PESNIARY II

Pesniary are really from Belarus, not Russia. Pesniary II is not progressive at all, but pretty well proto-prog/folk-rock/pop-psychedelic album with hard/roots-rock elements. Tracks 2, 4, 9 & 10 is adaptations of belarus folk songs, and all songs performing with solid rockish drive. Hard to find any comparison. Original LP does not included line-up, but among traditional rock instuments (electric guitar, sometime with dirty fuzz sound & wah-wah, organ, bass & drums) there are violin, flute (both had some short, but effective solos), maybe some belarus national instuments & - sic! - many complex vocal harmonies - 5-6-voice vocal parts! Sound is wild and sometimes rough, reminds me some hard-psych american bands from late 1960-es. Good album, imho, a little weaker, than the first LP.

Note: Four first Pesniary LP were identified on name of the group, without numbers (as Peter Gabriel's four first ones), numbers usually added to avoid mistakes. Pesniary II were never officially re-released on CD.