DIALOG S VESMÍREM

Late during the recordings of the ''Maugli'' album Sochor parted ways with the band, which found suitable replacements in the talents of Karel Horky (keyboards) and Milos Moravek (guitar).They were renamed instantly in Progres 2 and started working on an impressive sci-fi Rock Opera, as proposed by their manager Oskar Man, dealing with a man who wanted to escape from the materialistic society and find peace in an infinite universe.The first performance of this work took place in February 1978 at the Exhibition Theater of Brno and several concerts followed throughout their homecountry, resulting to a number of about 350 lives by 1980.Meanwhile the band was working on the studio edition of the album, during which Horky left to study at the Janacek Academy and some keyboard parts were played by Pavel Pelc.The album ''Dialog s vesmirem'' was eventually released in 1980 on the Panton label.

Despite being a quite long Prog Opera, the band decided to cut parts of the original version, because some of them were not found suitable for the studio edition.These were offered to the public through a few singles released around the same time.Regarding the original version, Progres 2 had definitely grown as a group, both lyrically and musically, and ''Dialog s vesmirem'' finds them exploring the territories of Space and Prog Rock, dominating the style with the use of string, minimoog and Yamaha synthesizers and adding the psychedelic elements of the past along with a bunch of Classical inspirations and heavier textures.They came close to bands like PINK FLOYD, SBB, ELOY and ex-Soviets HORIZONT, offering a devastating, intricate and adventurous combination of poetry, atmospheric soundscapes and complex arrangements.Their material was characterized by the mixture of edgy guitars and powerful synthesizers, breaking into cinematic images with floating keyboards and Classical touches and leading often to frenetic instrumentals with quirky synth moves and complicated guitar exercises.The atmosphere, as a result, ranges from bombastic and energetic themes to dynamic guitar sections and laid-back movements.There are multiple tempo changes and instrumental efficiency in here, complemented by echoes of the past, when the band was more towards conventional songwriting.But the overall performance is extremely artistic and professional with great ideas and compentent arrangements.

The whole ''Dialog s vesmirem'' opera had been reissued, including the tracks from the singles, offering an even better idea on the band's musical style.The early live execution of this piece of art has also been issued on a couple of eponymous releases.Whatever version you choose, this is some great Space/Psych/Prog in the vein of SBB and ELOY with impressive instrumental parts and poetic lyrics, no less than strongly recommended...3.5 stars.