FEATURED CD: Kornelyans - Not An Ordinary Life

[Poisoned Youth]

Review from ProgArchives (Prog Veteran)

Kornelyans are really 'not ordinary' in the best meaning of SYMPHONIC AND adventurous prog rock sense (*see last paragraph). WOW what an incredible PROG quite original and tasteful. I had the chance to listen the earlier Korni Grupa, I guess it's another music proposal, an important record ( they were pioneers ) with very good music; some song, prog, rock, bluesy and jazzier elements. In this seminal record the predominant keyboards are piano and Fender Rhodes, while in Kornelyans 'not an ordinary life' synth, moog, piano and mellotron are the masters (the entire prog keyboards arsenal is used). Kornelyans is totally prog, very different of Korni Grupa that is not symphonic.

In Kornelyans 'not an ordinary.' the super skilled performance reminds me Italians of CHERRY FIVE plus Latin complex flavor by PFM and MAXOPHONE - vocals are great as the last. The rockier creativity and freshness remind me Gentle Giant (around 'in a glass house' or 'free hand'). The uplifting humor and mood brings to mind also GRACIOUS. But these are only references as Kornelyas sounds its own. It's a record for international market ala Banco 1975 and PFM 'photos of ghosts' sung in English, a rich 1974 era record.

Do you remember the pioneer (for being open to everyone) prog reviews site PROGNET? I guess it got closed around year 2002. I used to put many reviews there (I had free time, no son and my health was ok) and made many friends. One of these friends taped me Kornelyans. I remember I could not believe my ears: All ingredients for an outstanding masterpiece were there!! Thanking my friend I wrote 'when you think you already know most important records a friend amazes you with a pearl'.in fact there are so many unknown prog records from iron curtain, Asia, etc. out there, that a rule for a good fan is to know that we are always learning.

(*)Not that I think Kornelyans requires many repeated listenings to be full appreciated or understood, if you are familiarized with the bands I mentioned above, it can be love at first listening. I also wrote in PROGNET ' I heard it more than 10 times, as I wanted to be very sure to assume to say that Kornelyans 'not an ordinary life' is one of the best 70´s albums of prog rock !' Well now in 2009 writing to PA I guess, after listening it more than 50 times, I can keep that enthusiastic true heart opinion, I'm not exagerating!

[adewolf]

I like this one.

[Progmatic]

I never heard this one...I had been chasing it for longest time, eventually gave up...maybe it is time to start again...

but I have Korni Grupa that is pretty good...

[Scrotum Scissor]

I have Korni Grupa that is pretty good...

But quite different from the one in question here. I could personally never decide which of them I prefer; there's a sort of melodic intensity and just plain liveliness to the debut which I can't seem to locate anywhere else (except for in parts of the first album by their Croatian colleagues Time), but Ordinary Life has a sheer grandness of sound that I've always found particularly compelling. There are some truly delicate arrangements at play.

One major bummer about this release is the English vox; I'd rather have him sing in his native tongue. And he goes way out of his bounds with that voice in some places, especially with that faux tenor vibrabo.

[Progbear]

What’s the deal with this one? It seems like it was in print on CD for about five seconds, then immediately turned into an expensive, legendary collector’s item. I understand it was Vinyl Magic who released the CD, did RTB or whatever Yugo label that released this initially file a complaint forcing them to withdraw it? I don’t recall any other VM item being this rare.

Anyway, I haven’t heard this album but I do know that this is really Korni Grupa, recording an English-language album in Rome. They even have an extended version of their “hit,” “Generacija 42”:



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

"Siento que debemos saber para el sueño de quién brillará esta luz
o consagrar una propia estrella" --Alberto Felici

N.P.:“Child in a Sweet Shop”-Pictures

[no.nine]

What’s the deal with this one? It seems like it was in print on CD for about five seconds, then immediately turned into an expensive, legendary collector’s item. I understand it was Vinyl Magic who released the CD, did RTB or whatever Yugo label that released this initially file a complaint forcing them to withdraw it? I don’t recall any other VM item being this rare.

I lucked out with this one; I found it for $10 in Tower's clearance a long time ago. Strangely, I don't get the urge to pull it out often, but when I do, it's always a refreshing listen. I also like the Korni Grupa s/t. They're both excellent albums, but different flavors of prog.

Incidentally, there are some other VM titles which also turn up rarely if at all, Franco Leprino's CD comes to mind for example (not that I think it's a good album - I don't - but I'm only talking rarity).

[strawberrybrick]

Good record, bit strange too!

[ljubaspriest]

Never released on CD in their native Serbia(or Yugoslavia before).Only debut is issued on cd in 1998 by Razglas,minor label of PGP RTS, and is impossible to find anywhere.I got my copy from buddy in Belgrade few years ago.Not an ordinary life is available in(almost ) its entirety on PGP RTS triple CD compilation from mid-2000's.Greg Walker still might have copy or two.

[spacefreak]

What’s the deal with this one? It seems like it was in print on CD for about five seconds, then immediately turned into an expensive, legendary collector’s item. I understand it was Vinyl Magic who released the

Speaking on the late 80s-early90s italian CD reissues; in Europe Kornelyans was a cheap CD for quite a long period of time. I remember seeing it for around 12-14 euros quite frequently up to 2000... On the contrary, I only saw 3-4 times the Leprino Integrati Disintegrati one and none N.A.D.M.A.'s Uno Zingaro Di Atlante Con Un Fiore A New York.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Only debut is issued on cd in 1998 by Razglas,minor label of PGP RTS, and is impossible to find anywhere. [...] Not an ordinary life is available in(almost ) its entirety on PGP RTS triple CD compilation from mid-2000's.

I got the Razglas/PGP reissue of the debut back in '99, but I think they (Record Heaven in Sweden) had it up for sale for about a month or so before it disappeared to never reappear in their store. It sounds great, though. The Ordinary Life I got on vinyl at a record fair here in Oslo, signed by Kornelije Kovac on the front cover but rather hissy and well played through the years.

There's a story I heard concerning the problems with reissuing the back catalog of Korni Grupa/Kornelyans (including the 1943 live-in-the-studio album) and indeed other ex-Yugo bands as well, but I don't know if it's true (anyway it's probably exaggerated); apparently there was a rift between former members of the band during the Balkan conflicts of the 90s, prompting unwillingness on several parts to accomodate the wishes of others. There was also the incident of the Belgrade main radio building being hit during the NATO bombings of '99, and as far as I know they stocked master tapes and a whole bunch of archival recordings by numerous 60s/70s/80s/90s artists there. Either way, CD reissues by even rather well established classic Yugo groups (Time, Pop Masina, Buldozer, Smak, Indexi etc.) have proven scarce. I believe I got hold of most what there ever was, the rest of it I had to track down on vinyl or horrible CD-Rs from South-Korea and stuff.

[Scrotum Scissor]

On the contrary, I only saw 3-4 times the Leprino Integrati Disintegrati one

I actually enjoy this one quite a bit too. There are some elegant, quasi-impressionist electronic soundscapes and sculptures and landscapes in there. I wasn't aware of its rarity; I personally got it when I was in Rome on my honeymoon (1st. missus) in April '97. I guess it must have been a limited release either way, huh? But then they all were. Retailers' stocks were seemingly full of Vinyl Magic CD-reissues up until about 2003.

[dnieper]

There's a story I heard concerning the problems with reissuing the back catalog of Korni Grupa/Kornelyans (including the 1943 live-in-the-studio album) and indeed other ex-Yugo bands as well, but I don't know if it's true (anyway it's probably exaggerated); apparently there was a rift between former members of the band during the Balkan conflicts of the 90s, prompting unwillingness on several parts to accomodate the wishes of others. There was also the incident of the Belgrade main radio building being hit during the NATO bombings of '99, and as far as I know they stocked master tapes and a whole bunch of archival recordings by numerous 60s/70s/80s/90s artists there. Either way, CD reissues by even rather well established classic Yugo groups (Time, Pop Masina, Buldozer, Smak, Indexi etc.) have proven scarce. I believe I got hold of most what there ever was, the rest of it I had to track down on vinyl or horrible CD-Rs from South-Korea and stuff.

Wow, what a shame. I'd love to get a Kornelyands or Korni Grupa CD, but they're near impossible to find. Guess this is why.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I'd love to get a Kornelyands or Korni Grupa CD, but they're near impossible to find.

Dan, there's a very good compilation available called Prvo Svetlo Neobicnog Zivota released by another Serb label by the name of Komuna in 1995, and it contains some great stuff from the first two albums as well as a couple of singles, the awesome 17-minute "Prvo Svetlo u Kuci Broj 4" (predating their debut) and even a live recording from a reunion in the late 80s. It's absolutely worth getting if you find it, and AFAIK it's still in circulation somewhere out there.

And then there's that 3CD comp called Ne Tako Obican Zivot i Posle 30 Godina (which you can find at www.recordheaven.net), whose main prob is that only the first disc actually contains much of worth. Like many an Italian contemporary, Korni Grupa/Kornelyans tended to abstain from any sort of risk when making shorter songs intended for the market, and their basic discography was in fact that sort of thing and not the progressive bit. But like someone else here pointed out, almost all of the Ordinary Life album is indeed included in that comp.

There's also a rumour that there were indeed made separate recordings of vox in Serbian tongue for this record, but for some reason it was never made available, not even for the home market in the 70s.

And this thread dropped like a wet fart once it fell from that locked position, didn't it? Only goes to show that times indeed are-a-changing, as I remember Ordinary Life being held in high regard with progressive rock fans during the early to mid 90s. Perhaps someone should offer Steven Wilson a case of lager or something to spend a few hours in s studio and do a makeover of the whole thing, so that people can have a reason to take notice. But for all I know, Wilson doesn't drink.

[TheH]

I don' t kow if this one was allready mentioned but this complilation should be rather easy to find and
has 4 of 6 tracks from the Kornelyans abum.

60235960.jpg

[zeprogmeister]

Taichika time!

[Pr33t]

And this thread dropped like a wet fart once it fell from that locked position, didn't it? Only goes to show that times indeed are-a-changing, as I remember Ordinary Life being held in high regard with progressive rock fans during the early to mid 90s. Perhaps someone should offer Steven Wilson a case of lager or something to spend a few hours in s studio and do a makeover of the whole thing, so that people can have a reason to take notice. But for all I know, Wilson doesn't drink.

It's been ages since I've heard this, definitely need to add this to the re-listen queue. I've just started reading PE again since before the site change (that, plus a lack of time), but it's threads like these that make me come back at all. Even if it's only ever the same dozen or so people responding, it's still interesting.

[Scrotum Scissor]

This is the centerpiece of the debut album, displaying more of their previous "jazzy hard-rock" (i.e. pre-Ordinary Life) approach and showing their very disparate influences (US west coast acid jamming, late-era Beatles, "proto-prog" etc.). It also demonstrates their penchant for nonsensical humour and the fact that they were quite well established, as this is actually a bonafide music video to a piece lasting nearly 15 minutes - in Yugoslavia, 1973! GREAT tune, btw.

[Zalmoxe]

Taichika time!

They too have a hard time finding a CD to copy and multiply it, LOL!

[TheH]

There is a new CD release of the Album out there since April. I can't find any lable info so it might be not legit.

[Zalmoxe]

Does anyone know whether this 2013 Private CD Production Records pressing is legit? I see the CD for sale on eBay and Amazon. RateYourMusic.com has added the issue to their database.

[Zalmoxe]

There is a new CD release of the Album out there since April. I can't find any label info so it might be not legit.

I assume is the same pressing I am asking about. Just confirmed that it is a bootleg.

[Scrotum Scissor]

It's out on vinyl as well now.

[ljubaspriest]

Does anybody knows anything about this Kornelyans CD reissue from Eastern Time,please? Looks like it's from Italy,Doug Larson has it in stock.Anybody took a chance?

[Rixsta]

The Korni Grupa First album is one of my faves from that part of the world, this Kornelyans is realy good too.
I find those bands have strong emotional feeling, I like that

[ashratom]

What’s the deal with this one? It seems like it was in print on CD for about five seconds, then immediately turned into an expensive, legendary collector’s item. I understand it was Vinyl Magic who released the CD, did RTB or whatever Yugo label that released this initially file a complaint forcing them to withdraw it? I don’t recall any other VM item being this rare.

I missed this thread originally. So the reason this came out in Italy on CD is because the original LP was also released in Italy (on the... wait for it...Ricordi label ). In fact I just bought this version of the LP this week, as it sounds much better than the Yugoslavian original on RTB.

The Vinyl Magic CD was widely available when it came out, and I bought one from Greg Walker. Since I haven't been looking for one, I had no idea it had fallen OOP for so long. Incidentally RYM states the CD came out in 1989, but that's incorrect. The CD date is 1991 and according to my database, I bought it in late 1992.