DIALOGUE (DAWN DIALOGUE)

Like some other bands in the USSR, DIALOGUE found their way to wider audience due to rock festival ''Tbilisi-80'' - one of the key events in the whole history of Soviet rock music. Key event - because it helped to legalize, at least partly, rock music in our country. The festival took place in spring of 1980 in the capital of Soviet Georgia. Though it was called festival, it was a competition as well. DIALOGUE presented Kim Breitburg's concept work - the suite ''Под одним небом'' (''Under the Same Sky'') to the poems of well-known Soviet poet Semion Kirsanov - and won the third prize. The jury also acclaimed band's leader, composer and singer Kim Breitburg as best vocalist. Information about ''Tbilisi-80'' was published in popular newspapers and as a result names of participating bands became known to rock fans. DIALOGUE started active touring, people, coming to their concerts, were impressed by Kim Breitburg's charisma, music and the best light and lazer show in the USSR. Soon DIALOGUE began playing at prestigeous venues.

Some band's tape records circulated among fans, but it took almost 3 years to release first official record. As you probably know, everything was planned in the Soviet Union. Record industry, in the face of the only 'Melodiya'' label, was not an exception. Bands and artists were waiting for their turn to make a record for years. Only in 1983 DIALOGUE had a chance to record some of their songs and release this EP. Soviet EPs, unlike singles in most countries, had 33 and 1/3 rpm speed and each side could contain up to 7 minutes of music.

Margarita is only a pop song, ''silly love song'', though pleasant and catchy. I guees it was chosen only because of its leghth (less than 2 minutes). But the second song, A Cricket, with lyrics written by Arseny Tarkovsky (by the way, the father of great cinema director Andrey Tarkovsky) is one of DIALOGUE's masterpieces. Great poetry, memorable music, good keyboard work, melodic bass lines and distinctive vocals made this song essential for every band's concert.

Only You was the strongest DIALOGUE's live number. In concerts this guitar- and keyboard- driven song sounded more than 10 minutes and was accompanied with incredible light and laser show. Unfortunately the EP (as well as the first LP) contains reduced (to 6 minutes) version of the song, but nevertheless it represents well the band's sound.

Important record for DIALOGUE and for Soviet rock in general. You don't need to search for this EP because all its songs appeared on the band's debut LP and, except for Margarita, more than 20 years later, on ''Anthology'' CDs.

Luckily they return with several more strong tracks, such as the contemplative "Share Part 3" with its chilling use of vocoder. While the album and song titles are in English, Dawn Dialogue sings in Russian which, with the abundant keyboards, helps to create almost a Gothic symphonic atmosphere not unlike that conveyed by Eloy around the same period (Colours, Time to Turn, Metromania), and they seem more influenced by Yes than any other classic band, but they really do establish their own sound. In "Share Part 4", the lead guitar carries an emotional theme before ceding to more keyboards and an almost native-American sounding vocal part. The share "Epilog" is the closest thing to an out and out ballad on the CD, albeit a spacey one with power ballad trappings.

The opening "Share Parts 1 and 2" suffers from a coming out of nowhere feeling, and perhaps the album would have been better served to open with the lengthy and well developed "Universe" instead. In general, this is not the most accessible album but is worth discovering from both a historical and musical point of view. On both counts it holds enough interest to spark a dialogue amongst symphonic prog fans at any time of day.