CINEMATIC

I have a soft spot for dreamy cinematographic instrumental prog as I find myself often explaining prog to the uninitiated as 'soundtrack music for a movie in your mind' , which often causes people to look at me like if I was Ziggy from Mars! Oh well! I had my beloved Odyssice resting comfortably as my top instrumental band and I happened to read some Lebowski reviews (thanks avestin and Andyman 1125!) that ignite a furious desire to get my hands on this jewel. Perhaps now that I have Lebowski in my rotation, I can propose a self- explanatory CD to my misguided friends. Damn, is this good stuff, the recording you crave for everytime you take a plunge into unknown proggy waters! As the title suggests, the music on Cinematic is an assemblage of film snippets, mostly from the legendary Polish school of cinema, adorned with shimmering musical props supplied by a cast of brilliant instrumentalists who hone their precious sonic craft with seeming ease and utter respect. The various moods here are indescribably stellar, propelled by muscular bass and drum montages that clear the stage for some sensitive keyboard flourishes and biting lead guitar work. From the galleries, blasts of illuminating subtlety infuse the medley of sound to chilling effect (dulcimer, violin, female vocals etc'). Lastly, the spoken words add even more drama to the whole production. But contrary to many movie soundtracks, the music here is extremely dynamic and exalting, constantly creative and from the gut, mostly in due part to the bold drumming from Krzysztof Pakula and the expert Marek Zak bass lines holding down the melodies, encouraging simple melodic forays generally led by the exquisite piano and then passed onto the rambunctious lead guitar of Marcin Grzegorczyk. Keyboard master Marcin Luczaj has a wide palette to play with and he does not hesitate to display his extensive talents. As with any great movie, there are no individual scenes that grab one's attention, but rather a cinematic wholeness that needs no editing or improvement. That being said, I found myself mesmerized by '137 sec' and its trance-like vocals, the cool dryness of 'Iceland', the foggy suspense of 'Old British Spy Movie', the sand swept mystery of ' Trip to Doha' and the French worded 'Encore' with the rippling fret effects (and solo that will make one cringe) . 'Aperitif for Breakfast' is adorned with a guitar blast that will knock you sideways, a massive jolt of utter beauty you swear you have heard somewhere before (but you haven't!), the sensual piano intervening with poignancy and despair. 'Spiritual Machine' is densely shot from a discreet angle, a modernistic dirge spliced with incredible editing, evolving into a different scene with its exploding guitar rampage. 'The Storyteller' is more ambient and veers nearly into Lunatic Soul territory (from fellow Pole Mariusz Duda) but morphs into a spirited spooky blowout. Amazing! 'Human Error' is the final coup de grace, a climax scene where the synths swerve then twirl and English cinema snippets embellish a wild lead guitar foray that then invites a main theme that soars and shines ever so brightly. A rolling bass solo does me in. Truly mesmerizing!

This is one hell of a masterpiece that deserves attention and heady applause My kind of prog, I could listen to this for days on end. Not a weak second anywhere on this disc, a perfect balance of soft and hard, gentle and painful, delivered in perfect Panavision! Screw the rip-off popcorn and the gallon-sized paper pop, give me the re-run please.

5 utterly polished lenses