A BENEFIT OF RADIM HLADÍK [AKA: MODRÝ EFEKT & RADIM HLADÍK]

M. Efekt was now under the leadership of guitarist Radim Hladík but their earlier collaborations with Jazz Q led to their imploy of Jazz Q's founding members Martin Kratochvil and Jiří Stivín for supplemental keyboard (Fender Rhodes) and flute and alto sax, respectively.

1. "Shoes (Boty)" (9:57) borrowing a profusion of themes from bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Derek And The Dominoes, George Harrison, Tangerine Dream, Can, and Nektar, M. Efekt's obvious effort to please their crowd of listeners with such a series of appropriated mock-ups reminds me of the scene in Philip Kaufman's 1989 film adaptation of Milan Kundera's international best-seller, The Unbearable Lightness of Being in which Tomaz and Tereza are in a bar with their friends while a local rock band plays "edgy" rock music and especially their risky in-the-face-of- authority Czech rendering of The Beatles "Let It Be"--only these guys are more talented, versatile, and infinitely more creative than that band. The alternate version of David Gilmour's "Great Gig in the Sky"--with Jiří Stivín's wonderful flute play--is my favorite motif explored in the suite. (17.75/20)

2. "Tea-Room (Čajovna)" (4:01) nice, fully expanded power blues-rock trio music in which Radim Hladík occupies not one, not two, not three, but four tracks for his various electric guitar riffs, sounds, and fills. Interesting and entertaining even if it feels more like a vehicle created explicitly for Radim's study of a particular form and melody. (8.875/10)

3. "Jigsaw Puzzle (Skládanka)" (5:49) Jazz Q flutist Jiří Stivín is quite prominent on this composition: using a near Thijs van Leer style. As a matter of fact, the whole song bears a remarkable similarity to both FOCUS and YES songs and stylings--as if the two have been merged together. Add the crazed wordless "speaking in tongues" vocals in third minute followed by some rapid-speed electric guitar soloing (though by no means in the same league as Jan Akkerman or Steve Howe) and you've completed the checklist for Focus Clone. I might give this higher marks were the rhythm track not so chaffingly irritating. (8.875/10) 4. "Lost-And-Found (Ztráty a nálezy)" (5:12) delicately picked acoustic guitars, swelling percussion, flute, and organ start this one off until the band falls into the groove of a blues-rock song in order to offer up a spacious, womb-like place of supportive bluesy-rock drum, bass, and acoustic rhythm guitars for Radim to take an extended solo, expressing himself as if he were channeling or Eric Clapton, while Josef Kůstka dances with him on his electric violin. At 1:45 the band falls into a nice PROCOL HARUM "Whiter Shade of Pale" groove that supports an emotion-laden echo- and-reverbed electric guitar solo from Radim (the Clapton style still dominating his expression). This continues to the song's final minute when the band is (rough) cut back to the acoustic guitar strumming with squealing guitar and violin motif of the opening minute. (8.875/10) 5. "Hypertension (Hypertenze)" (12:30) Jimmy Page. Jimi Hendrix. Jan Akkerman. Eric Clapton. These are some of the guitarists and guitar styles I hear when listening to the fiery noodling of Radim during the opening two minutes of this. Martin Kratochvíl gets the next spotlight before Radim and Jiří Stivín on alto sax begin a section in which they trade off ten-second outbursts in a three-way duel, each shifting from a variety of sound effects for their respective instruments with each and every turn while the bass, drums, and rhythm guitars pulse and sway with a wildly-pulsating rhythm track that reminds me of that which will be TALKING HEADS' foundation for their classic African-based songs from Side One--especially "Crosseyed and Painless" and "The Great Curve." The crazy, cat-yawling solo opposite Radim's excellent rhythm guitar work could be either a synthesizer, a heavily-treated violin (or electric guitar), or even, perhaps, a crazily-treated saxophone, I don't know which, but it's effective as hell! The music slows down in the first half of the sixth minute as Radim takes up several tracks as he solos variations on a single riffs back and forth between his own guitars with Martin, Josef, and Vldo holding space for him from beneath. In the eighth minute Radim's volume pedaled guitar notes slowly back off as bassist Josef Kůstka is given solo support from Martin and Vlado Then, at the very end of the tenth minute, we come out of that section with some heavy riffing and "distant" space-synth portamento in the background. Radim shreds and rages until a choir of wordless vocalese steps in to establish a melody line that will take us out. Though Radim is there, it is Jiří's alto sax that is given the main spotlight here and he simply tears it up--even emerging on a second (and/or third?) track toward the very end--as the vocalese- supported main theme plays on till the very end. The very cool elements of this song far outweigh its defects. (23/25)

Total Time 37:29

While I appreciate the talent and creative appropriation and synthesis involved in the making of this album, I do not particularly like my J-R Fusion or Prog Rock to be founded in blues structures nor blues-rock sound. Also, for as talented as Radim is as a guitarist, he seems to be "stuck" within a set number of sounds and styles--most of which are not among those I favor or particularly enjoy.

B/four stars; an ingeniously-crafted collection of songs representing several blues-rock styles found in the music of the early progressive rock artists and musicians.

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