ZE SłOWEM BIEGNę DO CIEBIE

Wow! Having enjoyed SBB 2nd and 3rd album I finally get used to the kind of music they play and I think this 4th album "Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie" is the best for my personal taste. This does not mean to undermine their previous albums. And now I know why my colleague collaborator Stephen Lang told me that he adores the band which by the time he told me I had no idea what SBB is.

This album offers a music that in a way is hard for me to classify as it has the elements of fusion, space music and rock. The first part of the CD "Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie" (19:20) reminds me to the style of jazz rock fusion album by Billy Cobham "Stratus" where Tomy Bolin played guitar. But when the vocal line rolls into the music, it gives me a flavor of Italian Prog like PFM. Well, it's not entirely true as this album has different style. Yes, there is part with violin solos that reminds me to Jean Luc Ponty but both artists have different style of music, overall. This opening track can be considered as an epic as it has multi-style and moods combining heavy and light parts. It has also some sort of improvisation (or at least it sounds like and improvisation) like it is demonstrated through keyboard solo at approx minute 15.

."Przed premierą" (19:00) starts with an ambient style followed with a marching snare drums that brings the music into a bit of jazz rock fusion which reminds me to Return To Forever. The combination of keyboard and dynamic drumming is quite enjoyable. Through this track SBB proves that their approach in music through creation of music with multi styles that listeners cannot predict how is quite obvious. In fact, I would say that the music is quite exploratory in nature. Despite keyboard-based composition, there is a stunning guitar solo in the middle of the track (approx minute 8th).

Overall, this is an excellent album.

These two side long compositions were written in view of there being a whole orchestra. Both tracks were quite complex and it would be a difficult assignment to say the least for a rock band to try to play them. Well a funny thing happened as they went into the studio to record this album. The man who was financing the endeavour pulled out at the last minute leaving the band to either give up on these two tracks or try to play them on their own the best they could.They obviously chose the latter. In the liner notes the band talks about this time period in their history. "... we were developing our instrumentation and sound, after buying new equipment in Vienna and signing a deal with American distributer Norlin". It should be noted that they were the only Eastern European band to buy their equipment from the "For Music" company in Vienna. Other notables who bought their instruments from there were Rick Wakeman and Tony Banks.

"Ze Slowem Biegne Do Ciebie" opens with some experimental sounds before we get this beat that starts to build. Those unusual sounds continue though. Great sound here.The guitar starts to make some noise as it gets pretty intense. It kicks in before 3 minutes as the guitar solos over top. A wall of sound before it calms right down after 4 1/2 minutes. Resrved vocals arrive 6 minutes in and we get this uplifting full sound before 7 minutes.This sounds so good. Pounding drums after 11 minutes as vocals continue. Prominant bass and drums before 15 minutes as synths make some noise. A pastoral calm after 17 minutes and reserved vocals return before 18 minutes. Simply a fantastic composition.

"Przed Premiera" opens with different sounds building as the piano tinkles away. Drums come pounding in.This drummer is just amazing ! He puts on a show here but it's not a solo. I like the rhythm 3 1/2 minutes in. It settles right down before 7 minutes with some good guitar to follow.The bass is excellent as well. It becomes kind of spacey or dreamy after 11 minutes.The drums start to muscle in until they're quite powerful 12 1/2 minutes in.The drummer is blowing me away again after 14 1/2 minutes. Just an incredible soundscape here to the end.

I still can't get over how talented these three guys are. No doubt one of the best trios to ever play music. This album and the debut are must haves in my opinion.

Example of very good eclectic prog music.

Poland proved to be one of the most creative countries when it comes to progressive rock. It's also undoubtly the sole Eastern European country to be proudly on the progressive rock map. Probably the greatest progressive rock band from Poland is SBB. My first contact with the band is their third album - Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie. With the third remastered version song, this album is a true and volumetric source of classic eclectic prog. This album contains only epics. The homonymous song - Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie and the second one called Przed premierą are very well-structured compositions with emphasized psychedelic/jazz fusion style made in darkened atmosphere. These compositions reveal musical abilites of the band members. The third composition is bonus track and it's called Odejście. Odejście is very experimental composition with strong Middle-eastern (Oriental) influence at first half. After that it continue with jazz fusion motifs and then again could be found experimental sounds. At the end of the composition the listeners met some harder tunes. Innovative and interesting. 4 stars!

I spend my school years listening for Polish radio ( the only one I could listen from abroad, and the best musical radio possible for me at that time). So I am quite familiar with polish music of that era.

SBB is realy giant of polish prog. I get this album (CD version) with terrible sound quality: in many places old-LP noise was louder that music by itself).

I don't know, if there are CD-releases with better sound quality. So - music by itself is perfect! Yes, from very first accords you will relize from what time that music came. But,from other hand, it was prog "golden age" , at least in Eastern Europe.

There are two compositions only on this album, one on each LP side. First composition has some vocal on it. Bothtogether, music is complex, often symphonic in structure. No boring moments at all, what isn't common for such long compositions.

I am not familar with all SBB catalog, so it is difficult for me to compare this album with other their works. But that one is absolutely perfect. It's wondering me, I perfectly remember the time and atmosphere all around in Poland in 1977! And it gave us so good progresive music!

I can recommend that album for any fan of classic prog. Only note - please try to find better sounding CD copy!

S.B.B. - Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebi (1977)

I recently got into this fine eclectic Polish band and I felt lucky when I found some second hand vinyls at the CD/LP-fair in Utrecht (one of the biggest in Europe). Pamiec was my first S.B.B. album and it is running for my favorite of 2010. It's eclectic mix of Pink Floydian spaciness, Crimsonian sophistication and Jazz-rock influences á la Mahavishnu Orchestra. The concentration of the compositions is great and thus the band finds itself able to operate in delicate atmospheres without loosing it's grip. Another good element of the S.B.B. way of doing things is that it doesn't sound stressed of disturbing.

On this fourth S.B.B. album (third in the studio) the band continues it's course set on Pamiec. The sound of the band had changed little and the classic mysterious eclectic prog- sound remains. "Ze Slowem..." has only two tracks of 19 minutes, an ambitious move by S.B.B. The polish vocals on side one are often doubled (dubbed) and dreamy. Master guitar player Antymos Apostolis has a good role (which was soon to change on the next albums) and drummer Jerzy Piotrowski is perhaps my favorite drummer of the eclectic prog genre. His precision, yet intensive drums are a blessing throughout. The adventerious melodies are all boosted with some heavy drum-fills. Józef Skrzek on keys, vocals and bass (and I think as main composer) is of course the basis of the band. His key-instruments are all chosen very well and his atmospheric approach on sympho/fusion is original.

The first composition, the title track, emphasis on the atmospheric & melodic side of the band. There are many peaceful moments, but the music remains melodic throughout. The feel changes from dark to spacey, from intimate to bombastic. The harmonic inventiveness of the compositions is a main feature. Somehow S.B.B. found a little place on prog-map that hadn't been discovered by others yet.

On side two, Przed premierą, emphasis on the instrumental jazz-rock and melodic prog composition. The abilities of the band are stretched to the maximum. This is a very good long instrumental piece and it can easily stand without song-writing.

Question: should I buy a cd or look for a vinyl? Well... I myself am a vinyl collector and I love the sound of vinyls. Though it's a bit awkward, I must admit that the cd sound at least 'just as good' as the vinyl. Perhaps it's even slightly better. Furthermore, the cd has an amazing 'bonus-track'. The early version of Odejście (clocking 29 minutes) is perhaps even better than the one on 'Wołanie O Brzęk Szkła aka Slovenian Girls' album. The eastern guitar playing in the beginning is very good and the way keys and drums enter after a few minutes is great. The other parts of the song are resemblant to that of the later released album version.

Conclusion. Yet another great album of S.B.B. in the spirit of the mighty Pamiec. This band has amazing compositional and technical abilities and is able to act as a great power-trio. The cd version of the album is very attractive due to the good re-master and the amazing bonus-track. Perhaps this album will grow a bit on me, but I am quite sure it deserves the four star rating. An excellent addition to your sympho, eclectic or fusion collection. Nearly a masterpiece of the genre.

Between 1977 and 1979 SBB divided energies between albums with long, epic, often side- long tracks taking the symphonic prog/space rock form they pioneered to its limits on the one hand, and albums with shorter, more commercially accessible tracks on the other. Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie is one of the former, and a fine example of the band's continuous efforts to grow and perfect their art. Though it doesn't move me to the extent that its predecessor does, I am quite taken with the way the band are able to seamlessly incorporate a heavy fusion influence into their customary mixture of symphonic prog and space rock. Those who are particularly fond of fusion may find this is an especially good place to start exploring the band's work.