SBB – SBB-1 (1974)

01 I need You baby
02 Odlot
03 Wizje
04 Zostalo we mnie					play
05 Obraz po bitwie
06 Figo-fago

Line-up
- Apostolis Antymos / electric guitar
- Jerzy Piotrowski / drums
- Jozef Skrzek / bass, piano, Moog, vocals

SBB's first recording and it's Live!. They just burst into the music scene with a stunning performance. Previously I've only heard a couple of bluesy tunes from them on radio while visiting Poland where they come from. This album is rather different.

The first song is a short, harmless and casual introduction with a bit of singing and fooling around jazzy runs on the keyboard. I choose to skip it every time, but... 2. is like a runaway train. They just explode without warning! Spirited improvisations, soaring moog and guitar solos, heavy riffs transport you into Prog Nirvana for nearly 15 mins. 3. starts with a heavily distorted guitar solo by Apostolys that invites memories of Hendrix, followed by a vocal/keyboard interlude before another extended guitar, moog interplay takes your breath away again. This track is over 18 mins. The improvised sections are reminiscent of the Mahavishnu, Brand X like stretching where the instruments answer to one-another. The moog is tortured hard in order to keep pace with other performers on better equipment A bit of Emerson like play, very satisfying. Jozef Skrzek the leader, sings,plays bass, keyboard, also credible harmonica. Observing them live on many occassions he plays the bass with one hand, while the moog is attended to with the other! The recording quality of course not that great and one is compelled to improve upon with the use of a graphic equalizer. Still, a great performance even without the bonus tracks.

Bonus Tracks. No.4 (on the CD) is a poem in Polish with very little sound in the backgroud. I skip this too. 5 though is a favourite. A heavy, swirling yet laid back riff on bass and drums provides the vehicle for Apostolys to engage in something that I could only describe as a "circular" way of playing the guitar. He is an incredibly talented musician and here he just floors me! (I don't understand why this wasn't part of the original LP release, this tune alone is worth having it.) A rather unique, heavily distorted bass solo with much angst completes this 18 min run. 6. is just for fun, a medley-like boogie with some spirited solos doesn't seem to fit the rest of the music, but it's enjoyable adding another 13 mins. Check it out, it's worth it.

download (mp3 @256 kbs):

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