Niemen - Strange Is This World (1972)

1.    "Strange Is This World" – 6:05
2.    "Why Did You Stop Loving Me" – 12:05
3.    "I've Been Loving You Too Long" – 4:13
4.    "A Song For The Deceased" – 13:18

Musicians:
Czeslaw Niemen – organ, vocals
Jozef Skrzek – piano, e-bass, harmonica, organ
Helmut Nadolski – double-bass, cymbals
Antymos Apostolis – guitar
Jurek Piotrowski – drums

Polish singer / keyboardist / composer / lyricist / poet Czeslaw Niemen was one of the greatest musical geniuses to come out of Eastern Europe. His extraordinary life and personality has been already a subject of several books, but much more will be written about him in the future, especially since he’s sadly no longer with us. Niemen and his music served as a lighthouse to generations of East European musicians, who had limited access to music recorded and released in the Western world. His prophetic vision and out-of-this-world talent enabled him to create a whole universe of music, which was so powerful, pioneering and light-years ahead of its time, that it single-handedly educated whole generations of musicians, who studied, copied and learned from the Master. With the release of his debut album in 1967 (entitled “Dziwny Jest Ten Swiat”, or “Strange Is This World” in Polish), Niemen was instantly crowned as the absolute monarch of Eastern European Rock, and his subsequent releases, which documented his faster-then-light development, were all absolute musical marvels, cherished and adored by fans and musical peers alike. Following his stellar career in Poland, Niemen tried to build up a career in the West. He moved to Italy, where he performed and released several singles, but his music was obviously way too advanced for the popular market. He did manage however to get signed by CBS Europe, with a contract to record 4 albums. The first 3 of these albums were recorded in Germany and the last in the US. This is the first of these albums and presents Niemen at his absolute best in every respect. With enough material written over the years for his Polish releases, Niemen selected just four of his most notable compositions, rearranging them musically and spiritually for the (then) present, including the translation of the lyrics into English and expanding the framework of the songs dramatically.

The phenomenal quintet that recorded this music includes Niemen on vocals and organ, Józef Skrzek on keyboards and electric bass, Helmut Nadolski (a visionary Polish avant-garde musician) on acoustic bass, Antymos Apostolis (as the name suggests a Greek born Polish resident) on guitar and the extremely talented young drummer Jurek Piotrowski. People, who are somewhat familiar with the Polish scene, might know that Skrzek, Apostolis and Piotrowski were about to form SBB, the greatest Polish Prog / Jazz-Rock group of the 1970s, soon after leaving Niemen’s group. The music on this album is majestic and sublime in every sense – dramatic vocals, superb instrumental work, beautiful melodies and complex arrangements, all coming together just perfectly. Nadolski inserts some incredible avant-garde bow work and Apostolis supplies some of the hottest guitar licks ever recorded. It is extremely difficult to categorize this music as far as genres are concerned, as it constantly shifts between Prog, Jazz-Rock and even Free Jazz. Niemen was simply beyond any one single musical category, producing total music, which is eternal and always stimulating. In retrospect this music remains 100 % valid and relevant today, with very few examples of anything done then and since to rival its brilliance. Of course only very few people beyond Poland ever heard about Niemen, but that is definitely their problem. Beyond essential! --- rateyourmusic.com

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