OMEGA RED STAR: FROM HUNGARY

OMEGA has been and remains the most successful Hungarian band in all of rock history having formed all the way back in 1962 in Budapest and still going strong. Sadly singer János Kóbor remained with the band since the beginning has passed away in 2021 and keyboardist/singer László Benkő who also co-founded the band only recently passed away in 2020 but officially this band is still together and will probably go the route of Gong and Yes without its core members. It cannot be understated how much of a cultural icon OMEGA has been for the Hungarian nation since the band flourished despite battling the social, economic and political forces that were stacked against rock music much less bands that were progressive.

The band floundered around in its early years mostly covering British rock songs but with the addition of organist / flautist / vocalist Gábor Presser in 1967, the band benefited greatly from his seasoned talent in the genres of rock, jazz and folk songwriting. It didn't take long at all for OMEGA's reputation as a live band to leak out of Hungary and in 1968 they were invited to England to record this debut album OMEGA RED STAR: FROM HUNGARY which was released in English on Decca Records. The band didn't abandon its Hungarian roots though and all throughout its career released albums in both English and Hungarian. Although more famous as a progressive rock band, in these early years OMEGA engaged in the typical psychedelic rock that was taking over the world although even at this early stage some proggy moments were developing such as the extended organ solo on "Holnap."

The typical vinyl album's running time of nearly 37 minutes, OMEGA RED STAR FROM HUNGARY could've been any old British psych band with its ability to adopt all the attributes of the Western musical paradigm. What OMEGA brought to the table was the occasional use of Hungarian folk music in the mix. At this stage OMEGA's sound was beyond the average psych rock band with not only the use of guitars, bass, drums and keyboards but also incorporated flutes, trumpet and the citera, a strange looking Hungarian stringed instrument. The band spent 1968 touring England and although the titles of the songs are in the band's native Hungarian, the lyrics were sung in English. This exotic edge was exactly what OMEGA needed to get them noticed in the sea of excellent British rock that was taking over the world in the 1960s.

Sounding something like a mix of The Beatles, The Doors and Traffic, early OMEGA ticked off all the British psych boxes with strong melodic and catchy pop hooks. Heavy use of dramatic organ sounds, a Kinks-like use of rhythm along with the psychedelic pop sensibilities of early Pink Floyd. The band stood out for its liberal use of flute (long before UK bands like Jethro Tull existed) and mix of Hungarian folk musical scales as well as what sounds like Communist Party propaganda musical form. Given the censorship and iron fist control of music behind the former Iron Curtain and its satellite affiliates, OMEGA was more subversive than a Western band in conveying its opposition to the system it found itself controlled by.

OMEGA is primarily known for its 10 album run of progressive rock albums that started in 1971 when Presser left the band and took his folk and jazz style with him however it's well worth going back to these early years to explore the band's origins. While not some long lost masterpiece, it's fascinating to hear how a band from communist Hungary swam upstream against all odds to become an international sensation in these early years. OMEGA may not have been the next Beatles but the band was quite competent at crafting instantly catchy tunes that perfectly evoke the era of the tumultuous late 1960s from a part of the world most of the era were rather unaware of. While not an essential listening experience by any means, OMEGA RED HISTORY: FROM HUNGARY is a interesting slice of Eastern European history that propelled the band into the international stars they would soon become.