciting and adventerious. The long tension-bows of the songs are unique in their kind, most other progressive rock bands would make epics with songs-within-a-song like structures. Odejście (the second composition) sound great, but I think I prefer the version that was released as a bonus on Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie with the long eastern guitar intro.

Conclusion. A very strong S.B.B record that bares the fruits of their new sound gained after the '77 'Ze Slowem'. The modern electric sound hasn't dated at all and still sounds modern to this day. My only complaint is the lack of use of all talent of the band, more guitar-parts and a more important place in the mix would have made this a better record. Still this is a unique record on a lonely high level of quality prog. I'm not shure wether I should give this a four or a five star rating, It'll do with four stars for now. Very much recommended to fans of the eclectic, symphonic and electronic genre.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Another amazing SBB album, and a particular triumph for group keyboardist and vocalist Józef Skrzek, whose synthesiser mastery is on exceptional form this time around. Having mastered a space rock-symphonic melange with a spicy dose of jazz fusion, the group seemed to take this album to introduce more minimalistic elements into their work - rather than being busily playing complex material all the time, the group know just when to step back and get simple for a delicate acoustic guitar interlude or for a tension building percussion segment. It takes a listen or two to sink in, but once it does the effect is electrifying, building up the extended compositions marvellously to their grand conclusions. One of their best.
Review by stefro
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars SBB pulled of the remarkably difficult trick of creating wonderfully original and progressive music in an age when such things could more than likely get you either killed, locked up or black-listed. A Polish trio active from the late-sixties onward, they have enjoyed a prolific career in their native homeland, whilst also generating loyal followings throughout central Europe and even in the USA. A superb semi-instrumental offering, this 1978 release espouses all that it so impressive about SBB, with two long, meandering, jazzy compositions embellished with a host of differing styles and sounds, all the while underpinned by rocksteady drumming, snazzy synths, complex keyboard melodies and some scintillating guitar patterns that sound like they've been fed through Optimus Prime's voice-box. To fully describe this album would be a bit like building a house of cards; tricky, time-consuming and ultimately, rather pointless. Instead, just go out and get the damn thing and experience one of progressive rock's most underrated and important outfits. In a word: superb.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Review by GruvanDahlman
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Noodles, you say?

Sometimes you fail to fathom the genius of certain bands. Yet they possess an allure, making you crazy with want of understanding and if you do endure, maybe you will succeed in breaking the code and findig the treasures within. For me SBB is one such band.

"Wołanie o brzęk szkła" consists of two long tracks, both hitting the 20 minute mark. First off, that is quite enough to make me interested in the music. Then there's the cover, which captivates me in a big way. And then there's the music. For the most part I have failed when it comes to SBB, just like I failed to understand Hawkwind at first. When I listened to this album I found myself enjoying it very much. There is a great symphonic, fusion like feeling to the music, soldiering on in an evershifting, yet sublime way. You could argue that the music is noodling, somewhat, but I find that to be untrue after listening to the album.

SBB manages to create an album of shifting moods and sounds within an atmotsperic framework, ranging from hard rock to fusion and symphonic delights, even incorporating a bluesy harmonica solo which only adds to their legacy and origins. (SBB standing, of course, for Silesian Blues Band.) All of this without losing perspective, aim or purpose.

In short, "Wołanie o brzęk szkła" is a truly enjoyable album of variation and charm. There are a lot of keyboards (which I love), a little vocals (also very enjoyable) and a musicianship of the highest quality. Now, not yet being a true SBB-fan I can recommend "Wołanie o brzęk szkła" as a starting point, if you like me want to grasp the intricate geniuses of the band. There are (maybe) other high or even higher points in their career but for now this is SBB at their prime. If I change my mind I'll let you know.

Latest members reviews

5 stars Bonus - or not? I am very heartened to observe renewed interest in this excellent band. This prompts me to delay my breakfast and listen to another album I cherished for decades. Or more like to check out the bonus tracks on the CD release. The original album consisting of two long pieces ... (read more)

Report this review (#943678) | Posted by BORA | Sunday, April 14, 2013 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This Polish band is a must have in anyone's music library who loves all blends of rock music that are effortlessly put together in one piece. It's a bit of misfortune for this band to have existed in the then communist era in Eastern Europe. One of the few bands from communist block which was ve ... (read more)

Report this review (#130753) | Posted by andympick | Sunday, July 29, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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