CIEN WIELKIEJ GÓRY

One of the most successful bands in Polish history, BUDKA SUFLERA ( means Prompter's Box in Polish ) started in 1969 in the eastern city of Lublin formed as a cover band that played Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Led Zeppelin. The original lineup was Krzysztof Cugowski (vocals), Krzysztof Brozi (lead guitar), Janusz Pędzisz (bass guitar) and Jacek Grün (drums) but soon changed its name to BUDKA SUFLERA and spent the next few years undergoing many lineup changes which by the time the band's debut album was recorded in 1974 was Krzysztof Cugowski (vocals), Romuald Lipko (bass), Tomasz Zeliszewski (drums) and Andrzej Ziółkowski (guitar).

The band found instant success with the track "Cień Wielkiej Góry," ( The Shadow of the Big Mountain ) in 1974 and quickly recorded an album with the same title to follow in its wake. Released in 1975 BUDKA SULFLERA had the unique opportunity of people lining up for its release and all 60,000 copies pressed sold out in one day. Unfortunately the nascent Polish music industry didn't think bout repressing the album and it quickly became a highly desirable and expensive album to acquire. It is estimated that the album would have sold up to a half million albums had the Polskie Nagrania Muza label had entertained the idea of simply pressing more! Guest musicians Marek Stefankiewicz on the organ as well as the Alibabki vocal group joined in for the album as well.

The title track was one of the band's biggest hits and inspired by the tragic death of two Polish mountaineers, Zbigniew Stepek and Andrzej Grzązek who died in an avalanche while climbing in the Himalayas in 1973. The album also got a boost from the guest appearance of Czesław Niemen who played the moog synthesizer, a novelty that most Poles were still unfamiliar with. The album featured five tracks, four on Side A which featured semi-proggy rock tracks with a touch of heavier rock at times however the prog creds were on the lighter side of the equation. The tracks move through various styles ranging from classic 70s rock to heavy psych, folky interludes and a touch of local Polish flavors. All lyrics were performed in the Polish language.

The band saved the more complex features for the side B sole track "Szalony kón" which featured an extended 19 minute and 25 second adventure through various moods and textures. The side long track also features some of the most progressive workouts. The sprawling track showed Polish prog in its nascency, a good six years behind the curve of its Western counterparts but still showcased a lengthy jam session that allowed Nieman to let loose on the moog. The track also allowed some standout drumming solos as well as some impressive time signature deviations that firmly placed BUDKA SUFLERA in the prog camp. The track really succeeds in wending and winding through various transitions with instrumental workouts providing the intermissions to move on to various vocal oriented segments.

While somewhat dated for 1975, it's understandable that the communist block was not able to absorb the sheer quantity of prog rock that was easily available in the West and therefore we can't hold these bands to the same timeline really. Personally i think this is an excellent album as all the tracks are exquisitely designed and brilliantly performed. I really love Cugowski's passionate vocal style and his range. The melodies are instantly addictive while the complexities take it all to the next level. It's no wonder this band was so popular in Poland. This was probably some of the best music to exist in that nation in the 1970s along with SBB of course. A brilliant debut that would find the band disbanding soon after but quickly reforming. Newer remastered versions feature bonus tracks but none are as brilliant as the original five tracks from 1975. Sure it would help if you understand Polish but the music speaks the most to me here.