CIEN WIELKIEJ GÓRY

This is another album my Bro In Law introduced me to. This band is from Poland with Polish vocals and this their debut was released in 1975. The band I thought of most when listening to this was SBB. And I can honestly say that the instrumental work is as good as SBB and that's the biggest compliment I can give these guys. I've never been a fan of Polish vocals but man can this guy let it rip. Those vocals with the unbridled power instrumentally makes this a true must-have in my opinion.

"Cien Wielkied Gory" opens with atmosphere and female vocal melodies before fragile male vocals join in. The male vocals become passionate. Drums and guitar follow along with floating organ. Nice instrumental section before 6 minutes to the end. "Lubie Ten Stary Obraz" opens with intricate guitar melodies and sounds as the vocals join in. I like it ! It all stops before 2 1/2 minutes then a new soundscape kicks in with vocals. This is more aggressive with guitar. A slightly mellower section with strings comes in as these sections are contrasted. A guitar solo 5 minutes and check out the drum work then the organ. Nice. "Samotny Noca" has a good heavy sound with vocals. The organ leads before 2 minutes as the vocals stop briefly. "Jest Taki Samotny Dom" kicks in quite heavily but slowly before a minute. A calm with reserved vocals takes over quickly as these contrasts continue. Female vocals 3 1/2 minutes in then the male vocals join in too. It's building. So good !

"Szalony Kori" is the closing side long suite at almost 20 minutes. It opens with a gong then we get some nasty moog runs, I mean they sound evil. Drums and more join in. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in as it calms down. The guitar, drums and vocals kick in with passion. It's RUSH-like 4 minutes in then those filthy moog runs are back. A calm 6 minutes in. Vocals follow as it becomes fuller. A change before 7 1/2 minutes as the drums and guitar show off. So impressive. Vocals a minute later. Backing female vocals after 11 minutes with the male vocals are all so passionate. Gulp. Guitar before 12 minutes and the synths join in too. A calm with vocals 13 minutes in then it kicks in again as contrasts continue. A calm with reserved vocals before 18 minutes to end it.

Just a killer album even though i'm not that into Polish vocals. Still the drum work and instrumental work in general is incredible.

With Polish psych/prog elder statesman Czesław Niemen guesting on Moog, Budka Suflera's debut album had a lot going for it, but set against other heavy psychedelic music of the day t feels a little uninspired. The band by and large do a competent job - though Krzysztof Cugowski's vocals are a little underwhelming - but these jams, whilst interesting, never quite attain the full potential of the format. The side-long title track finds the band getting a little ambitious at last, but even that feels flat compared with, say, the last track on Arzachel's sole album from 1969. The fact is that the prog and psych worlds had already moved on by the time this album was released, and with Niemen himself producing superior material at around the same time Iron Curtain-era isolation from Western musical innovations clearly isn't an excuse.

Budka Suflera meant to become one of the leading Rock/Soft Rock acts in Poland, but their roots were definitely progressive.The band from Lublin was formed around singer Krzysztof Cugowski and bassist Romuald Lipko in early-70's with Andrzej Ziolkowski and drummer Ryszard Siwiec completing the first line-up.After several gigs and drummer changes Zbigniew Zielinski sits behind the drum kit and Budka Suflera eventually meet success in 1974, covering Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" in Polish.This was the last recording of Zielinski with the band, as he was replaced by Tomasz Zeliszewski.Having earned a contract with Polskie Nagrania Muza they headed to their debut album, inviting Czesław Niemen and Marek Stefankiewicz to help out on keyboards, while the female vocal ensemble Alibabki participated in the female choirs,Their debut ''Cien wielkiej gory'' was finally released in 1975.

First side shows the band practicing their moves between different styles with comfort and the only common thing in all four tracks are the expressive Polish vocals.The eponymous kick off is a grandiose Space Rock piece with Niemen's moog synths in evidence and a deep lyrical content, resembling to Hungarians EAST, while the follower ''Lubic ten stary obraz'' shifts easy between acoustic mannerisms, orchestral plays with strings and complex Heavy/Blues Rock with impressive guitar breaks.''Samotny noca'' is more of a conventional Hard Rocker with a typical song structure, characterized by the edgy lead guitars and the aggresive voice of Cugowski, but with ''Jest taki samotny dom'' Budka Suflera return to a grandiose Space/Symphonic Rock with pompous keyboards and excellent guitar solos in the vein of ELOY, EAST and compatriots PROGRES 2.The flipside is captured by Budka Suflera's ambitious attempt on putting up a long epic, the 19-min. ''Szalony kon''.While not fully convincing, this a pretty good example of 70's Polish Prog with a balanced sound but a rather questionable connection between the styles.It represents nicely the band's talent, which was based on deep lyricism, complicated instrumental lines and early psychedelic influences, offering extended guitar parts, furious synth workouts by Niemen and poetic passages with Cugowski's voice leading the way.It draws influences from Heavy Rock, Classical Music and Psychedelic Rock in almost equal doses, switching between angular guitar-led runs and laid-back textures with a low tempo.

I could say that this album is fully representative of 70's Polish Prog.Stuffed with psychedelic vibes, based on expressive vocal work but also filled with intricate instrumental themes.Not the best from the country, but definitely good enough one to seek for.Recommended.

One of the most successful bands in Polish history, BUDKA SUFLERA ( means Prompter's Box in Polish ) started in 1969 in the eastern city of Lublin formed as a cover band that played Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Led Zeppelin. The original lineup was Krzysztof Cugowski (vocals), Krzysztof Brozi (lead guitar), Janusz Pędzisz (bass guitar) and Jacek Grün (drums) but soon changed its name to BUDKA SUFLERA and spent the next few years undergoing many lineup changes which by the time the band's debut album was recorded in 1974 was Krzysztof Cugowski (vocals), Romuald Lipko (bass), Tomasz Zeliszewski (drums) and Andrzej Ziółkowski (guitar).

The band found instant success with the track "Cień Wielkiej Góry," ( The Shadow of the Big Mountain ) in 1974 and quickly recorded an album with the same title to follow in its wake. Released in 1975 BUDKA SULFLERA had the unique opportunity of people lining up for its release and all 60,000 copies pressed sold out in one day. Unfortunately the nascent Polish music industry didn't think bout repressing the album and it quickly became a highly desirable and expensive album to acquire. It is estimated that the album would have sold up to a half million albums had the Polskie Nagrania Muza label had entertained the idea of simply pressing more! Guest musicians Marek Stefankiewicz on the organ as well as the Alibabki vocal group joined in for the album as well.

The title track was one of the band's biggest hits and inspired by the tragic death of two Polish mountaineers, Zbigniew Stepek and Andrzej Grzązek who died in an avalanche while climbing in the Himalayas in 1973. The album also got a boost from the guest appearance of Czesław Niemen who played the moog synthesizer, a novelty that most Poles were still unfamiliar with. The album featured five tracks, four on Side A which featured semi-proggy rock tracks with a touch of heavier rock at times however the prog creds were on the lighter side of the equation. The tracks move through various styles ranging from classic 70s rock to heavy psych, folky interludes and a touch of local Polish flavors. All lyrics were performed in the Polish language.

The band saved the more complex features for the side B sole track "Szalony kón" which featured an extended 19 minute and 25 second adventure through various moods and textures. The side long track also features some of the most progressive workouts. The sprawling track showed Polish prog in its nascency, a good six years behind the curve of its Western counterparts but still showcased a lengthy jam session that allowed Nieman to let loose on the moog. The track also allowed some standout drumming solos as well as some impressive time signature deviations that firmly placed BUDKA SUFLERA in the prog camp. The track really succeeds in wending and winding through various transitions with instrumental workouts providing the intermissions to move on to various vocal oriented segments.

While somewhat dated for 1975, it's understandable that the communist block was not able to absorb the sheer quantity of prog rock that was easily available in the West and therefore we can't hold these bands to the same timeline really. Personally i think this is an excellent album as all the tracks are exquisitely designed and brilliantly performed. I really love Cugowski's passionate vocal style and his range. The melodies are instantly addictive while the complexities take it all to the next level. It's no wonder this band was so popular in Poland. This was probably some of the best music to exist in that nation in the 1970s along with SBB of course. A brilliant debut that would find the band disbanding soon after but quickly reforming. Newer remastered versions feature bonus tracks but none are as brilliant as the original five tracks from 1975. Sure it would help if you understand Polish but the music speaks the most to me here.