MUZ BEZ USÍ

This is by far the most disjointed and raw of the Plastic People albums, or at least of the ones I’ve heard. ‘Muž bez uší’ (‘Man with no ears’ or something close to that) is a compilation of sorts, although I’m not clear on its exact history. The only version available that I’m aware of is the late 90’s Globus CD release, although this is actually a collection of the band’s earliest work from the late 60’s to around 1972 when they became personae non gratis with the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. This album includes a few of the tracks the band recorded with Canadian Paul Wilson who was unceremoniously escorted from the country in 1977, reportedly because of his involvement with the band.

The tracks here are very uneven, with even the best only approaching garage punk-band cassette recording quality and the worst being nothing more than snippets that appear to have been recorded on cheap cassette players or archaic four-track equipment. Most of these are also live as well, since the band never really had access to anything resembling a studio in those days.

The musical range is quite striking as well, ranging from proto-punk (title track and “The Universe Symphony and Melody about Plastic Doctor”) to psych folk (“The Sun”, “The Fairy Queen”) to what almost sounds like a pub dirge (“Fuddle Duddle Osh Kosh”). The band was clearly in their salad days, experimenting and missing at least as often as they hit on something innovative. A few of the tracks feature English lyrics thanks to the tutelage of Mr. Wilson, but frankly it’s hard to discern the actual words and the only liner notes are in Czech, so their meaning is lost on many listeners. Some of the titles give a clue, particularly the Wilson- penned “Rosie Rottencrotch” and the very hazy and trippy “Indian Hay”.

This is actually a far cry from the band that would move through Velvet Underground and Zappa territory and eventually to a rather unique ethnic jazz sound by the nineties. But this is a great snapshot of the Plastic People when they were just a fledgling and defiant hippy band, and just before they became a national icon for the spirit of protest in the Soviet-controlled east Bloc. And for that reason this is a pretty important piece of musical history.

The recording quality and obscurity of the band keep this from reaching essential territory, and compared to some of the band’s later work this is not even essential Plastic People music. But it is a very interesting album to listen to, especially to hear a number of varied sounds that would eventually be heard from much more prominent bands during the very early seventies, and even much later with the emergence of punk. This is not punk music by any stretch, but it’s amazing to hear a bunch of rather angry young men from Prague in 1969 sound an awful lot like a bunch of angry young men in London and New York in 1977. Three stars at least.

peace