COLLAGE

"Moonshine" is the third studio album by the Polish neo-prog band Collage. The work is released in 1994 and partly due to its worldwide success the band manages to build enormous popularity, especially in their own country, and rightfully so.

I find it a great challenge to discuss this album as the music hits me with the impact of a kangoo on the run. Honestly I was a bit apprehensive about describing what the album does to me. I don't want to exaggerate but "Moonshine" contains 67 minutes of superb music. Well, try explaining that.

Of course I have words of praise for the bombastic nature of the album and I must not overlook the lyrical melodies and solos sprinkled by guitarist Mirek Gil. I also want to emphasize that "Moonshine" is the best neo-prog album ever. However, what makes "Moonshine" a magnificent masterpiece is the intuitive interaction captured during the music- making process. What chemistry flows out of the speakers! The album showcases a group dynamic that can be described with the letters XXL. Collage has five highly skilled musicians at their disposal and once again it becomes evident that the sum of the parts is much, much greater.

The inventive drumming style displayed by Wojtek Szadkowski and the smooth bass work of his tongue-twisting companion, Piotr Mintay Witkowski, allow the often orchestral keyboard parts and hypermelodic guitar playing to take center stage without overshadowing themselves. The beautiful vocal performances by Robert Amirian are always filled with emotion and almost complete the picture. The icing on the cake is the pristine production of the album which consistently adds a warm and ethereal atmosphere. You can hear that everything has been executed with the utmost precision to showcase the musical performances as optimally as possible.

We hear countless tempo and mood changes all encompassed within eight songs. Don't expect the tracks to be tightly structured. Of course there is a solid composition underlying them, but above all, you can hear a lot of spontaneity and joy of playing. In that regard the choice to open with Heroes Cry is magnificent. Striking keyboard tones receive support from a monumental drum rhythm followed by six minutes of blissful neo-prog without any brakes. In the subsequent In Your Eyes your breath is almost taken away for nearly fifteen minutes by the beauty of the music. Not only is there a beautiful piano but Collage also presents the most sublime moments that rock music has ever produced, in my opinion. What happens between the third and fifth minute is so cunning. The phenomenon of building tension and resolving it manifests here in a guitar solo of unparalleled class. The rest of this captivating track demonstrates what a tasteful drummer Szadkowski is.

Next comes Lovely Day which lives up to its title every time it plays. Living In The Moonlight is the most accessible track of the eight, a fantastic pop song with a sparkling chorus that showcases Collage at their best. I have the song on various playlists and it always touches me.

With The Blues, Wings In The Night and the epic title track Moonshine, the band takes a formidable turn by increasing the intensity. The Blues features delightful up-tempo sections while Wings In The Night has beautiful soaring passages that form the album's highlight. Mag-ni-fi-cent. In the title track there is a touch of bombast of a grim kind. It signifies the protagonist being freed from the demons that torment him. Amirian sings 'No more disillusions, no more screaming silence, no more tears, no shadows in the dark'. The final track, War Is Over, perfectly aligns with this theme, not just in terms of the title but also in the lightness of the song and the use of the mandolin, which brings the circle to a close.

The original "Moonshine" may no longer be available but the Polish label Metal Mind reissued the album in 2003 including several bonus tracks. There you have it.

Originally posted on www.progenrock.com

The Polish band COLLAGE from Warsaw certainly had an interesting start. Losing its first vocalist after the debut and then introducing the new singer with an entire album of John Lennon cover songs. It seemed the band was destined to spiral out of existence but rather than sputtering into oblivion persevered by sheer determination and cranked out the best album of its first run in the form of MOONSHINE which followed in the traditions of the wealth of sounds from the 80s English neo-prog scene. The band headed to Holland to record eight tracks that would end up on the Dutch label SI and in the process ended up with an international hit with MOONSHINE as it scratched the right neo-prog itch as the 1990s were finding the world of progressive rock in full scale revival mode.

Poland was a hotbed of up and coming neo-prog bands emerging from every nook and cranny of the nation. Acts like Quidam, Abraxas and Annalist were finding audiences well outside the homeland and COLLAGE was at the top of the spearhead after the release of its lauded debut "Baśnie" which charted internationally despite featuring lyrics in the indecipherable to most Polish language. While replacement vocalist Robert Amirian proved he fit the slot as the new vocalist on the head scratching sophomore release "Nine Songs Of John Lennon," it wouldn't be until MOONSHINE that he could really showcase his ability to convey the emotional passion and sensual warmth that neo-prog fans demanded from their favorite bands.

MOONSHINE delivers all the neo-prog goods and then some. Dominated by ubiquitous use of keyboards, this third album from COLLAGE evoked the highlights of the 80s neo-prog scene and built upon it with layers of synthesized atmospheric backdrops, lush piano rolls and super tight melodic compositions that highlighted Amirian's tender and fragile vocal style. Sounding somewhat like Marillion's second vocalist Steve Hogarth, in many ways COLLAGE usurped the role that Marillion itself seemed to have dropped in favor of a sound more rooted in alternative rock than neo-prog. The results of the endless cascade of swirling synthesizers, dreamy lyrical vocal deliveries and lush Hackett inspired guitar sweeps offer a veritable smooth slice of neo-prog with the music rarely attaining a hard edge (rare moments occur on tracks like "The Blues" which offer a few more upbeat moments).

The most dynamic performer on this set is clearly drummer Wojtek Szadkowski who offers some very subtle yet dynamic percussive moves that make use of the entire drum kit including the ample use of cymbal action. While the radio hit friendly opener "Heroes Cry" may evoke a sense of cheesiness, the album quickly tackles the more complex realms of the neo-prog-verse with the following "In Your Eyes" eking out a 14-minute run of dynamic melodic twists and turns. Out of the album's eight tracks, three extend past the 11-minute mark which allows for some serious crescendo inducing fortitude to build up and COLLAGE does an excellent job at taking simple sensual melodies and incrementally building upon them to maximize their potential. The production is worthy of mention as it allows every little nuance to reverberate with glee. While some may lament the use of reverb, personal i find it to be effective.

While COLLAGE certainly didn't reinvent the neo-prog wheel so to speak in the way that more innovative bands like Abraxas brought to the table, MOONSHINE is a very distinguished and refined album experience that runs the gamut of neo-prog attributes and delivers them with a sheen. Crafty compositions steeped in emotive melodic hooks, layered keyboard effects that offer the proper neo-space rock effect and the excellent addition of innovative percussion and keyboard use, COLLAGE scored with MOONSHINE which remains the band's most revered album of their short canon before splintering off into various bands like Satellite, Mr. Gil and Strawberry Fields. If neo-prog is measured by the passion of the performances rather than the technical wizardry then COLLAGE scores high with its third album which offers a dynamic even expansive overview of what the entire world of neo-prog had projected to the world at this point. Fans of cheerful upbeat bands like Jadis, Pendragon and Citizen Cane will surely love this one.

As one of the most popular progressive Polish bands to emerge in the last few decades, the Warsaw based COLLAGE was also one of the very first to jump onto the second wave prog revival with its own brand of neo-prog in the vein of classic Marillion, IQ and Pallas. The band underwent many changes during its initial years before settling on a lineup that would include Tomasz Różyckid as the band's first lead vocalist who appeared on an album. While Różycki would only stick around long enough to record the band's debut release "Baśnie," the band would go on to release the internationally popular "Moonshine" as well as making a surprise comeback in 2022 with the band's first album in over two decades with "Over and Out."

After going trying out vocalist Zbigniew Biniak for a couple years and then allowing original vocalist Jarosław Wajk to rejoin, the band wasn't satisfied with the results and eventually settled on Robert Amirian as the permanent vocalist who fit like a glove and has been an essential member of the band ever since he joined in 1993. After a successful debut that not only propelled COLLAGE into national stardom as one of Poland's most successful and radio friendly modern prog bands that surprisingly translated into international success across not only Europe but overseas, COLLAGE's next move was one of the most head-scratching decisions that a band could make for a release of a sophomore album and one that remains a mystery as to why the band thought it was a good idea in the first place.

Of all the possibilities of delivering a second album and showcasing a new vocalist to the band's fanbase, the band chose to release a cover album titled NINE SONGS OF JOHN LENNON which as the title states pretty much sums up what this album is, namely a collection of nine songs written by John Lennon and reinterpreted into the world of COLLAGE's neo-prog lens. A very bizarre move indeed and although everyone was inspired to embrace a musical career based on the music they love from their youth, to crank out an entire album of covers so early in a fledgling band's career seems like a death wish. Despite this rather peculiar decision COLLAGE managed to move on and release their internationally revered third album "Moonshine" the following year but wow. This one really could've ended it all.

Now bad ideas aside i have to admit that the music contained on this album is not nearly as bad as i possibly could've imagined and while i rarely find myself warming up to albums of only cover songs of popular pop artists of yore, amazingly COLLAGE did a decent job of adapting these classic Lennon songs into the context of their spacey neo-prog sound that they had established over their career. Somehow despite all odds the band breathes their own creative forces into the unthinkable act of tarnishing one of the great rock and roll legend's most celebrated tracks ranging from "Power To The People" to the impossible to top classic "Imagine." While the band remains faithful to the overall melodic lyrical structures, where the band takes liberties in the extended jamming extensions that add keyboard-rich neo-prog glory to otherwise straight forward pop rock songs.

This album also found the band shifting from its lyrics sung in its native Polish to becoming an internationally recognized band that used English for its second chapter. Somehow the band pulled it off to a certain extent with an interesting mix of remaining faithful to the original songs while adding its own progressive rock stamp to the mix. I can't even imagine the number of fans who found the entire thing sacrilegious given John Lennon's rock god status across the entire world but i have to give these guys credit for just doing what they wanted with really no consideration for the ramifications of their decision making. Clearly this was fueled by a giddy idealism rather than actually considering the implications of such a move. Overall this is not really a bad album at all and quite pleasant as far as cover albums go. While a far cry from the band's best efforts it's actually listenable and actually quite creative on tracks like "Give Peace A Chance" which also finds a surprise foray into Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" guitar riff as well as a short vocal snippet from Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll!"

Sure most everyone loves John Lennon, his music, his passion and his phenomenal legacy in The Beatles and as one of the most beloved solo artists of all time. He is sorely missed for his down to Earth political views and dedication to peace on planet Earth with his relentless stance that continued up to his unfortunate assassination in 1980. COLLAGE may have made a strategic faux pas as far as furthering their career with NINE SONGS OF JOHN LENNON but given the careful dedication paid during the renditions carried out on this album it's easy to give it a pass as nothing more than a bad business move. The tracks are actually more creative covers than 90% of similar albums out there and to my surprise the mix of neo-prog and psychedelic space rock in the vein of Pink Floyd coupled with classic John Lennon songs turns out to be not as horrible as my imagine led me to believe. Not essential by any means but this honestly is a what i'd call a very good album. I'm utterly shocked that i like this to the extent i do!

While the lion's share of second wave prog emerging in the 1980s at least in terms of popularity existed in the United Kingdom with bands like Twelfth Night, Marillion, IQ, Pallas and Pendragon leading the way, it's astonishing that many other nations were following suit simultaneously with bands like Scarab emerging from Finland, Arkus from the Netherlands, Sirius from Germany and bands like Osiris emerging in the most unlikely of places, Bahrain. While still basically locked behind the influence of the U.S.S.R. in the 1980s, Poland too got in on the act with the Warsaw based COLLAGE emerging as not only one of the first bands but also one of the nation's most popular.

COLLAGE formed as far back as 1984 but would take several years to release demos and develop their sound sufficiently to compete on the world's stage with the established bands of the fledgling neo-prog subgenre. While the band underwent many lineup changes over the years, the 80s saw its share of members come and go with only guitarist Mirosław Gil and drummer Wojciech Szadkowski leading the way to the next chapter. Cementing a lead singer was the most problematic and after a short stint with Jarosław Wajk (who would later rejoin briefly), the band settled on the lively vocalist Tomek Rozycki who only appeared on the band's 1990 debut album BAŚNIE (Polish for 'Fairy Tales') before being briefly replaced by Zbigniew Bieniak, again by Wajk and then ultimately by the band's longest running vocalist Robert Amirian.

The band's debut came out in 1990 and became a huge hit in not only its native Poland but also surprisingly abroad despite all the lyrics of the eight tracks that spanned a playing time of just over 45 minutes being entirely delivered in the Polish language. The album spawned many radio hits in Poland including "Ja i ty", "Kołysanka" and 'Rozmowa" and two years later would find a secondary home on the Italian label Subteranea Records. At this stage the band also featured Przemek Zawadzki who played bass as well as all keyboards. The album may have been the anomaly in the band's overall career but was successful in allowing the band to gain almost instant national success that spilled over into the rest of Europe despite existing essentially behind what the West deemed as the Iron Curtain of communism.

While essentially a predictable neo-prog album inspired by the usual Genesis tricks of heavily synthesized atmospheres and Steve Hackett style guitar sweeps, COLLAGE also had a first wave of British neo-prog to offer hints of inspiration including the imitable Fish and his fist rendition of Marilion as well as the less theatrical bands such as IQ and Pendragon. While perhaps not the most original specimen of early neo-prog, BAŚNIE made up for it with a true sense of enthusiasm and an adventurous energetic approach that offered heavy bass grooves and beautiful motifs that shifted moods and offered a stellar display of instrumental interplay which allowed the band to become popular as a live act. With diverse tracks that crafted varying tempos, chord changes and of course addictive melodies, COLLAGE proved to be a cut above the competition from the very beginning and even though Tomasz R'życki would only appear on this sole release, his vocals showcase a sense of maturity and extremely compatible stylistic approach for the keyboard-drenched neo-prog style that COLLAGE was undertaking.

COLLAGE would achieve greater artistic kudos for its well-regarded 'Moonshine' and even more recently its comeback album 'Over And Out' which found the band return some three decades after its debut but BAŚNIE was instrumental in launching the band into the limelight at an early stage and garnered fantastic reviews in its own right. Perhaps the band plays it a little too safe and hadn't quite latched onto its own distinct sound but despite not going too far out on a limb exuded a confidence and energetic delivery that proved to be enough to overcome any comparisons to other bands that preceded. Overall i wouldn't call this the band's creative peak in any way, shape or form but this debut is certainly a very competent first offering that rightfully put the band on the map and propelled COLLAGE to the ranks of one of Poland's top progressive acts of the modern age, which is quite the undertaking in its own right. It's extremely well done and really is an early Polish classic of prog.

I have most if not all of the Collage slash Satellite albums but I think this is the best. This is coming from an independent person who is not working for a magazine and whose opinions are his own. All of their albums are perfect prog, melodic, and have sort of a natural flow; this work steps it up a notch. I'm going out tonight (Saturday) to meet friends and I'm bringing a pair of earbuds with me so I can listen to Collage in the Uber (God help me I would never want to drink and drive, would I?). So, check the album out. It's worth it.

Though the gap in releases by these Polish legends has just been reset after 26 years, one could be forgiven for not missing them all that much since their legacy, mostly engraved by the classic MOONSHINE from 1994, has been lovingly maintained in the interim by the likes of SATELLITE, BELIEVE and MR GIL. While their influence from early MARILLION has always dogged them, this formidable family of bands with interlocking members connects with me to a much greater extent, and with this comeback COLLAGE pay homage to their younger selves in their various guises, while grafting influences from bands like ALBION and MILLENIUM who might not have existed without COLLAGE in the first place. With 3 of the 5 previous members and a guitarist who could easily slot in next to the great Mirek Gil, not to mention the ever astounding leader and drummer Wojtek Szadkowski, this can't miss scenario absolutely delivers.

The album opens with the longest track in Szadowski's canon, the ambitious and suitably dramatic title cut with many phases of keys, guitars both acoustic and electric, and emotive vocals by newcomer Bartosz Kossowicz, who recalls the Robert Amirian days but with his own fresh personality. With a start like this, where can one go but down? Yet somehow "What about the Pain" is even better, recalling the best of the MOONSHINE album, and "One Empty Hand", beginning like one of MR GIL's soft ballads, evolves into a monster epic in their best traditions. "A Moment a Feeling" is only slightly below this level, not quite as engrossing and cohesive, but "Man in the MIddle" is truly the weak link, Steve Rothery's contributions notwithstanding, It's plodding and low energy, but maybe it's there to gain some MARILLION fans?

Does this spell the start of a new era for COLLAGE or is it a one off? Regardless, "Over and Out" proves that COLLAGE and its branches are neither. Sooo happy!

Like the successor group Satellite, Collage's music just flows sort of naturally from beginning to end in a super pleasant fashion, with a few standouts like the song "Living in the Moonlight." All fans of progressive music should obtain a copy. The balance of vocals to instrumentation is also excellent. An interesting note: the last piece, "The War is Over" is the ultimate irony. That I suppose was the 1990s; the Iron Curtain had just fallen - a cause for celebration. How times have changed in 2023...a skip and a hop away in neighboring Ukraine the Authority has now restarted its effort to subjugate mankind!

I am pretty sure that if you asked the average proghead who is the best band in Poland, even though there are a great many vying for attention, the answer would be Riverside. Now, that is understandable given the quality of their albums, especially the early ones, but what many will not know is that in 2003, the year Riverside released their debut, the band Collage called it a day. At that point they had not released an album since 1996, and one of their four releases had actually been a covers album (their take on songs by John Lennon), but the two either side of that, 'Baśnie' and 'Moonshine' are masterpieces. Fortunately for me I was/am close friends with Artur Chachlowski who furnished me with the albums, and I was blown away and was really upset when they broke up as they still had yet to be recognised for their true worth.

Apparently Collage reformed in 2013, and now only nine years later they produced their fifth album, just 26 years on from the last one. Krzysztof Palczewski (synthesizers), Piotr Mintay Witkowski (bass) and Wojtek Szadkowski (drums & percussion) are still there, while vocals are now handled by Bartosz Kossowicz with Michał Kirmuć on electric & acoustic guitars. It is somewhat strange to see Collage without Mirek Gil, but they had been through a few different singers. Mirek may not be there anymore, but in some ways, it is as if they have never been away. They were always influenced by classic Marillion-style neo prog, and I had to smile when I realised Steve Hogarth has guested on one track, giving the full stamp of approval.

This is an album designed to make neo proggers incredibly happy, five songs, total running time of just under an hour with a couple of nice lengthy numbers including the opening title cut which is more than 20 minutes long. I am sure there are many who will say this is looking backwards instead of forwards, but I am actually quite happy with that ? the underground scene of the 90's when it was difficult to discover anything about the genre was very special in some ways, and it was this which meant that Collage never gained the acclaim they deserved. Well, they are back, and hopefully this album will find them gain many new fans who will also then look back at their earlier albums and wonder why they never came across them before this. Welcome back guys don't leave it so long until the next one.

Website info."More than a quarter of a century after the release of the last album Warsaw Collage returns with the long-awaited new album, entitled Over And Out. The album will have its premiere at the beginning of December, but the history of this album dates back to 2013, when, after a long break in their activity, the musicians of Collage decided to return to activity. Already before returning to the stage, the musicians of Collage and the vocalist Robert Amirian parted ways, he was replaced by Karol Wróblewski, and then by Bartek Kossowicz, known from other Polish band Quidam. In 2015, the decision to part was made by one of the group's founders, Mirek Gil. Michał Kirmuć took his place. From that moment a new chapter in the history of Collage began, the result of which is the album Over And Out."

My first musical encounter with Polish Neo-prog band Collage (founded in 1985, disbanded in 2003 and reformed in 2013) was in the early Nineties, after reading a very positive review about their first album entitled Basnie in the French progrock magazine Harmonie. I bought the album and was very pleased about it, due to the obvious Marillion hints, and the emotional native vocals. Now, more than 30 years later I get their new album to review, studio-album #5 and the guest musician is ... Steve Rothery, from Marillion, full circle!

During my first listening session I got more and more excited, this is Neo-prog Heaven, obviously inspired by early Marillion, the sound reminds me of the debut album Basnie. But to me it doesn't sound derivative, because Collage delivers lots of own musical ideas and surprising breaks. This is embellished with wonderful work on keyboards and guitar, fuelled by a powerful rhythm-section, and topped with strong and emotional English vocals. The five compositions are melodic, harmonic, elaborate and tastefully arranged with flowing shifting moods, and succeeded to keep my attention during the entire album.

What About The Pain (A family album) (8:36) alternates between slow rhythm and bombastic eruptions featuring moving work on guitar and a great keyboard sound, from orchestral to a spectacular fat synthesizer solo, wow.

One Empty Hand (5:03) delivers dreamy piano and tender vocals, then a lush and powerful sound and finally back to dreamy, culminating in a howling guitar solo.

A Moment A Feeling (13:22) : This is the most dynamic track. From a mellow intro with tender vocals and soaring keyboards to bombastic eruption with exciting guitar, lush keyboards and propulsive drums. From a slow rhythm with emotional vocals in bombastic atmosphere to a compelling climate wit orchestral keyboards and strong vocals. Halfway a moving guitar solo, backed by an excellent rhythm-section (with powerful bass), this is top notch Neo-prog!

Man In The Middle (9:10) starts with tender piano and emotional, Fish-like vocals, but with the focus on exciting guitar work by guest musician Steve Rothery, he sounds very moving and compelling. Finally tender piano and vocals.

My highlight is the epic first composition Over And Out (21:50). The intro is surprising with spacey sounds and sequencing, in the vein of early Jean-Michel Jarre, wonderful. After softly spoken words the music turns into 24-carat Neo-prog, again with strong hints from early Marillion. The sound in the first part is between mellow with dreamy piano and vocals and bombastic with orchestral keyboards, synthesizer flights, howling guitar and emotional vocals. In the second part the music turns from tender piano and vocals gradually into more lush and powerful, with sparkling piano and moving guitar work, culminating in a sumptuous end featuring expressive vocals and an ominous climate, very dramatic, like a rock opera, how exciting!

Incredible how this Polish band has matured during the years, I am very impressed, highly recommended!

Collage is a Prog band from Poland that made their name in the 1990's, putting out 4 albums between 1990 and 1995, including the classic Moonshine (1994), and establishing themselves as Poland's answer to Marillion, showing a somewhat similar sound and style (as well as the influences of the bands that shaped Marillion, such as Genesis, Yes, Rush, etc.), but then split, with band members going their separate ways. But now they are back again, with a new vocalist and guitarist, and the rest being from the original lineup, and this new album, Over and Out. And wow, they have not lost anything in those intervening years, as this is a top-notch album of Neo Prog riches. Yes, their sound is still heavily reminiscent of Marillion from the Fish era (they even have Marillion's Steve Rothery as a guest soloist on one track), but in the very best way, as the album is full of that lush, majestic sound, provocative themes, emotive vocals, great melodic lines, and exhilarating instrumental passages with soaring guitar and swirling keyboards. Yes, it may be similar in style to what we've heard before, but they have polished and refined the style (and added some new elements) to reach new heights and provide an album that still seems fresh amidst the current Prog scene (and for my money I'll take this over the current version of Marillion all day long). The album consists of 5 songs, with all but one being at least 8 min long, and all are very good to great. Highlights include the 20-min epic title track, quite a masterpiece of sound and style going through a range of creative musical segments, as well as What About the Pain? and Man in the Middle. A very welcome return for Collage, and an album that would have ranked among the best of 2022 (if I had heard it in 2022). Best Tracks: Over and Out, A Moment A Feeling, What About the Pain, Man in the Middle. Weak Tracks: none. Rating: 4 stars