A STREET BETWEEN SUNRISE AND SUNSET

While Satellite may be a new name in the prog field, and 'A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset' their debut album, this is a band that have been formed out of one of Poland's most well-known and best-loved prog acts, Collage. Originally this was set to be a solo project by drummer and main Collage songwriter Wojtek Szadkowski but he gradually brought in more and more musicians, many of whom he had performed with in Collage. They are signed to Metal Mind, the most important label of it's' type in Poland, and the artwork has been provided by Mark Wilkinson of Marillion/Fish fame. In fact, if you look at the Satellite site at www.satelliteprog.com you can see the whole series of covers that he designed for this, a real work in progress.

But what about the music? The band themselves have compared it most to 'Moonshine' era Collage but how about Western proggers who may have never heard that band? In fact there is a lot going on, and while certain influences such as Genesis and Pendragon or Pink Floyd can be picked out, it is easier to say that this is easy listening prog that is thoroughly enjoyable throughout. The album is sung in English, and in fact the feel is that this is an American project and not a Polish one at all. The album starts with street noise and a snippet of a radio commentator, and the impression is a bustling American city. That is an intriguing way into the first song, "The Evening Wind", which at nearly thirteen minutes long is a great start. Of course, the guitar can't be hidden totally by the keyboards and there are some very powerful plays indeed. A particular favourite has to be "No Disgrace" which is a belting prog rock number driven along by dynamic percussion and sizzling keyboard runs.

This could easily be the most important album out of Poland this year, and the finest I have heard from that country since Quidam. Which one is the better? The jury is still out.

Originally appeared in Feedback #73, Jun 03