FEATURED CD: Fermata - Dunajska Legenda

[Poisoned Youth]

4th album from these Eastern European symphonic fusionistas...



Review from Progarchives (mellotron storm)

If you can get your hands on any of FERMATA's first four albums don't even hesitate. This is probably the less favoured of the four but man is it ever good. As Sean Trane mentions, the theme running throughout the album is about the legends surrounding the Danube River.

"Wikina" is uptempo and jazzy with lots of keyboards.The guitar starts to light it up before 2 1/2 minutes then trades solos with the keyboards. "Chotemir" opens with intricate acoustic guitar then it stops as we get some atmosphere before a minute. Drums after 1 1/2 minutes then what sounds like violin a minute later. It then kicks in with some emotional guitar. So moving. I like the synths too. Orchestration 4 1/2 minutes in then it changes. A nice guitar/drum section ends it. "Witemir" opens with gentle guitar and we get some vocals too. Great sound here,i like the vocals too. It's so soothing and relaxing.

"Unzat" opens with keys as the sound builds. The guitar leads 2 minutes in. Nice bass too. "Trebiz" opens with piano before it settles down. Drums and bass come in as keyboards and synths continue. A change after 3 minutes. It's spacey after 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in. The drumming is great to end it. "Zilic" has this funky groove to it and vocals too. Cool tune. "Zuemin" starts off quietly but it's fuller a minute in with bass and drums out front.It ends in a spacey manner. "Kocel" sounds so good with those keyboards and guitar melodies to open. Drums come in softly as it builds. The guitar gets aggressive after 1 1/2 minutes and the bass becomes prominant. Synths after 4 minutes.

A very enjoyable album that has a few weak spots on the second half, but that's a minor complaint. A solid 4 stars.

[Progmatic]

The attraction of Fermata is that they play this melodic jazzrock that sounds at the times like progressive (symphonic) rock. They keyboards are amazing and they also have one of the best bass player (Fedor Freso) with impecible timing.

As suggested all first 4 Fermata albums are great, Huascaran is the best but Dunajska Legenda one is definetely worth your money.

[Scrotum Scissor]

The attraction of Fermata is that they play this melodic jazzrock that sounds at the times like progressive (symphonic) rock. [...] As suggested all first 4 Fermata albums are great, Huascaran is the best

Huascaran is among the five-or-so truly outstanding fusion albums from the 70s/80s Eastern bloc, and I completely agree that their take on the style approaches "symph" antics; but in diametrical contrast to their countrymen M. Efekt, Fermata were AFAIK primarily musicians from a jazz background advancing on rock. The law of fantastic musicianship was uniform with almost all of the (non-underground) Czechoslowak groups, btw; even a state-sponsored "faux" act like Olympic were technically excellent performers (alas if they weren't the state wouldn't have supported them!). But Flamengo, Provisorium, Jazz Q, Synkopy, Collegium Musicum, Progres 2, Energit, Framus Five, Mahagon, Gattch, Combo FH - these were basically all impeccable constellations of instrumentalists.

[adewolf]

Great stuff. Great choice Cozy.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Flamengo, Provisorium, Jazz Q, Synkopy, Collegium Musicum, Progres 2, Energit, Framus Five, Mahagon, Gattch, Combo FH - these were basically all impeccable constellations of instrumentalists.

I really like Fermata as well and a couple of the others named above... tho I'd say Synkopy was one of the weaker ones

Fermata was indeed a great blend of Symphonic and Fusion Prog styles and Huascaran is their best IMO as well

[Rarebird]

Sounds good.

[Trane]

I prefer their first three albums, especially the near-flawless Huascaran

But Flamengo, Provisorium, Jazz Q, Synkopy, Collegium Musicum, Progres 2, Energit, Framus Five, Mahagon, Gattch, Combo FH - these were basically all impeccable constellations of instrumentalists.

I'm not big on Collegium Musicum, which sounded like a cheap version of ELP (obviously given their Czech background), but a more gifted version of Triumvirate...

There are a few I haven't heard of in that list, though

[Progmatic]

I'm not big on Collegium Musicum, which sounded like a cheap version of ELP

Well they sounded more as Nice that is now considered a dated sound, yet ELP album Konvergencie is superior to anything that ELP ever done IMHO.

Particularly this piece

[mellotron storm]

Huascaran is among the five-or-so truly outstanding fusion albums from the 70s/80s Eastern bloc, and I completely agree that their take on the style approaches "symph" antics; but in diametrical contrast to their countrymen M. Efekt, Fermata were AFAIK primarily musicians from a jazz background advancing on rock. The law of fantastic musicianship was uniform with almost all of the (non-underground) Czechoslowak groups, btw; even a state-sponsored "faux" act like Olympic were technically excellent performers (alas if they weren't the state wouldn't have supported them!). But Flamengo, Provisorium, Jazz Q, Synkopy, Collegium Musicum, Progres 2, Energit, Framus Five, Mahagon, Gattch, Combo FH - these were basically all impeccable constellations of instrumentalists.

Some great bands there ! If i had to pick a few albums from the Eastern Bloc that i really love they would be SMAK's Crna Dama, PROGRES 2's Dialogs Vesmirem, ENERGIT's S/T album and that one that BLUE EFFECT and JAZZ Q did called Coniunctio. I'm probably forgetting some but those are all amazing.

[mellotron storm]

Oh i forgot about FERMATA's debut which is my favourite from them.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I'm not big on Collegium Musicum, which sounded like a cheap version of ELP

CM/Varga are probably among the most misunderstood of all 70s "prog" artists (at least from the Eastern bloc), in that their artistic concept was in fact very different from that of most "western" acts of the day. Varga was certainly influenced by K. Emerson at a technical playing level, but his approach to composition, production, experimentation etc. was actually through-and-through a result of post-modernist perspectives on art. Varga himself (who is nowadays a well established composer for film, TV and theatre), has spoken quite extensively on this topic, especially in recent years.

[Progbear]

This one grew on me a bit. I didn’t care for it all at first, finding it too “smooth,” but I came to appreciate it later. Part of it came from me going back and hearing their earlier material, then coming back to this. It’s not as strong as their earlier albums (at least not the first three, I have still yet to hear Biela planéta) but it’s worth hearing if you like them. And if you want the whole first album on CD, you need to own it, as rather than reissue the first album properly, Bonton stuck the missing track from the 2-on-1 at the beginning of this one. Which is why this 1980 album starts out sounding like 1975, that first track is actually from 1975!

CM/Varga are probably among the most misunderstood of all 70s "prog" artists (at least from the Eastern bloc), in that their artistic concept was in fact very different from that of most "western" acts of the day. Varga was certainly influenced by K. Emerson at a technical playing level, but his approach to composition, production, experimentation etc. was actually through-and-through a result of post-modernist perspectives on art. Varga himself (who is nowadays a well established composer for film, TV and theatre), has spoken quite extensively on this topic, especially in recent years.

Dismissing CM as an ELP clone is so wrong. Emerson wishes he could write music as sophisticated as “Eufónia.”

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison

N.P.:“Nothing’s the Same”-Banco del Mutuo Soccorso/Banco

[Scrotum Scissor]

If i had to pick a few albums from the Eastern Bloc that i really love they would be SMAK's Crna Dama, PROGRES 2's Dialogs Vesmirem, ENERGIT's S/T album and that one that BLUE EFFECT and JAZZ Q did called Coniunctio. I'm probably forgetting some but those are all amazing.

You probably shouldn't get me started on the topic of Eastern bloc progressive rock, as I can hardly get enough. I've been collecting it these past 10-12 years and I have to say that the sheer ignorance towards it seems quite revealing on the part of the alleged "fanbase" of such music. If the music truly was all that "mattered", then several of the Eastern European names would be nothing less than household even here in the West. Enter sociology and the theories of cultural distinction and habitus - and people singing in the "wrong" language.

There were acts coming out of Poland, the GDR, Romania, Yugoslavia, the Baltic (Estonia especially), USSR, Hungary, Czechoslowakia and even Bulgaria - some of which were mediocre or even poor, yes, but many of which were good to great and a few truly outstanding. There's just so much still to be discovered from there...