Author
Logan
Topic: Arsenal (Russia)
From sources I've read, this is the USSR's biggest name jazz-rock and progressive rock band, but I didn't find it in PA. Not to be confused with Belgium's Arsenal. I don't even habve any albums, but perhaps others are familiar.
The first track I have a link to is a good acid-oriented/ electronicy track. The second I have from the same album is not so convincing for PA,, nor is the third (which reminds me of some Vangelis). Certainly sounds like a smooth-jazz, New Age oriented band. That third track gets more up-beat and not in a positive for PA sort of way.
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http://www.progressor.net/review/arsenal_overall.html
Vm from Progressor wrote: Part I: 1980/2000 - "Arsenal"
Tracklist:
Dangerous Game 13:29 Line-up:
Alexey Kozlov - alto & soprano saxophones;
Igor Saulsky - piano, electric organ;
Vyatcheslav Gorsky - piano, keyboards;
Vitaliy Rosenburgh -electric guitars;
Victor Zaikin - bass (tracks 1,2,3,4,7);
Anatoli Kulikov - bass (tracks 5,6,8);
Anatoli Sizonov - trumpet;
Eugeny Pan - trumpet;
Boris Kuznetsov - trumpet;
Vadim Akhmetgareyev - trombone;
Valery Taushan - trombone;
Alexander Gorobetz - trombone;
Stanislav Korosteliov - drums;
Vasily Izyumtchenko - drums
Guest vocalists on track 3: Mehrdad Badi and Tamara Kvirkvelia.
Prologue.
Arsenal is undoubtedly the most significant phenomena within the
Progressive Rock movement in the USSR / C.I.S. where there's no other
band of the genre with such an array of released (let alone the
unreleased ones!) material. Arsenal's discography contains no less than
ten full-fledged LPs and almost all of them are presented on 5 CDs I'm
going to tell you about. Arsenal, however, has some more original
material recorded mainly during their live performances in different
countries and
years. Partly those tracks are included in a series of 4 CDs released by
"Boheme Music", but some of
these recordings have been irretrievably lost. Arsenal's debut
self-titled studio album was recorded in Riga in 1977 during their
Latvian tour, but the only Soviet "Melodiya" label released the
"Arsenal" LP only in 1980 and solely thanks to the help of the truly
progressive Soviet composer Yuri Saulsky. Additional tracks presented on
this CD together with the Arsenal debut LP's tracks (1-4) were recorded
in 1978-1979 mainly in Moscow.
The album.
All the four compositions from Arsenal's debut LP, including even a
piece with vocals, represents an absolutely unique 'progressive
formula': this is a really innovative mixture of structures typical for
Classical Music, complex arrangements of truly Progressive Rock and some
improvisational 'details' obviously related to the Classic Jazz Fusion
genre. Despite the presence of lots of the wind instruments there is a
little of 'jazzy spirit' in these pieces. Prolonged in conformity with
the unwritten laws of serious Progressive Rock (and Classical Music too,
though) such instrumentals as Dangerous Game, The Tree and Ivory Tower
are really wonderful musical works and each of them has a distinct
classical feel. But, constant changes of themes and tempos, rises to a
powerful playing of all the band's musicians together and falls into the
very quiet 'spacey' musical spaces, full of mysterious and as if
unearthly sounds, are typical rather for some classic 'side-long' pieces
of the Progressive Rock genre. Arsenal, however, was the very first
(and remains the only to this day) band to create such musical forms
using quite an 'unusual' instrumental base with trumpets, trombones, etc
as lead and main soloing instruments. Three more songs on the album
have practically the same structures. These are Ragtime, Genesis and
Gavotte And March, and a direct addressing to such a well-known
classical piece as the latter with the following arranging it in the
spirit of Progressive Rock was a wise decision regarding the album as a
whole. Vocals based Suite in a Flat Major and The Last Song, an
adaptation of Russian folk song, of course, both sound a bit differently
in comparison with the other tracks here, but their instrumental parts
are very close to the aforementioned "mixed" structures. So, on the
whole this 77-minute CD has a very monolithic, practically conceptual
overall sounding.
Summary.
First, here's an important note. Early compositions of Arsenal,
particularly those included
in the first CD and described here, are probably the most complex and
mind-blowing works Arsenal ever created. It's necessary to listen
repeatedly to this CD to be able to comprehend its wonderful nature and
get great pleasure with each new listening. A pure narcotic… sorry,
masterpiece! However, we musical addicts (moreover, progressive music
addicts), who have this brilliant passion, are perhaps healthier than
those with no passions at all, especially men.
VM. December 3, 2000
Part II: 1982/2000 - "Created with Their Own Hands"
Tracklist:
Mystery 7:49 Line-up:
Alexey Kozlov - synthesizer, alto-sax;
Vyatcheslav Gorsky - grand piano, keyboards;
Victor Zintchuk - electric & acoustic guitars;
Vitaliy Rosenburgh - electric guitar, sitar;
Anatoli Kulikov - bass guitar;
Valery Brusilovsky - drums;
Valentin Diomin - percussion
Another absolute masterpiece from the USSR's leading
progressive band and another unique jewel
for the arsenals of Progressive Rock. "Created with Their Own Hands",
unlike its predecessor, so greatly influenced by Classical Music, is a
work of pure Classic Jazz fusion genre. Stylistically
(only!) created in the same vein as Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return To
Forever, Arsenal's second album, however, has no other similarities with
the music of these Titans of the '70s nor with any other band from the
first to the last note. What is more, I would say, "Created with Their
Own Hands" represents a sort of stylistic quintessence of both
previously mentioned Titans taken together. On an album such as this
you'll find every possible spectrum of the so called Prog-Fusion genre.
Some pieces contain speedy, often really violent playing with cascades
of mind-blowing, very diverse arrangements, changes of themes and
tempos, time signatures, passionate soloing and interplays among the
lead instrumentalists. Some others are performed in mid-tempo with a lot
of gentle, colourful passages that bring a distinct Eastern flavour,
and some of which are obviously influenced particularly by Indian music.
Long, perfectly complex and virtuosic passages like stories full of
wonderful events are rendered by Victor Zintchuk's strings of acoustic
guitar on Shadow of the Past. The musical world of "Created with Their
Own Hands" is extremely diverse in a musical sense, but at the same time
these separate and so diverse compositions actually are just parts of
one beautiful picture "Created with Their Own Hands".
VM. December 5, 2000
Part III: 1984&1985/2000 - "Pulse & Second Wind"
Tracklist:
Second Wind 10:44 All pieces composed and arranged by Alexey Kozlov.
Line-up:
Alexey Kozlov - alto & soprano saxophones, synthesizers;
Vadim Lotkin - keyboards;
Vitaliy Rosenburgh - electric guitars;
Valentin Liozov - bass guitars, accordion (track 5);
Victor Sigal - drums;
Valery Diomin - percussion;
Alexander Beliaev - keyboards;
Andrey Vinogradov - keyboards;
Michail Alperin - piano (tracks 2,3,4,5);
Simon Shirman - tenor sax (tracks 1,4,5), soprano sax (tracks 1,4), violin (track 3);
Nikolay Karsaulidze - drums (tracks 6-13);
Sergey Katin - bass guitars (tracks 6-13);
Ivan Smirnov - electric guitars (tracks 6-13);
Andrey Baturin - electric guitars (tracks 6-13)
Alexey Kozlov and his unique brain-child Arsenal
have won the first mass acclaim with their slightly eclectic yet very
tasteful mixture of Classic / Neo Jazz Fusion / Art Rock presented on
the band's third and fourth LPs "Pulse" and "Second Wind". Actually both
these albums contain very original, colourful and bright instrumental
pieces with distinct melody lines and relatively accessible
arrangements, so that Arsenal's music in the mid '80s could be generally
described as wonderful jazzy Art Rock with sense of humor. Unlike their
two previous albums, most notably their debut, the music on this CD
sounds distinctly 'modern', and Alexey Kozlov himself plays here mostly
electronic keyboards, whereas his major instrument alto saxophone
doesn't sound quite as often as usual. With these albums Arsenal
musicians showed their truly brilliant ability to build such musical
forms that will always keep on enchanting really vast masses of
progressive music lovers from all over. Highly recommended to all those
into accessible melodic forms of both Art Rock and Jazz Fusion genres,
as well as to the majority of the experienced, true connoisseurs of
these two from the three "whales" on which Progressive Rock reposes …
Finally, Relay Race is a mind-blowing fantastic thing. This is not just
the best Jazz Fusion composition I ever heard, but IMHO, Relay Race is
the Queen of all Gems ever created within the genre.
VM. December 8, 2000
Part V: 1990/2000 - "Scorched by the Wind"
Tracklist:
Heavenly Voice 3:19 All pieces composed and arranged by Alexey Kozlov (except 9: trad., arr. by A.K.)
Line-up:
Alexey Kozlov - alto saxophone, synthesizers;
Andrey Denisov - keyboards;
Andrey Vinogradov - keyboards;
Ivan Smirnov - electric guitars;
Anatoli Kulikov - bass guitars;
Alexey Gagarin - drums;
Valery Diomin - percussion;
Alexander Pishchikov - tenor sax;
Igor Javad-Zade - drums (tracks 3,10);
Pavel Grigoriev - tenor saxophone (track 11)
VM. December 10, 2000
I see that Arsenal has been mentioned in a topic before at PA by NotaProghead: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=25100&PID=2040053#2040053
Anyway, even though I only found that first track I listed convincing for PA from what little I've heard, I still though I'd mention it here.
Here's a quote from White Raven at http://www.discomusic.com/forums/showthread.php/29158-Back-In-USSR-vol.7-VESJOLYE-REBJATA?s=c4980b6dab15613d70d8b594bc391927&p=145442#post145442 (yes, discomusic.com ):
Can't really judge based on three tracks (two of which I find unconvincing, but there is probably more appropraite music off albums), but hopefully others will chime in who know the band much better than I.
theultimateprogressiveartexperimentalmusicresource.org: the ultimate progressive, art, experimental music resource dot org
Zebedee
Great band and definitely prog enough to be included in PA if you ask me.
Thanks for the suggestion
Friendship is like wetting your pants: everyone can see it, but only you can feel its warmth.
snobb
Arsenal is first ever Russian jazz-fusion band. Their earlier works are really progressive and quite experimental, and they are extremely important to all later Russian jazz-fusion artists.Starting from late 70-s, they were strongly influenced by break -dance/hip-hop culture and changed their style radically. Later they returned to more pop-jazz. Their leader Alexey Kozlov played solo and with his own band. They are still active and it looks in their most recent works they try to return to a bit more fusion sound of their earlier works. I own some their early albums, and in places their music is really great.I saw them live in late 70-s and it was one of the big shock (they played extremely innovative for the time hip-hop program with some theatrical show).
NotAProghead
I also think ARSENAL should be on PA.
Some more samples:
VIDEO
VIDEO
VIDEO
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
harmonium.ro
^ Excellent samples, they sound like a clear case for JRF. Thanks Slava for bringing the suggestion to the team
NotAProghead
Is the band under evaluation by JRF team?
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
harmonium.ro
^ Yes.
NotAProghead
If ARSENAL will be added on PA I and (I hope) snobb will help with the bio.
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
snobb
Arsenal is cleared for addition by JRF team, Eugene - will you prepare their bio?
Zebedee
Great news
Friendship is like wetting your pants: everyone can see it, but only you can feel its warmth.
Logan
The one I expressed qualms about got in so fast
(of course I wasn't very familiar with the band, but I came across that first youtube track when searching youtube and thought it good enough to explore). Good job, and thanks for all of the comments.
theultimateprogressiveartexperimentalmusicresource.org: the ultimate progressive, art, experimental music resource dot org
NotAProghead
snobb wrote:
Sure, Slava. I've started it.
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
snobb
Argonaught
Folks,
None of my business, but the B3 title (*Манекен*) on the Second Wind should be either 'Mannequin', or 'Dummy', depending on the context (and/or on how sophisticated you want it to sound)
apps79
corrected, i went for the sophisticated version
, thanks!
When the power of love overcomes the love of power,the world will know peace...
NotAProghead
LP cover had no translations. On CD "Nostalgie" it was translated as "A Model". Obviously "
Mannequin" is the closest to " Манекен ".
I have to say that translations on Arsenal CDs released by different labels sometimes differ.
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
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Topic: Arsenal (Russia)
(of course I wasn't very familiar with the band, but I came across that first youtube track when searching youtube and thought it good enough to explore). Good job, and thanks for all of the comments.
Arsenal (Russia)
Topic Options
Vm from Progressor wrote:
