CZESŁAW NIEMEN

Aerolit is probably the best progressive album by CZESLAW NIEMEN. It is a great, dynamic, eclectic, jazz-rock/fusion album with great synthesizers, fantastic guitars, interesting rhythmic section and of course fantastic Niemen's vocal. There are also some interesting stories associated with this album. On the front cover you can see the painting made by Nieme's wife Malgorzata. The hands tight in front of the wall are a symbol and are associated with the lyric of the first song on the album - Cztery sciany swiata (which means Four walls of the world). The lyric is also very symbolic. It is a poem written by polish poet and songwriter - Jonasz Kofta (1942-1988). I especially like the beginning of this song when Niemen is singing:

Przed sciana dzwieku stoja głusi

Modla sie do muzyki

In front of the wall of sounds deaf people are standing

And they are preying to the music

Other lyrics are the poems of the Polish romantic poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821-1883): Pielgrzym (Pilgrim), Daj mi wstazke blekitna (Give me a blue ribbon, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska (1891-1945): Smutny ktos i biedny nikt (Sad someone and poor nobody) and Zbigniew Herbert (1924-1998) Kamyk (The little stone).

It is also interesting that new Niemen's band (that played on Aerolit) was established after a split (in a bad atmosphere) with Jozef Skrzek and Apostolos Anthimos (members of SBB that played on Niemen's albums - Marionetki, Strange Is This World and Ode to Venus). After the split Niemen discovered a young drummer Pior Dziemski (who died in age of 22 right after the release of Aerolit in 1975). His death had a great influence on Niemen's career. His next album - Katharsis on which Niemen is playing on all instruments was a typical electronic music and it was often criticized.

There is also another funny story associated with this album. In 2002 Niemen received a letter addressed to him and C.K. Norwid (romantic poet - 1821-1883) - his moog solo from Pilgrim was used on the album of CHEMICAL BROTHERS (Come with Us).

I recommend Aerolit to prog fans who like eclectic, mysterious and some times a little bit dark music. Also the people interested in jazz-rock fusion will be pleased with this album. It is worth to buy even if you don't understand the Polish language. It is a great prog-rock classic or at least it should be a classic.

Czesław Niemen was one of the most important rock musicians in Poland. He had a huge influence on other artists even from younger generations. He was famous for his great voice and original approach to music.

I have to admit that for years, when I was at school, I associated this musician only with nice, easy listening, short songs which you can still hear on the Polish radio. I was really surprised when I got his ambitious album 'Enigmatic'. It was a beginning of my journey through his discography. I had already known some of SBB albums (legendary prog-rock Polish trio) and I thought that it would be great if Niemen could make an album with the musicians from SBB. And then one day my friend gave me 'Ode to Venus' album, indeed recorded by these musicians together in 1973! I was stunned! To me it soon became one of the best albums of the seventies released in this part of Europe. Unfortunately, 'Ode to Venus' remained unknown even in Poland. The Iron Curtain effectively made promotion and export of central and eastern European works almost impossible. I believe that if this album had been recorded in the UK, it would have been as well-known as the albums of the best prog-rock groups.

I highly recommend 'Ode to Venus' as well as other marvellous albums by Niemen: 'Enigmatic' and 'Strange is this world'.

4 and a half star.

This album is said to be the first really progressive album of Czeslaw Niemen. It's a lot based on organs again, with a choir every now and then to give an original touch.

The first song, Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod, sounds like a religious piece, with a church choir chanting the words of a well known Polish poem, which is a common theme on the album actually. The song goes on quite some time with just the organs, but after some, five minutes, the church organ changes into a hammond one and the storm breaks out. There's a lot of cacophony and passionate playing when the drums come along. Later Czeslaw himself does the singing, and the choir takes a little less responsibility. Niemen is again himself with great singing and melodies. The choir backs him up as he takes out everything he can from his voice. These are the moments that send shivers up and down my spine. The song seems to grow up the whole 16 minutes all the time getting more closer to a climax. This song is really good for just closing your eyes, lying back and listening. Everytime Niemen screams the listener feels like he's lifting up a few inches. The song is very, very powerful.

Jednego serca on the other hand is a bit more straightforward material. With a female choir and a basic Niemen-singing, the song is very pretty, and, even though less, still quite rock'n'roll as the ones before '69. I'd say this song would be the best to describe his music throughout the times.

Kwiaty ojczyste I've heard being played on several occasions, though it's still a complex organ-prog song. The three songs after the long piece are all these organ based jazz-rock songs, though this one is more based on guitars than the rest and has a really nice sax solo in the middle. The same female choir chants a nice filling melody under Niemen, it's really catchy, and easy to remember.

Though I admit, this is not my favourite Niemen album, it's still very good. It's not so instrumentall based as it could be, and was later on, but it has really nice organs and singing. This was the style Niemen did really well back in the days. And with the blues-guitar in the third song, along others, the sound is very good. Mów do mnie jeszcze to an untrained ear is pretty much like the two former songs. Fusion with the female choir again backing up. Still, the album manages to hold on to the feeling from the beginnign to the very end, and the album never gets boring.

I aquired a version that has two bonus tracks too, Lipowa Lyzka and Pozegnanie Harnasia. These are both a lot more straighforward and closer to the soul that he was so good with earlier albums. Good songs too, and unlike with some albums, I don't regret getting the remastered version. I think, all in all, this album is better than just good, but still, for the common prog-listener, not obligatory, Niemen surely has better music that is essential. However, I recommend that everyone who's into jazz-rock/fusion and organ based progrock or just plain awesome singing... that they should all buy this album. I think it's easily worth its four stars!

Some time, after really getting into the prog scene, Czeslaw Niemen released an album called Aerolit. The album is commonly thought of as one of his best works. It's more jazz/fusion-rock than what the earlier albums were. Aerolit has less soul and blues influences, and is more based on his synths rather than funky organs and horns. The playing on this album is great and very professional.

The progressive sound to the first song really surprised me first. The song listing indicated a 10 minute song, and having first heard Strange is This World(1972), I expected something similar. However, the song starts with a powerful moog intro and soon gets going like the best of Tony Banks's licks back in the 70s, while the band on the back plays it fusion. There's a lot of early days Andy Ward style in Piotr Dziemskis drumming and the bass playing of Jacek Gazda matches the style more than well. This song soon developes into a playful jam masterpiece of a so Niemen-like groovy background topped by a battle of synths and guitar. Really nothing you would expect, having heard early Niemen, but still really good.

Niemens' biggest weapon has always been his great voice, and that's how this album stands out again. I'm a big fan of the Polish language, and hearing someone scream it at the top of their voice for almost 30 seconds is just something undescribable. However, Pielgrzym is not as easy as it could be. It's a song, or more like a chant with synths and singing taking turns. No drums or guitar are used in this song until five minutes. After that, we are introduced a really mystical background to the chants that carry on.

Kamyk carries on the misty feeling. It's really mysterious, the bassline, that's actually the supporting beam of this structure and reminds me a bit of early Wigwam(Finland) style. This song gets started a bit later too, and molds into something of a jazz-rock again, with a hint of canterbury scene too. I'm noticing influences to all my favourite genres and splendid musicianship. The members all play flawlessly and difficult patterns. The song starts to build a psychedelic load that keeps you hooked until the end. A great well spent 7 minutes if I may say so. Excellent and hypnotical. And the end sounds a bit similar to the first song, as if returning back to a theme...

Fourth is what defines progressive rock. Mellotron accompanied by an acoustic steel guitar equals a beautiful and enchanting sound. This song is really beautiful, and though Niemens' voice is a bit harsh, he can use it well with ballad-types too. Oh, I have a feeling this album is going to take a special place next to my heart.

And now I fell off my chair. After such a nice and soft song, we get a fast paced and jumping song, Smutny Ktos, biedny Nikt. This one is obviously done with a lot of good humour. The song is groovy and playful, yet really powerful and attractive. The beat really makes you want to jump.

I'm amazed how this artist could develope such a perfect touch to progressive rock and jazz-rock after doing such great things with first soul and then folk-blues influences. Czeslaw Niemen is certainly one of the best musicians and singers I have ever known, and the band... Poland has great potential and great players who do their job more than well. This album just walked right over me, and I can't do anything else but show my respect. And listen to it again, a bit louder! everyone here who loves progressive music should listen to this album, I can say that wholeheartedly. Even if you didn't understand the Polish language. It's a shame this album isn't as big as some of the other classics, because it surely would deserve to be.

CZESŁAW NIEMEN started out as a soul singer. This album is hardly prog as it it, however, it's got the elements he's best known of. I'm always amazed by his great voice.

The first song, Płonąca Stodoła, starts out groovy and keeps building up throughout the song. I could imagine dancing to this funky song, but I could also imagine myself listening to this in a quiet room alone. It's a powerful tune, very fast and groovy.

Gdzie się mak czerwieni is a bit slower, like he's taking a breath and a break. It's pretty basic soul, and one can spot some adapted influences to the africanamerican soul in the trumpet and the sax, or how they play. This carries on through the record.

The third song, Włóczęga is a gain a bit faster and is really entertaining. Not as groovy as the first song, but still a standout. One of my favourites.

Narodziny miłości has a nice piano that takes it forward. Soon the horns join, and though this isn't a fast paced song, the groove is apparent. The groovy, as we speak is the most obvious part of this album too, and his music throughout.

The organ in Allilah indicates more towards the style Mr. Niemen was going to adapt later on on his carreer. It's only an intro though, and the groove takes over again, with a very proggy guitar solo this time.

The songs are short and easy to listen to. They carry forward, and sometimes seem a bit repetitive, though each one has their hook with which to capture the listener. The best thing about songs such as Najdłuższa noc is that they don't need the other songs to sound good. each piece is good on their own. This one has a nice organ solo, something that's not so very usual to this funk-soul scenery. All in all a nice song.

Sukces is a success... haha, good? No? Ok then. Well, the title track is the first real ballad in a vague sense. It's slow and goes around the 3/4 timing, it's mostly carried around by the organ and singing. I still have to admire Niemen's voice and how he stretches it to give the song the depth it needs.

Jeżeli is more of a bluesy tune, with a nice guitar solo there too. The musical parts are, however, not something the artist boasts about. The music is mostly based on the groove made possible by the whole band and then the singing on it.

This shows in the next piece very well. The horns play a fill every now and then, and the bass drives a pattern that keeps the tempo up. Spiżowy krzyk is one of the outstanding songs of the album. It's very catchy and makes you wan to listen to it again. This album really makes you want to jam along, and I'd really love to be playing these songs with my guitar.

Well Niemen did well, keeping these songs short. Given, they're a bit repetitive, but each one has their own catch that really keeps them separate. I couldn't imagine light tunes like these stretched longer just for the sake of it. Good music to get high on, as they say. The touch is indeed very psychedelic, very much because of his brilliant singing and the organ that gives the music the original touch.

The next two songs remind me of the Blues Brothers in a sense. Especially Niepotrzebni. It kicks in with a nice groove, an I could imagine a whole hall full of people dancing and twisting. The other one is a bit slower and a bit less apparent however.

It's a shame Klęcząc przed Tobą has to be the last song on this record. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to put it on and turn it really loud, just to enjoy my life.

What can I say... I love this album. It's refreshing, it's extremely groovy and with a nice psychedelic touch. It's got great singing and coherent playing, the band plays very well together. But it's not really prog, perhaps on two occasions, as it was the way of the times back in 60s. It's more of the Woodstock nation music, something like Jefferson Airplane at times, especially on the blues parts. It's still not the Niemen album I'd recommend to prog fanatics. I think, here, I'm going to have to rate this between 3 and 4 stars. But because it's the ProgArchives, I'm afraid this one is going to be at 3. However I'm glad someone gave it a 5 there, so it'll keep the average where I too want it!

I was 'cleaning' my library's database from hundreds of useless vinyls when I came across this album. I checked NIEMEN's inclusion on ProgArchives - the album looked that proggy! - and decided to give it a chance to be found by library users from PIKI library net around Tampere, Finland. So the least I must do is give it a review*.

NIEMEN was a Polish band named after the singer, who is praised in the backcover texts as a phenomenal talent and ambassador of Eastern Europe's rock. Coincidentally my only Polish prog encounter before this was an SBB album: as the lonely review of this album informs, SBB was founded the very next year by Jozef Skrzek (organ, el. piano, bass) of NIEMEN. These eight compositions are rock with heavy tendencies, some more spacy and philosophical than others, but clearly rougher than the more sensitive SBB. Keyboards, namely dark-toned organ, are not leaving guitar and energetic rhythm section in their shadow, as I had somehow expected/hoped. All except the short 'Rock For Mack' feature the beastlike vocals of Mr. Niemen. He reminds a bit of ARTHUR BROWN, though not quite that maniac and operative style. In all, a strong work, likely to please friends of ballsy prog rock with the vintage sound of early seventies, but somehow also easy to forget, at least by me.

(*PS: Recently I have practically stopped reviewing here, due to some changes in my life. I myself was surprised by the sudden loss of, not just suitable time, but also interest: I had a long list of less seen artists to review. But maybe I'll have another active PA phase in future. Greetings to you all! Keep on proggin'.)

I regard this album as Niemen´s best work i heard to date. It features keyboardist Josef Skrzek who next year on would start the great Polish band S.B.B. Together with Niemen the band creates a mix of very original progrock with lots of twists and turns musically. Influences from Gentle Giant and other Polish prog (S.B.B later albums) at the time are noticeable, still Niemen is to me the wizard of Polish rock and this album is evidence of that.

This album is quite a spaced-out form of electronic and experimental fusion. It lacks any studio-drumming and there are vocals by Niemen only on a few of the tracks. So i would say the album is quite challenging, however not entirely uninteresting if you´re into the latter of Niemen´s work from the 70´s (Aerolit, Ideé Fixe) which is basically very experimental overall.

This is my least-favorite of the Niemen albums I’ve heard. Niemen plays pretty much every instrument here, which consist for the most part of piano, some guitar (mostly acoustic), and bass. The vocals are Russian, and the whole vibe of the album is of a mellow folkish and very dated-sounding set of compositions.

The saving grace is Niemen’s rich tenor voice, which makes even the sometimes harsh- sounding Russian tongue seem inviting. I’ve no idea what he’s singing about, but this was a period where he recorded several albums of songs with social and historical overtones, so there’s no reason to think this is anything different.

As with all Niemen albums the piano work is intricate, delicate but strong, and very expressive. The sound is much closer to the powerful ‘Enigmatic’, and quite a bit more upbeat than ‘Ode To Venus’ which preceded it or ‘Mourner’s Rhapsody’ which follwed a year later. None of the tracks really stands out except perhaps “Wychazu adin ja na darogu”, which is a bit longer than the rest and features some haunting backing vocals and is almost completely piano-driven.

A very odd offering from a guy who put out a lot of much stronger work, but this is mildly interesting if you happen across it. I wouldn’t look too hard though; if you want to hear some great Niemen, find ‘Enigmatic’ or ‘Strange is the World’ instead. Two stars.

peace

Time to give this album another 5 stars. And why is that? Here are the reasons.

First of all, Czeslaw Niemen is a great name in the Polish music industry, and has had a huge effect on a lot of bands there, including SBB. And no doubt about it, this man is very innovative, has an impressive way of playing and an awesome, undescribable voice. And I can't underline that enough. The things he can do with his organ and his scream send thrills through my spine and raise my hair up to the roof. This album alone is a magnificent experience, despite the tiny fact that he doesn't pronounce English perfectly, but, who does?

As for the songs, the first must be my favourite from him. Strange is the World (of human affairs). Great lyrical experience, simplistic but striking. And the way it begins. I first listened to it and thought to myself, "what is this" and then I needed to hear more of it. After the singing begun the album was sold. After the great beginning there is a very, even free jazzy solo part that keeps one wondering where he gets his ideas. The song is carried on with instrumental parts each one showing off better than the one before and leading to the lyrical parts again. The song is very rock thanks to Czeslaws voice, he really takes everything he can achieve out of it.

The second is a very melancholic song, Why Did You Stop Loving Me? It keeps the rock sound that actually carries on throughout the whole album. The guitar solo of this song kind of brings it back to life and is very rough. Yet it is very strong and good to the ear. These musicians can really hit it. In the end it gets slower again, and Niemen does his Gillan-like singing at his best accompanied by the drumfills and a guitar.

Acually the whole album is an experimental blues-rock album, which is easily heard in the third song, a 3/4 blues song I've Been Loving You Too Long. But there is blues that is blues and there is blues that is much more, and this is it. One of the best blues-rock I have ever heard.

The fourth, actually the last song on this is much more pompous than the others and carries on pretty neatly. This song is a lot more lyrical, and it's really worth listening to with care. This is very sentimental. Well, I can't describe it more, one has to experiense it personally.

There is also a bonus track on my version, We've Got the Sun, but it is borken for some reason and I can't listen to it. The parts that I can hear make it sound as if it didn't fit the record. It's a lot more straightforward song that any of the above.

I would say this is Czeslaw Niemen's best album. And what helps, is the fact that it's in English, so it's a lot easier for everyone to approach. The songs all together form a great experience, and I can't really stop listening to any of them. And let it be noted, this is my first 5 stars ever, and well deserved!