BAśNIE

Few, indeed very few neo-prog debut albums can presume of being this powerful in terms of performances and arrangements as "Basnie" is - Collage took everyone by surprise in a definite manner, not unlike their fellow country bands Abraxas and Quidam. This was their only Polish-language album, since they would turn into the English-language resource afterwards; also, this album is not performed by the band's classic line-up... but it's really beautiful, energetic, full of abundantly inspired musical ideas. The opener 'Jeszcze jeden dzien' displays a clever combination of complexity and catchiness driven on a 7/8 tempo; the immediate follower 'Ja i ty' keeps up the momentum on a 5/4-11/8 pace, even enhancing the melodic drive and rock impetus, with the inclusion of unhidden folkish undertones. The main phrases delivered by the guitar and the synth are strongly sustained on a compact rhythm duo, while the singer shows total confidence. With these first two tracks we know that what we have here is a band that follows a big deal of standardized neo patterns, yet with a peculiar voice. You can also rest assured that their musical vision is mature - no matter how good things will be in the remaining tracklist (and they are good), these first two tracks will leave a permanente mark on the listener's mind. Anyway, let's move on for thsi review. Things slow down and slide into the realms of melancholy with 'Kolysanka', a refined ballad that brings back the heritage of Fish-era Marillion an classic Pendragon (plus, perhaps, some Genesis circa "Wind & Wuthering"). The 10 minute namesake piece finds the band going steadily toward the exploration of its most epic facet, a hint of things to come in their future master opus "Moonshine" (not to elaborate here, since that's a matter for another review). In 'Basnie' there is a predominance of colorful ambiences (once again, ornamentes with folkish textures), alternating with some mysterious passages that set up te hcourse for the arrival of a somewhat dense climax (something like Pendragon-meets-Gilmour era PF). The album's second half gets started with 'Dalej, Dalej', arguably the song in which Collage bears a more obedient attitude toward the standards of neo-prog: the mesmeric keyboard layers and orchestrations that feed the trend for Gil's guitar leads are a special feature of this song. The structure of 'Stare sciezki' feels closer to melodic pop-rock with symphonic tendencies: it starts very soft, and after the second minute, things get a bit more powerful, but the overall poppish feel remains. I personally find it less appealing than any of the previous tracks, but its well constructed melodic lines and its use of suave folkish colors crucially help it to find a coherent home in the album. Finally, 'Fragmenty' and 'Rozmowa' recapitulate the epic spirit of 'Basnie' and the dynamics of tracks 1-2 with a good dose of electrifying energy and captivating melodies. This means that the repertoire, as a whole, keeps a clear focus on coherence and consistency. Interaction between guitar and synth during leads and main harmonic bases; the solid drive of Szadkowski's drumming during both the complex and simpler patterns - these are, IMHO, the strongest suits of Collage, and it shows in "Basnie". Someone before me statewd that this albums is regrettably too short, during only 45 minutes. He is right! It wouldn't have hurt if a couple of tracks had been a bit more expanded, but all in all, nothing's missing here. Like I said at the beginning of this review, this is a hell of a debut album, and the more I think about it, the more I miss this band for what it was and what it meant.