BORIS

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I Can't believe I am the first one to review this gem! This is amazing symphonic prog much in the vein of yes and jethro tull but at more frentic speeds. Amazing mid 70s USA music that is very unique comapred to much of the other prog albums being released around the same time. I would consider this an under rated classic and one that you must pick up if you find it. But seeing as no one has reviewed it I am guessing the album is ultra rare, so try and download it, you won't be disapointed! I am not afraid to hype this one, it deserves it!

This is on the legendary Syn-Phonic progrock label from Greg Walker, one of the leading progheads in the USA. I read that this CD version from a demo was on the brink of release, well , here it is featuring six compositions (most around 10 minutes). Remarkable is the Yes influence but Yezda Urfa sounds far from a Yes clone. Their compositions are very varied, ranging from acoustic piano, rhythm-guitar and vocals to pieces delivering church- organ or a sumptuous climate with Howe-like guitar runs. At other moments there is a banjo, a guitar in the vein of Rory Gallagher, interplay between acoustic guitar, electric piano, xylophone and harpsichord or ebullient keyboards featuring Moog flights and choir- Mellotron. THIS IS EXCELLENT, VARIED PROGROCK!

Okay! I want everyone reading this to get up, break out your wallet/purse, bolt out the door, get into your car and find a store that has this album. If you can't find it, look for it on the internet. Talk about an album that is criminally under-appreciated! These guys from the US of A are as good as any band that you can dream up. Like a cross between symphonic prog and Canterbury, the lead singer sounds like Jon Anderson's kid brother who than harmonizes with a guy who sounds like he came from an indie/college band from the 90's. I mean honestly, it's a shame their not talked about more. When listening to this disc I'm reminded of Italian symph band Il Balletto di Bronzo; breakneck speed with virtuosity, with excellent singing. And good God they can play the heck out of their instruments. I could go on and on, but the proof is in the pudding. Try a MP3 if you can find one, or go to their website. An absolute masterpiece that rivals any US prog band from the 70's and can give all the albums on the top 250 on this site a run for their money. I can't wait to play it again!!!

Criminally misconstrued by he music industry, and therefore, kept from a posible audience that might as well give them the break that they deserved, the fact is that Yezda Urfa is one of the best names in the history of USA's seventies prog. Their first recording "Boris" was actually a demo, and so we can have this catalogue comprising a selection of ideas that are still to find a final expression in their self-financed album, but also other tracks that only appear here. All of them are damn great in their own extravagant manner. The repertoire is a combination of Yessian melodicism and Gentle Giant-like elegant management of counterpoint and dissonance, all of it properly seasoned with touches of jazz-rock, circus music, folk-pop and country. You can notice slight similarities with the earliest Happy the Man ("Beginnings" and "Death's Crown"). This band sure loves to gamble with contrasts all the time, yet they do it naturally, never letting the inventiveness lead to forcefulness nor making their inherent pretentiousness a room for self-indulgent seriousness. The aware listener will quickly recogniza the humour, unhidden by the exhibition of skill and the abundant dynamics in the transitions between sections. The first track includes what would be two separate tracks in the "Sacred Baboon" album, but once you get familiar with this version, you will notice that the yfit perfectly despite their mutual differences. There is an extra last section, an acoustic ballad built on a very moving melody: it would have fitted perfectly as an Air Supply song had it been arranged differently, but then again, the beauty would have been taken to corny places. So,because this is a prog band with a solid humorous vibe, what we get is a clever rearrangement with a combination of extravagant flavors and symphonic pomp. keeping enough fluidity as not to spoil the motif's delicate beauty, yet giving it a sort of low-weigth Zappaesque twist. The brief instrumental 'Texas Armadillo' is based on the dialogue between mandolin and banjo over a catchy, evers-peeding rhythm pattern that sets a partying mood. '3, 3, Almost 6 Yea' and 'Tota in the Moya' are two YU banners: besides two thirds of the opening track, these are the first versions of numbers that will reappear soon after in the "Sacred Baboon" delivery. Here, the sound is rougher in the rockier passages, which leads to a more pronounced contrast against the calmer moments: these first versions are as good as the intended definitive ones, but not for the same reasons. '3 Tons of Fresh Thyroid Glands' starts in a very serene manner, gradually getting into familiar Yes-meets-GG territory. The flute (played by Kimbrough, a multi-instrumentalist preferentially focused on keyboards) turns out to be a very prominent instrument here in some crucial passages. Finally, 'The Bases of Dubenglazy', a leftover from the "Baboon" album, is a hint to the increased stylish sophistication that the band gained after this demo's release. All in all, "Boris" is a slightly more adventurous prog effort than the subsequent "Sacred Baboon", so I enjoy it more. I genuinely love the "Baboon", but to me "Boris" is the real Yezda Urfa masterpiece - what's more, a masterpiece in itself, a gem that only recently has come to be properly appreciated by a section of the worldwide prog community. Hopefully, more and more people will dare enter the Yezda Urfa world and discover the sonic magic that lies within.

Definitive set of mid-70s symphonic rock that will leave you wondering where these guys have been hiding... and they're Yanks, too. What makes this record stand out from the pile of Yes and Gentle Giant wannabes is the easy-going attitude and relaxed production - it was recorded as a demo after all - jumping from dazzling prog dowsed with walls of keys and guitars to Celtic pastorals and clever vocal arranging. You'll swear lead singer Rick Rodenbaugh is a woman, and sometimes the group strays into unsure waters flirting with Country ('Texas Armadillo'), commercial jazz and folk. But mostly it's just some of the best stateside symph you'll ever hear.

Clear inspiration is taken from the prog spectrum of their time including Giant, Renaissance, Gryphon, Caravan, Yes, ELP, a distant Crimson influence and even Zappa, yet somehow it's reconstituted in an unexpectedly original way with less academic pretense and more a desire to just play, 'Boris' at times sounding like the band walked into the studio one afternoon and said "Hey, let's make a record today". The album opens on a twee note but slowly builds and suddenly we have an instant unknown classic staring us in the face, with Phil Kimbrough's synths squealing nobly above a powerful backdrop of acoustic & electric axes, Brad Christoff's heroic drums hacking through layers of tough prog, and Mark Tippen's guitar the backbone. It's 10 minutes of music no classic era Prog lover should be without. Kimbrough's contemplative piano sets the tone for instrumental 'Almost 4.6 Yea', another wild and wonderful bit sounding quite cutting-edge for '75, and no lack of rock power. 'Tuta in the Moya' is playful and eclectic, splitting between crashes of freeform jazz, country rock, refrains of harpsichord and culminating in a beautifully extended chorale. And 'Three Tons of Fresh Thyroid Glands' is typically outstanding, tasteful but powerful and overflowing with maddening time signatures and absurd rhythmic tumbling.

Utterly recommended to almost anyone reading this review and an absolute joy to discover. Hats off to Greg Walker.

Boris is Yezda Urfa´s debut album or rather it´s the debut demo album from Yezda Yrfa as Boris was not proberly released back then. I thought Yezda Urfa was some kind of obscure east european prog band with that name but in reality they are an american band which is obvious when you listen to the music. It´s hard to understand why Boris wasn´t released as it is certainly deserving the high praise it gets here on prog archives. If there ever was a forgotten gem, this is it. Once again the music industry rears it´s ughly head and dismisses one of the most promising american bands of the seventies.

The music is eclectic as it draws influences from lot of different genres. The rythm section is very active and is obviously jazz/ fusion influenced. I hear some symphonic tendencies here too ( Most evident is the Yes influence). There are lots of moog and flute on Boris. Two vocalists share the melodic and memorable vocal lines. At first I thought one of them was a woman, but seing the lineup has convinced me that it´s a man with a very female sounding voice. There´s a short bluegrass song in Texas Armadillo while the rest of the songs are controlled by the strong jazz/ fusion rythm section and the aforementioned flute, keyboards ( especially moog) and vocals. Bases Of Dubenglazy which is one of the bonus tracks on the version I have has some polyrythmic vocals which reminds me of Gentle Giant. There´s also a definite folky edge to some of the parts in the songs. As you can read from my description of the music on Boris it´s hard to pin down the genre which Yezda Urfa belong to, so I agree to the eclectic genre term which I feel suits this music well.

The musicianship on Boris is outstanding. The drummer/ percussionist Brad Christoff has to be mentioned as he is relentless and very skilled. Some of the percussion parts he plays makes me think of Zappa. He is a real treat to listen to. The keyboardist Phil Kimbrough who also plays the wind instruments on Boris is also very good even though he uses the moog just a bit too much in some peoples opinion. I love the sound of the moog though so I don´t have a problem with this.

The production is the weak point on Boris but taking into account that this is a demo album the production is good. The sound is good enough to hear everything that is happening and it´s certainly good enough for promoting yourself to record companies even in today´s standard.

This leads me to say: What were those record company executives thinking about when they dismissed Yezda Urfa ? They must have had an ass where we normal people have ears. It´s a bit disturbing but on the other hand it´s also very intriguing to think about that there might still be some forgotten gems out there like this one. Boris is certainly an excellent album and it deserves 4 big stars.

I don't think i would be out of line in saying that this band was one of the best,if not the best to ever come out of the U.S.A. All you have to do is read the other enthusiastic reviews to know that you need to hear this band.Incredibly complex,yet melodic at the same time.These guys wrote intelligent lyrics and they certainly had a sense of humour(look at the song titles). "Boris And His 3 Verses,Including Flow Guides Aren't My Bag" opens with dual vocals,the one vocalist sounds so much like Jon Anderson.The sound builds as drums,guitar and synths come in.Check out the drumming after 2 minutes.A change 3 minutes in as it turns dark.Man these guys can play!This is such a great instrumental section.Nice heavy guitar with lots of synths after 5 1/2 minutes.This passage ends before 7 1/2 minutes.It then becomes mostly acoustic with vocals for a minute.It ends in an uplifting way with vocal melodies then vocals. "Texas Armadillo" is a short instrumental with banjo!You have to hear the way this thing builds to such a fast pace.Amazing! "Almost 4,6 Yea" opens with piano before being replaced by a darker,heavier section.The guitar is outstanding.It then becomes very complex.Flute after 2 1/2 minutes.A calm with acoustic guitar before 4 minutes.Vocal melodies a minute later before it turns dark again.The guitar in the next passage reminds me of the guitar on "Houses Of the Holy",this section ends 8 minutes in.Some nice drumming follows to end it. "To-Ta In The Moya" opens with a full sound that is quickly replaced by a laid back passage, with vocals arriving 1 1/2 minutes in.A terrific sound follows.It sounds like Howe on the guitar 4 minutes in.It's darker a minute later.The song continues to change as a fun section comes in around 6 1/2 minutes.Vocals return before 8 minutes to end it. "Three Tons Of fresh Thyroid Glands" yummy.I like the way they use the flute in the intro.A change 1 1/2 minutes in as guitar and drums take the lead.Nice. The flute is back! There's that "Houses Of The Holy" sounding guitar again.Vocals before 5 1/2 minutes.The tempo and vocals pick up speed 7 1/2 minutes in.It settles down after 9 minutes with flute and a darker sound. Well i do prefer this to "Sacred Baboon", but if you can get your hands on either of these,please don't hesitate.

I simply cannot believe that this album is in a better position than lots of more important and better albums, but this is, still, a very good and decent material that sadly remained unreleased (or released with few copies) for 29 years

You know, Yezda Urfa is one of many bands that i discovered through Prog Archives that i would probably never find another way. I mean, the band has a highly unusual name, is not very commonly discussed in any prog forum, does not have important or influential albums, it's not exactly a mainstream band (even by prog rock standards) and it is an american band (no offense, but the american prog scene back in the 70's is not my cup of tea).

So, when i saw that this album is better rated than lots of albums that i LOVE, like Lark's Tongues, Free Hand, Octopus, Acquiring the Taste, Power and Glory, Anabelas, Lizard, Power to Believe and many others in the eclectic genre alone, i thought that it would be a true mind blowing experience. And it was, at least until the title track, Boris, was playing. Boris is a wonderful song and it is surely the best song of this terrific album, but the band somehow was not able to keep up with the same quality all the way through, and though Three Tons Of Fresh Thyroid Glands is also an amazing song, Boris exceeds it by far.

Please don't get me wrong, the album is fantastic! I just think it does not keeps up to such a high grade. The only issue i i think this album has is with the bonus song The Basis of Dubenglazy While Dirk Does the Dance, which has too much background hiss (probably bad master tape or bad recording equipment or both).

About the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings i would like to state:

Well, this album have some very good music indeed and though it fits quite well in the eclectic sub-genre, mainly because of the songs structures, their music is not so challenging or difficult to be fully appreciated as King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Van der Graff Generator, probably because Yezda Urfa's music is more direct or have less experimentalism and dissonances as the previously said bands. Yezda Urfa's music is also less challenging to be played then most of the songs from the said bands, but it is still not an easy task to play them.

Although the whole albums is great, there are two songs that i think deserve to be highlighted: Boris and Three Tons Of Fresh Thyroid Glands, being Boris the best album song and Three Tons Of Fresh Thyroid Glands the second best.

Grade and Final Thoughts

Boris is a great release, but i think that it simply does not deserves the masterpiece grade because it is not as good, so the 4 stars grade is more fitting and does better justice to the album true valor. However, it must be pointed out that it is remarkable that with such record they could not find any label to release their stuff: how could so many labels simply discard such a good albums is really unbelievable. That truly shows that the music industry is not interested if it's good, but if it sales, no matter how much it sucks.

A real shame that they could not get any recognition at their time and were forced to stop doing something they loved and had talent to do.

Who needs drugs with that kind of music?

Humbly, this has to be by a long shot the sickest UFO of all my collection; but at the same time, the Yes and Harmonium reminders (vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards..well,er..everything finallly) are putting us in some known ground. I founded out that this is a demo that was supposed to be send to record companies. The company guys must've let it slip because this somewhat rough recording is mind- boggling! Of all the obscure bands that made the cut: Neuwastein, Locanda Della Fate, England and such: they get gold medal!

Their aptitude to create (very) complex songs is beyond my comprehension, and to give you an idea, it gives Gryphon some serious competition (and to me, they squash'em bad). In all my years of listening music, nobody ever tried as hard as Gryphon to catapultate such density in a record; well Yezda Urfa is giving a lesson to all those who think they're all that....this is how it's made!

Completely crazy lyrically (read LSD) , this is an outsider amongst the outsiders, the ultimate, obscurest band I've known. Amateurs of hidden-in-your-uncles's-basement-in-a-dusty-pile-of-old-crap-records, you'll find a real diamond.

I will not listen to it often, truly disturbing.